When Algernon dies, Charlie is devastated but also terrified that the same thing will happen to him, indicating that Algernon could be his alter ego. The connection between Charlie and Algernon is so deep, that even after Charlie has regressed, he still thinks of Algernon and the last thought in the book from Charlie is that of him asking his friends to please put flowers on Algernon's grave (Flowers for Algernon). Thusly due to their deep rooted connection, Charlie and Algernon can be seen as alter egos of one another. .
Humans have always sought to better understand the universe they live in; they have tried and succeeded in improving their lives in general, but their quest for knowledge is one without an end. Humans will always seek to become more intelligent and improve on those humans who are, according to them, not intelligent enough or those who are born with certain disorders that make them incapable of increasing their intelligence, such as Charlie Gordon in the novel Flowers for Algernon; and the only way of helping these people to overcome their disorders will be with technology and science. Though some may argue with the increasing of people's intelligence and crucify it as unnatural and a disgrace, such as Charlie's first nurse "Hilda" who states that increasing his intelligence is the same as when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge from the forbidden tree (Flowers for Algernon), it is the only way people will be able to improve the lives of all humans, for those who are born with disorders will not be able or capable of doing so on their own like normal people can.
Before the operation, Nurse Hilda expressed her opposition with the experiment to Charlie as well, and this caused Charlie to start fearing the operation, for he did not wish to upset God, but never the less Charlie still undergoes the operation.
