Flowers for Algernon: Charlie Becoming Smart Charlie notices many changes in his life from the time he was slow to when he was a genius. As he gets smarter, he views people differently who he thought was his friend. For example, he viewed Frank Reilley differently when he was slow. Charlie wanted to be smart like his friends. He stated, "I cannot wait to get smart like my friends". Charlie thought Frank was his friend when he wasn't that smart. But, as we all know, he was not. Frank just wanted to get a good laugh and so did the others. So, he made fun of Charlie, a mentally handicapped person. F