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Progress report #1
Charlie Gordon is a man who has some very restricting mental capibilites. He begins to write a journal on every thing he thinks and everything that happens to him. "I dont know why but he says its importint so they will see if they will use me." Charlie is in the running to be selected to have an operation done on him that make make him smarter. -
Progress report #2
Today charlie had a test with inkblots. he is very concerned becasue he thinks he did not do well on the test. He said, "I had a test today. I think i failed it. and i think that maybe now they wont use me." Charlie wants to be used for the tests because he aspires to be intelligent. -
Progress report #3
Charlie meets Algernon for the first time today. Algernon is a mouse that Charlie races just about every day. Charlie eventually becomes attatched to algernon becasue he too has had an operation. Charlie said, "Anyway that test made me feel worser than all the others because they did it over 10 times with difernt amazeds and Algernon won every time." -
Progress report #4
They decided to use Charlie for the testing. Charlie does not exactly know what they will do but he is excited anyway. Charlie starts off his progress report by saying, "Their going to use me! Im so exited i can hardly write." -
April 6
Today Charlie beats Algernon for the first time. He says, "I beat Algernon! I dint even know I beat him until Burt yje tester told me." Charlie says he does not feel smarter but it shows in his writing. He starts to put together larger words and more complete sentences. -
April 20
Charlie realizes that his friends arent actually as nice he thought. "It's a funny thing i never knew that Joe and Frank and tho others liked to have me around all the time to ake fun of me. Now i know what it meant when they say 'to pull a Charlie Gordon'." He is starting to not be as nieve and realize who people are. His spelling also is amazing. -
April 21
Charlie is told not to read psychology. He is now learing history, geography, and arithmetic. Also foreign languages. "He asked me to promise that when i start learning college subjects next week that i wouldnt read any books on psychology--that is, until he give me permission." I think that if Charlie starts reading thoes kinds of books then he will realize something about his operation or something of that matter -
April 22
Charlie is given the inkblots again and actually sees things in them this time. I think that the operation also increased his creativity. He is skeptical that there is some catch to the test. that somone is trying to fool with him or that he is being tricked. "But i didn't trust him any more, and I kept turning them around and even looking on the back to see if there was anything there i was supposed to catch." -
May 18
Charlie has trouble communicating with anyone becasue his intelligence is far beyond anyone he talks to. Charlie met with Miss Kinnian for the first time in over a week last night. He tried to avoid all intellctual topics but still she could not follow and stared blankly. "I tried to avoid all discussions of intellectual concepts and to keep the conversation on a simple, everyday level, but she just stared at me blankly and asked me what i meant about the mathematical varience equivalent.." -
May 20
Charlie goes to a diner and sees a boy that reminded him of himself before the operation. The boy dropped some dishes and got remarks simalar to what Charlie got when he worked at the factory. This upsets charlie because he knows how the boy feels and knows that the boy thinks all the people laughing at him are his friends. Charlie gets very very frustrated and says, "Shut up! Leave him alone! it's not his fault he can't undersatnd! He can't help what he is!" -
May 24
Algernon has started to becoming unusualy uncoperative and viscious. People begin to wonder if this means this will happen to charlie. He says, "Everyone is upset about what this may mean." This marks the begining of Algernons mental decline. This will eventually happen to Charlie. -
May 31
Charlie has begun extensive and tireless reaserch. Both the doctors think that he is doing too much work. Charlie is packing a lifetime of reaserch into a few week span. Something that normal people would never be able to dream of doing, but with charlies advanced mental state he can handle it. The reason charlie is doing this reasearch is: "I've got to find the reason for the sharp regression in Algernon. I've got to know if and when it will happen to me." -
June 10
Charlie says that he can tell his mental health is declining. "i have become absent-minded." Algernon also died two days ago so that makes him even more sure that the same will happen to him. Charlie burried Algernon. This is the frist time that he tells us he cried. -
July 28
Charlie shows up to his class that he used to go to becasue he forgot he does not go there anymore. Miss Kinnian saw him then started to cry and ran out the room. Charlie says that he will be moving away from New York for good. It is obvious that Charlies mental state is even worse then before the operation. He can hardly spell or put together sentences. He does not want anyone to feel sorry for him at all. (continue on to next point) -
Continued
Charlie says, "If you ever reed this Miss Kinnian dont be sorry for me im glad i got a second chanse to be smart becaus i lerned a lot of things that i never new were in this world and im grateful that i saw it all for a little bit."