Week 3 blog post

                Power plays a very important role in the book Flowers for Algernon. In the beginning you see Charlie treated like the bottom of society by almost everyone. Even people who normally wouldn’t think themselves above anyone, such as the bakers even they take their chance to pick on someone with less intelligence. While the scientists don’t mock or taunt Charlie there is an obvious air of superiority about them, even when Charlie becomes more intelligent than them they still treat him as a lab rat. But throughout the book Charlie switches sides of the spectrum going from the bottom to being one of the most intelligent even compared to the scientists. But it was not a sudden shift, it began slowly but even when he just got to the point where he could speak full sentences his co-workers began looking at him with suspicion. Even Alice, who once saw him as just a motivated student, begins developing a relationship with him. Regardless of the ethics of this choice she never would have viewed him in this way if he hadn’t begun to develop intellectually. Charlie at the beginning only wants to be more intelligent so that he can impress his family and gain new friends. But as his intellect develops he begins to realize how terrible his family and in general other people have treated him. He at this point begins using his intelligence as a way of placing himself above others.