Charlie Gordon’s Bravery Charlie Gordon is a hero due to his bravery with or without intelligent. Even though Charlie is mentally slow, his bravery is defined by the way he does whatever it takes to be smart. “I said I dint care because I aint afiad of nothing. Im very strong and I always do good and beside I got my luky rabbits foot and I never breakd a mirrir in my life” (Keyes Flowers for Algernon 11). Daniel Keyes, the author, shows Charlie’s disability by using misspelled words and by highlighting his many superstitions. Even though Charlie is mentally slow, he wants to be smart. He states in the story that he is not afraid, he is strong and he will do whatever it takes to be smarter. Since Charlie wants to be smart, he agrees to have an operation. Even after Dr. Strauss tells him that a lot of things can go wrong and that he could actually become worse than he already is, he relies on his bravery and still continues with the procedure. He contravenes against people who believe that God gave Charlie his intelligence and that he should not proceed with the procedure. Charlie’s bravery becomes more apparent after he becomes intelligent when he faces and conquers his fear of relationships. “I stared in, past the stairs I had seen so often in my nightmares. I had often been pursued up that long, narrow staircase by demons who grabbed at my legs and pulled me down the cellar below, while I tried to scream without voice, strangling on my tongue and gaging in silence. Like the boys at Warren” (262). Keyes displays Charlie’s intelligence by the way he talks. He also explains how Charlie wants to fix his mental problems from his childhood. In the story, Charlie is going to his mom’s house to show his mom that he is, now, normal. Since he is normal, he wants his mom to know that she does not have to protect Norma, his sister, from him. Even though Charlie is afraid of