An ultra-violent law unto himself

Antihero: Alex

Genre: Adult Fiction / Modern Literature

Citation: Burgess, Anthony.  A clockwork orange, London : Penguin, 2000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annotation:

 

WARNING: This material contains mature content. Reader’s discretion is advised.

“A Clockwork Orange” is a dystopian novella written by Anthony Burgess and has had a cult following since its original publication in 1962. It is considered to be a classic of modern literature. The novella’s notoriety increased after well-known director Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation was released in 1971 however it should be noted that Anthony Burgess considered the adaptation to be badly flawed.

 

Set in near-future England the story centres on teenager Alex, a sociopathic intelligent juvenile delinquent and his gang. Alex and his gang of “droogs” spend their nights roaming the streets committing random and opportunistic acts of “ultra-violence”. In the first half of the novella the gang take part in numerous beatings and rape, joyride in a stolen car and other illegal activities. All of these acts of violence are fuelled by milk-drug cocktails referred to as “milk-plus”.

 

This constant violence comes to a climax one night and leads to Alex’s arrest and subsequent prison sentence. During his time in prison Alex learns of an experimental program called the “Ludovico Technique” which inmates may take part in in exchange for a shorting of their sentences.  After Alex once again gives into his violent tendencies he comes to the attention of the men in charge of the program. Without a clear understanding of what the program entails Alex agrees to take part in the treatment.

 

The treatment effectively removes Alex’s freewill and leaves him with a complete aversion to violence. Any evidence of violence or predatory sexual inclinations leaves him completely physically incapacitated. However after his release into society it becomes apparent that it also leaves him completely vulnerable to the violence of others. The story continues to follow Alex and the demise of his sanity.

 

At the beginning of this novel Alex is without morals. He lives outside of the law. Alex sees himself as above the law and feels that he is a law unto himself. He is aware of the depravity of all of his actions but simply does not care. He does not care for society or for the consequences. However the series of events which follow his incarceration gives arise to significant questions in regards to the concept of free will of every human being. Should everyone be given the right to choose between “good” and “evil”? Even if they are more inclined to choose things that society sees as “evil”?

 

“A Clockwork Orange” is seen by some as an experiment in language and is written using a variety of colloquial phrasing. The author has created a slang language used by the teenage characters which is a fusion of English and Russian called Nadsat. Due to the use of these literary techniques this nightmarish vision of the future’s content can, for some readers, be hard to follow at times. This work is fascinating exploration of the nature of good and evil and the concept of free will. It is a social and moral commentary of society. Readers should consider themselves forewarned that the content of this work is graphic and extremely violent.