Progress Report 5

Summary

The doctors are able to find Charlie’s sister Norma and mother, living in Brooklyn. They obtain the permission for his surgery. He is excited but notices an argument about his suitability between the doctors.

He is told that he is a good candidate because he is motivated, much like Algernon is. However, the mouse’s motivation is being fed cheese whereas Charlie, in his simplicity, states that he has not eaten cheese in a week.

Professor Nemur is not sure of Charlie’s viability for the test but Dr Strauss sees Charlie as the ideal candidate on account of his pleasant nature and eagerness to please. They acknowledge that it is a huge achievement that Charlie can write, despite having a low IQ of 68.

Charlie concludes that Dr Strauss and Burt are on his side while Professor Nemur is not. Eventually, the professor agrees to using Charlie.

Charlie is apprised of the dangers of such a surgery but he is too keen to become smart and vows to work really hard in making this a success.

Analysis

Professor Nemur seems the more ethical one from the team of doctors as he considers the dangers this surgery might pose to Charlie—he could become potentially more retarded and would lose his current independence too. The others, however, are keen on becoming famous from performing a groundbreaking surgery and do not seem to care about Charlie’s options. Charlie too, in his simplicity, only sees this as a chance to become smarter in life.