Besides becoming smarter, how does Charlies intellect change as the experiment unfolds?
As the experiment unfolds, Charlie’s intellect blossoms in several ways. The first change involves a more developed ego. Prior to the operation, Charlie loses a maze race with Algernon but is not overly concerned that the mouse has beaten him. In essence, he doesn’t have a strong self-image. The next time Charlie races Algernon, following the operation, he becomes angry that the mouse has beaten him. Here we see that a sense of self-image has developed. It is, of course, further developed as Charlie’s intelligence increases to the point where he can easily beat the mouse. With Algernon’s defeat, Charlie takes a certain pride in himself. As his intellect is further magnified, Charlie develops a heightened sense of self-importance; he sees himself as playing an important role in the lives of others, and at one point he even fantasizes that he might be able to help all mentally challenged individuals by coming up with a solution to the experiment’s flaw. Another significant change involve
