Charlie Gordan is in the beginning of this sciencefictionous short story a mentally deficient 27-year old and attends a class for slow adults. Before the operation his I.Q. is about 68, though afterwards it develops to be above 200.
Though not only his intelligence is developing. With his intelligence follow the alternations which Charlie was not aware of before the operation. His eagerness of optaining knowledge governs his ignorance for the possible consequences. For instance what comes along with intelligence; his perception for existence, his concealed emotions and overall his apprehension of the surroundings. It becomes clear to him that people are disguised elements; nobody is what they seem to be. His view on the operation also changes on the doctors unfortunate, because he doesn't want to depend or taken advantage of by them any more. Shortly after the operation Charlie becomes unemployed on cause of his intelligence. He's suddenly quick of apprehension and regards that his so called friends have been making a fool of him all along, deceiving him and turning his handicap into account yust to ignore their own stupidity. In the process Charlie experiences by personal inspection the responsibility and independence the operation has granted him. ( He doesn't need the doctors to interpret his situations any more and his ex- friends can't instigate him any longer). He experiences bewilderment because of his contradictory feelings, which are unfamiliar to him; for example that everyone, who devided and soffed at him for his dullness and indifferences, now despise and reject him because of his intelligence. Charlie has a hard time living up to everyone's and his own expectations, so he occupies himself with books and in the end he has lost all the people he cared about, his profession and at last himself. It becomes obvious intelligence isn't the key to joy, since he was happier without.