Strauss and Dr. Nemur perform the surgery on Charlie, he gets fired from his job at the factory. “This intelligence has driven a wedge between me and all the people I once knew and loved. Before, they laughed at me and despised me for my ignorance and dullness; now, they hate me for my knowledge and understanding. What in God's name do they want of me? They've driven me out of the factory. Now I'm more alone than ever before …” (Keyes 183) Charlie feels like no matter what he says or does, he can not be accepted.
As Charlie starts to forget everything he learned, he figures out he will go back to the way he was before the surgery. “Thats why Im going away from New York for good. I dont want to do nothing like that agen. I dont want Miss Kinnian to feel sorry for me. Evry body feels sorry at the factery and I dont want that eather so Im going someplace where nobody knows that Charlie Gordon was once a genus and now he cant even reed a book or rite good” (Keyes 192). Charlie wants to prevent the people he loves from watching him die, just like he had to watch