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Progress report March 5th 1965
We meet Charlie Gordon and find out that the is mentaly challenged and from now on he will be writing progress reports to see how he is doing. "Dr. Strauss says I shud rite down what i think and evrey thing that happins to me from now on. I dont know why but he says its importint so they will see if they will use me." -
Progress Report 2 March 6th
Charlie takes a test today with Dr. Srauss. Charlie hates tests, but he does what ever it takes to be smart. He needed to identify pictures in ink blobs, but what ever her did he could not see anything. "I dont think I passed the raw shok test." Pg. 372 -
Progress Report 3
Charlie has more tests today, including a Thematic Apperception Test. In this test he had to look at pictures and make up a story to go along with them. Charlie thought it was rediculous. Later Charlie raced against a mouse called Algeron to get through a maze, but he lost. "I told her how can you tell storys about pepul you never met. I said why shud I make up lies. I never tell lies any more becaus I always get caut." Pg. 373 -
Progress Report 4
They are going to use Charlie for the experiement! Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss agrue whether it is a good idea or not. "So I got scaird when Dr Nemur and Dr Strauss argud about it. Dr Strauss said I had something that was very good. He said I had a good motor-vation." Pg. 374 -
Progress Report 5
Charlie gets ready for the operation with his rabits foot and lucky penny and my horse shoe. He is very nervous, and they are working to get him ready for the experiment. "Im skared. Lots of people who work here and the nurses and the people who gave me the tests came to bring me candy and wish me luck. I hope I have luck." Pg. 375 -
Progress Report 6
After the operation Charlie didn't feel different, but the doctor told him he had to try to think. Charlie tried, but he just couldn't think. He didn't know what to think about and he wanted to know what smart people think about. "The operashun dint hurt. He did it while I was sleeping. They took off the bandijis from my eyes and hy head today so i can make a progress report." Pg. 376 -
Progress Report 7
Charlie is loosing his ambition. He doesn't like the Doctors, the tests, the mouse, the pictures and he hates trying to think like a smart person. "Miss Kinnian dint come to see me. I think writing these progress reports are stupid too." Pg. 376 -
Progress Report 8
Charlie goes back to work at the factory. The doctor tells him he should keep writing things down, but just not as often. He has to go to the hospital every night for an hour. He founds out that Algeron has gone through this same operation. "Maybe someday Ill beat Algernon. Boy that would be something." Pg. 377 -
March 25
Charlie doesn't have to write Progress Report at the top anymore. People at the factory were making fun of him, but he didn't think much of it. He thought they were his real friends. "We had a lot of fun at the factery today. Joe Carp said hey look where Charlie had his operashun what did they do Charlie put some brains in." Pg. 377 -
March 28
Dr. Strauss brings Charlie a gift that he has to turn on when he goes to sleep because it will ultimatly make him smarter. Charlie however does not believe it will and he doesn't believe in the operation anymore or getting smarter. Hes no longer going to go to school, but his teacher is going to come to him. "I told him I don't think I was going to get smart and he put his hand on my shoulder and said Charlie you dont know it yet but your getting smarter all the time." Pg. 377 -
Progress Report 9
Charlie uses his TV to help him get smarter. He also went to a party with his friends from work and got a little drunk, and ended up getting black and blue and he agrees he will never drink again. "I told Dr Strauss what good is it to get smart in my sleep. I want to be smart when Im awake. He says its the same thing and I have two minds." -
April 6
Charlie beats Algernon! He finds out Algernon only gets food when he passes a test, and Charlie thinks thats unfair. Charlie is continuing to get smarter! "I dont think its right to make you pass a test to eat.....I think Ill be friends with Algernon." Pg. 380 -
April 9
Charlie talk to Miss Kinnian and she gives him some guidence. He is also reading a very difficult book about a man who is abandoned on an island. "But i think there must be somebody else on the iland because theres a picture with his funny umbrella looking at footprints. I hope he gets a friend and not be lonly." Pg. 380 -
April 14
Charlie finishes the book he was reading, Robinson Cruscoe. "I want to find out more about what happens to him but Miss Kinnian says thats all there is." Pg. 381 -
April 15
Charlie meets with Miss Kinnian who tells him he is making progress and to be proud of himself. "She says Im a fine persona and Ill show them all." Pg. 381 -
April 17
Charlie learns punctuation and he loves it! "She's a gen'ius! I wish! I cou'd be smart" like her; (Punctuation is; fun!)" Pg. 382 -
April 18
Charlie realizes all his spelling and punctuation mistakes hes made in the past and he wants to fix them, but he can't because they need all of his progress reports just as they are. He is coming along fast and that makes him really happy! "That made me feel good. After the lesson I went down and playd with Algernon. We don't race any more." Pg. 382 -
April 20
Charlie feels sick and stays home from work. He had been at another party the night before, where he found out that his friends just liked to make fun of him and he was embarrassed. "Now I know what it means when they say "to pull a Charlie Gordon. I'm ashamed." Pg. 383 -
Progress Report 11
Charlies inteligence has gotten so much higher and soon they will be able to tell him what his IQ is. However Charlie doesn't really know what that is. "So I still don't know what an I.Q. is except that mine is going to be over 200 soon." Pg. 384 -
April 22
Charlie takes the Rorshach test that he took before his operation, only this time he sees pictures and he starts shouting them out. "We went through the cards slowly. One of them looked like a pair of bats tugging at something. Another one looked like two men fencing with swords." Pg. 385 -
April 28
Charlie goes out to dinner with Miss Kinnian, and Charlie become in love with her. They talk about the tremendous progress hes made. "We sat there silently for a while and I knew what she was thinking about as she watched me toying with the chain of my rabbit's foot and my kids." Pg. 388 -
Progress Report 12
Charlie quits his job with Donnegan's Plastic Box Company. "They've driven me out of the factory. Now I'm more alone than ever before . . ." Pg. 389 -
May 15
Charlie and Algernon were presented to the American Psychological Association sitting in convention with the World Psychological Association last Tuesday. -
May 18
Charlie is having a hard time communicating with people because of how smart he has become. He has trouble especially talking to Miss Kinnian. "No matter what i try to discuss with her, I am unable to communicate." Pg. 390 -
May 20
Charlie meets the new dishwasher and everyone begins to make fun of him because he is mentally retarded. Charlie stands up for him, and realized the boy was just like him not to long ago. Charlie decides he wants to help these people to get smart. He wants it to be his job. "Only a short time ago, I learned that people laughed at me. Now I can see that unknowingly I joined with them in laughing a myself. That hurts the most." Pg. 392 -
Progress Report 13
Algernon bites Chalie. "It happened today. Algernon bit me." Pg. 393 -
May 25
Algernon is not cooperating anymore and this could be bad news for Charlie. "If there is an answer. I'll have to find out for myself. Suddenly, time has become very important to me." Pg. 394 -
May 29
Charlie is given a lab to work one by himself, and has even been sleeping in the lab room. "Here is the place for the application of all the knowledge I have aquired. In a sense it's the problem I've been concerned with all my life." Pg. 394 -
June 4
Charlie writes a letter regarding his experiement results. It is a letter to Dr. Strauss. "I am sorry, however, that my own contribution to the field must rest upon the ashes of the work of two men I regard so highly." Pg. 395 -
June 5
Charlie knows that the operation is not very practical in the long run because judging by his lab experiments, his inteligence will drop back down. He is very upset and emotional. "I have already begun to notice signs of emotional instability and forgetfulness, the first symptoms of the burnout." Pg. 396 -
June 10
Agernon dies and it is very emotional for Charlie. It is now proven that he will follow the same path Algernon did. "His brain decreased in weight and there was a general smoothing out of cerebral convolutions as well as a deepening and broadening of brain fissures." Pg. 396 -
June 30
Charlie has been forgetting so many things. His life is slipping away and he is have a feeling that he has been here before. He can't understand books he had previously read. He has also thought about suicide. "I keep telling myself I must keep writing these reports so that somebody will know what is happening to me." Pg. 397 -
July 22
Mrs. Flynn is afraid that Charlie is going to die. Charlie tells the doctor who came in about Algernon and how he used to be smart with Algernon. The doctor thinks hes crazy. "He smiled when i told him i used to be a genius. He talked to me like I was a baby and he winked at Mrs. Flynn." Pg. 399 -
July 27
Charlie needs to get a job to pay rent to he trys to get his job back as janitor. He also doesn't want Miss Kinnian to pay rent for him because he still loves her. "First he was very suspicious but I told him what happened to me then he looked very sad and put his hand on my shoulder and said Charlie Gordon you got guts." Pg. 400 -
July 28
Charlie Gordon is back to how he was in the beggining and he decides to leave town and move somewhere else where no one knew he was ever smart. "Thats why Im gonna keep trying to get smart so i can have feelings agen. Its a good feeling to know things and be smart." Pg. 401