Kennedy Wells

Mrs.Henry
ELA/Reading 3/6
19 September 2016

Decisions, Decisions.
Humans always want to learn more, even if that means putting each other in serious
danger. We may have good intentions but if we just end up hurting more people than what is the
point of medical experiments at all? Using humans in medical experiments is unethical. Even
though medical experiments are meant to help people with health issues, its pointless if you just
end up putting more people at risk.
One reason is, if the experiment is temporary or fails then the test subject may become
disappointed or confused. (page 85)The main character in Flowers for Algernon(by Daniel
Keys), Charlie Gordon, left his hometown, with no money, no family, no job, and no friends, all
because of a temporary medical experiment. To worsen the situation he was losing his memory.
This experiment completely destroyed his life. The worst part is, he never really knew what was
going on the whole time. This is a thing that could easily happen in real life.
Another likely possibility is that they may start to feel physical pain. (pg 80-83) For
instance Charlie's brain started to deteriorate and his motor activity was impaired. He was feeling
nausea and headaches along with soreness in other parts of his body. None of this would have
happened if he hadnt been apart of the experiment.
Physical pain isnt the only pain that can be caused. Test subjects may become depressed
or emotionally unstable. (pg 79-84) Charlie starts to become depressed and has a harder time
controlling his emotions. He has outbursts and pushes people he cares about away. People started
to become scared of him. These things can happen in real life as well. Medication and surgery
can greatly affect a person's personality, thought process, and alter their point of view. Medical
experiments performed on people are extremely dangerous and immoral. The life of a fellow

Kennedy Wells
Mrs.Henry
ELA/Reading 3/6
19 September 2016

human is more important than anything and isn't meant to be wasted on some failed experiment.
If I was a doctor I would want save lives, not put them in danger.

Kennedy Wells
Mrs.Henry
ELA/Reading 3/6
19 September 2016

Works Cited
Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1966. Print.
Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon Common core literature, Pearson, 2015, pgs 5286