Charlie’s Treatment

	Charlie, the main character in Charlie, by Daniel Keyes is treated differently by everyone he 
knows.  Imagine you had mental retardation.  You only know the basics of anything.  You can’t spell and 
have an extremely limited vocabulary.  Suddenly you have an experimental operation.  This makes you 
extremely smart.  Now you can understand emotions.  With this new understanding you know how 
everyone has been treating you.  
	Compared to everyone else Charlie is treated nicely by his father.  His father protects him from 
most everyone.  Even his mother.  Not only does his father accept him but excepts the fact that Charlie is 
retarded.  "How do you know?  What do you know about this man?  If there was anything that could be 
done, the doctors would have told us a long time ago." (94, Keyes).  This is what Matt, the father, was 
saying to Rose, the mother.  They were at a doctors office with the young Charlie.  Rose felt that Dr. 
Guarino could make Charlie smart.  Matt is skeptical that this could work.  He is right, it doesn’t.  Charlie’s 
mother treats him much differently than Matt.
	How Rose treats Charlie can classified into two phases.  Before Norma, his sister, was born Rose 
was kind and loving towards Charlie.  However, once Norma was born Rose was harsh and concerned that 
Charlie would hurt, or even kill Norma.  In the book there is an incident in which Rose was planning to kill 
Charlie if he wasn’t sent away.  Again, before Norma was born Rose would have done anything to make 
Charlie smart.  "He’s going to be normal, whatever we have to do, whatever it costs."  (94, Keyes).  This is 
what Rose said to Matt just before they went to see Dr. Guarino.  Rose will also believe anything that is 
said about Charlie becoming smart.  On the whole, before Norma was born Rose loved and cherished 
Charlie, and after, she neglected and hated him.  Another person who mirrors  Rose’s actions is Professor 
Nemur.
	Prof. Nemur was one of the scientists who performed the experiment on Charlie.  Before Charlie 
had the operation Prof. Nemur was treating him like an object.  Although, Charlie didn’t know it one could 
feel it from the reading.  After the operation Charlie notices this and makes Prof. Nemur aware.  "He 
treated me - even then - as a human being.  It may sound like ingratitude, but this is one of the things I 
resent here - the attitude that I am a guinea pig.  Nemur’s constant references to having made me what I am, 
or that someday there will be others like me who will become real human beings." (101, Keyes).  The "he" 
Charlie mentions is Dr. Guarino.  This quote shows just how differently everyone treated him.  Prof. 
Strauss, like Matt, treats Charlie with more respect that Nemur. 
	Prof. Strauss is another scientist working on the experiment with Charlie.  He gives advice and 
understands some problems Charlie has.  When Charlie is at a medical convention with the professors there 
is a small party.  At this party Prof. Nemur is explaining Charlie’s experiment.  Charlie interrupts Nemur 
with talk of an article which attacked the way they reversed his retardation.  Nemur shrugs it off and 
continues.  At that point Charlie starts to talk to Strauss.
	"What did I day that upset him in that way?"  (104, Keyes).  Charlie asked Strauss
	"You’re making him feel inferior and he can’t take it."  (104, Keyes).  Strauss responds.
	"I’m serious for god’s sake.  Tell me the truth."  (104, Keyes).
	"Charlie, you’ve got to stop thinking that everyone is laughing at you.  Nemur couldn’t discuss 
those articles because he hasn’t read them."  (104, Keyes).  This short conversation shows two things.  It 
shows that Strauss is concerned about Charlie and feels it would be better to help him.  Also, it shows that 
Nemur doesn’t want his experiment.  In other words he wants to be in the limelight.
	These conflicting feelings confuses Charlie.  Since his intellectual side much exceeds his 
emotional side he doesn’t know how to handle these new emotions.  In the movie Charlie asks Alice why 
people don’t make fun of a cripple, or someone who’s deaf but do make fun of a moron.  Anyone who does 
make fun of a retarded person is unfair to all human nature and are morons themselves.