Flowers for Algernon

There was this book I read in seventh grade, Flowers for Algernon (book summary can be viewed here), that talks about this retarded adult who undergoes an experiment to make him smarter. Over the course of the book, Charlie Gordon, the main character, writes in journal entries about the progression of the experiment that turns him from a handicap to a super genius. Unfortunately an error in the experiment shows that although Charlie has an IQ over 160, he is still emotionally retarded.

The book shows that the smarter Charlie gets, the colder his heart gets. As Charlie regains his memory he sees all of the terrible abuse people did to him in the past. Now that he understands their true intentions, he feels huge resentment and becomes bitter, arrogant, and lonely. The people who love and know Charlie are now starting to hate him for his meaner attitude and preferred him "retarded."

According to this book, the smarter one becomes, the less heart they have. Do you agree with such a statement? Could it be true that mentally challenged people never get the feeling of revenge and will love unconditionally, kind of like a puppy who always gets kicked around but still comes back to the owner?

Here we have the trailers for the movie adaptation of the book bz the same name.