FREE ESSAY ON A CLOCKWORK ORANGE BY ANTHONY BURGESS

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE BY ANTHONY BURGESS

Many of us like to think that humanity as a whole is progressing to a better future where
we will live united and in peace with one another, a time of a more enlightened society.
But there are those among us that do not share these beliefs. In A Clockwork Orange, by
Anthony Burgess, the futuristic world is displayed as a world turned upside down and in
shambles. This 1962 classic is a frightful depiction of what our society could become and
possibly what it already is. Drugs almost seem to be legal and unregulated and
subsequently are widely used. The prison system is overcrowded with young punk criminals
who are inherently evil with no regard for humanity, or any part of society for that
matter. The youth takes over the streets at night and beat anyone they encounter. The
elderly sit around in bars and drink the remainder of their lives away. The people have
become desensitized to violence, because it is so prevalent in their lives. A Clockwork
Orange is a very intriguing story that deals with many social problems, not offering a
solution, but pointing out obstacles in the way of the creation of a more perfect
society. 
A Clockwork Orange is written in the first person by the main character, Alex. This makes
the story more personable by allowing the reader to see into the mind of Alex as he goes
through the many changes that he does. Three of his friends or droogs that help him in
his crimes are Dim, Pete, and Georgie. Throughout the story the author creates his own
language called nadsat, which is used by the youth of the futuristic world and is at the
height of fashion. Nadsat is a mix of Russian, English, and the slang words of both. It
is meant to set the violence apart from reality, making it almost cartoon like. 
The story begins at the start of a wild and violent night with Alex and his friends
sitting in a diner. To start off a typical night they encounter an old man walking the
streets, so they harass and hit him. But this is not just any ordinary harassing episode
but more of a complete and utter pounding. They beat the defenseless man until he is all
bloody and disoriented. They then send him on his way, half naked and crawling home,
later that night they saw an old drunken man sitting on the ground and they decided to
beat him until he was delirious. This is a very typical action of Alex and his friends on
any given night. The next night Alex and his friends stole a car and took it for a
joyride when they decided to break into a cabin on desolate road. When they got in they
started roughing up the owners and trashing the place. When one of the droogs noticed a
typewriter with a story lying next to it called "A Clockwork Orange". The boys thought it
was an odd title and Alex started to really beat the man, he beat him until he was bloody
and lifeless. This time his friends thought that he had gone too far and betrays him by
telling the police. Alex is convicted of murder and sentenced to fourteen years in prison
at the age of only fifteen years old. He goes to jail and still goes about his violent
ways, and eventually kills another prisoner. After this he is chosen as a subject for a
new experimental treatment called, Ludvico's Technique, it is supposed to cure him of his
ultra-violent ways. He is transferred to a new building specifically made for this new
treatment. Here he is basically conditioned through many injections and he is made to
watch films of rape and violence. The mixture of these images and the drug cause him to
associate feelings of panic and nausea with violence. Alex is released after two weeks in
this new program, he is deemed cured and released back into the general public after only
2 years of incarceration. After a few encounters with past victims of his he finds
himself at the home of a writer; who had also been a victim of Alex's, but does not
recognize him, who is strongly opposed to the new treatment the government has subjected
him to. This writer believes that this method robs the recipient of freedom of choice and
moral decision - therefore depriving him of being human at all. After Alex is in public
for a while he is beaten and taken advantage of by many people. He eventually goes back
to his violent ways, and joins another gang. Alex eventually attempts suicide and the
state is forced to admit that the therapy was a mistake and 'cures' him again. Alex
realized that his ultra-violent ways were wrong so he wanted to start a family now that
he saw his old "droog" Pete was married and had a family. 
This book is one that seems perplexing on the outside because it is riddled with such
slang that no one is used to but once you get through one chapter you can get the gist of
what the characters are saying. If the reader looks down into the deeper meaning of the
text there is a lot to be said about it. How should people be reformed to fit into
society? To what length should the government or anybody go to mold and form people to a
particular norm or desired shape? From a review one would think this book to be
simplistic but it is quite complex and very entertaining with the violence it seems to be
a good thriller. All of these questions are raised in A Clockwork Orange. This makes it
not only a thrilling page-turner but a thought-provoking novel also.
Many of us like to think that humanity as a whole is progressing to a better future where
we will live united and in peace with one another, a time of a more enlightened society.
But there are those among us that do not share these beliefs. In A Clockwork Orange, by
Anthony Burgess, the futuristic world is displayed as a world turned upside down and in
shambles. This 1962 classic is a frightful depiction of what our society could become and
possibly what it already is. Drugs almost seem to be legal and unregulated and
subsequently are widely used. The prison system is overcrowded with young punk criminals
who are inherently evil with no regard for humanity, or any part of society for that
matter. The youth takes over the streets at night and beat anyone they encounter. The
elderly sit around in bars and drink the remainder of their lives away. The people have
become desensitized to violence, because it is so prevalent in their lives. A Clockwork
Orange is a very intriguing story that deals with many social problems, not offering a
solution, but pointing out obstacles in the way of the creation of a more perfect
society. 
A Clockwork Orange is written in the first person by the main character, Alex. This makes
the story more personable by allowing the reader to see into the mind of Alex as he goes
through the many changes that he does. Three of his friends or droogs that help him in
his crimes are Dim, Pete, and Georgie. Throughout the story the author creates his own
language called nadsat, which is used by the youth of the futuristic world and is at the
height of fashion. Nadsat is a mix of Russian, English, and the slang words of both. It
is meant to set the violence apart from reality, making it almost cartoon like. 
The story begins at the start of a wild and violent night with Alex and his friends
sitting in a diner. To start off a typical night they encounter an old man walking the
streets, so they harass and hit him. But this is not just any ordinary harassing episode
but more of a complete and utter pounding. They beat the defenseless man until he is all
bloody and disoriented. They then send him on his way, half naked and crawling home,
later that night they saw an old drunken man sitting on the ground and they decided to
beat him until he was delirious. This is a very typical action of Alex and his friends on
any given night. The next night Alex and his friends stole a car and took it for a
joyride when they decided to break into a cabin on desolate road. When they got in they
started roughing up the owners and trashing the place. When one of the droogs noticed a
typewriter with a story lying next to it called "A Clockwork Orange". The boys thought it
was an odd title and Alex started to really beat the man, he beat him until he was bloody
and lifeless. This time his friends thought that he had gone too far and betrays him by
telling the police. Alex is convicted of murder and sentenced to fourteen years in prison
at the age of only fifteen years old. He goes to jail and still goes about his violent
ways, and eventually kills another prisoner. After this he is chosen as a subject for a
new experimental treatment called, Ludvico's Technique, it is supposed to cure him of his
ultra-violent ways. He is transferred to a new building specifically made for this new
treatment. Here he is basically conditioned through many injections and he is made to
watch films of rape and violence. The mixture of these images and the drug cause him to
associate feelings of panic and nausea with violence. Alex is released after two weeks in
this new program, he is deemed cured and released back into the general public after only
2 years of incarceration. After a few encounters with past victims of his he finds
himself at the home of a writer; who had also been a victim of Alex's, but does not
recognize him, who is strongly opposed to the new treatment the government has subjected
him to. This writer believes that this method robs the recipient of freedom of choice and
moral decision - therefore depriving him of being human at all. After Alex is in public
for a while he is beaten and taken advantage of by many people. He eventually goes back
to his violent ways, and joins another gang. Alex eventually attempts suicide and the
state is forced to admit that the therapy was a mistake and 'cures' him again. Alex
realized that his ultra-violent ways were wrong so he wanted to start a family now that
he saw his old "droog" Pete was married and had a family. 
This book is one that seems perplexing on the outside because it is riddled with such
slang that no one is used to but once you get through one chapter you can get the gist of
what the characters are saying. If the reader looks down into the deeper meaning of the
text there is a lot to be said about it. How should people be reformed to fit into
society? To what length should the government or anybody go to mold and form people to a
particular norm or desired shape? From a review one would think this book to be
simplistic but it is quite complex and very entertaining with the violence it seems to be
a good thriller. All of these questions are raised in A Clockwork Orange. This makes it
not only a thrilling page-turner but a thought-provoking novel also.
Many of us like to think that humanity as a whole is progressing to a better future where
we will live united and in peace with one another, a time of a more enlightened society.
But there are those among us that do not share these beliefs. In A Clockwork Orange, by
Anthony Burgess, the futuristic world is displayed as a world turned upside down and in
shambles. This 1962 classic is a frightful depiction of what our society could become and
possibly what it already is. Drugs almost seem to be legal and unregulated and
subsequently are widely used. The prison system is overcrowded with young punk criminals
who are inherently evil with no regard for humanity, or any part of society for that
matter. The youth takes over the streets at night and beat anyone they encounter. The
elderly sit around in bars and drink the remainder of their lives away. The people have
become desensitized to violence, because it is so prevalent in their lives. A Clockwork
Orange is a very intriguing story that deals with many social problems, not offering a
solution, but pointing out obstacles in the way of the creation of a more perfect
society. 
A Clockwork Orange is written in the first person by the main character, Alex. This makes
the story more personable by allowing the reader to see into the mind of Alex as he goes
through the many changes that he does. Three of his friends or droogs that help him in
his crimes are Dim, Pete, and Georgie. Throughout the story the author creates his own
language called nadsat, which is used by the youth of the futuristic world and is at the
height of fashion. Nadsat is a mix of Russian, English, and the slang words of both. It
is meant to set the violence apart from reality, making it almost cartoon like. 
The story begins at the start of a wild and violent night with Alex and his friends
sitting in a diner. To start off a typical night they encounter an old man walking the
streets, so they harass and hit him. But this is not just any ordinary harassing episode
but more of a complete and utter pounding. They beat the defenseless man until he is all
bloody and disoriented. They then send him on his way, half naked and crawling home,
later that night they saw an old drunken man sitting on the ground and they decided to
beat him until he was delirious. This is a very typical action of Alex and his friends on
any given night. The next night Alex and his friends stole a car and took it for a
joyride when they decided to break into a cabin on desolate road. When they got in they
started roughing up the owners and trashing the place. When one of the droogs noticed a
typewriter with a story lying next to it called "A Clockwork Orange". The boys thought it
was an odd title and Alex started to really beat the man, he beat him until he was bloody
and lifeless. This time his friends thought that he had gone too far and betrays him by
telling the police. Alex is convicted of murder and sentenced to fourteen years in prison
at the age of only fifteen years old. He goes to jail and still goes about his violent
ways, and eventually kills another prisoner. After this he is chosen as a subject for a
new experimental treatment called, Ludvico's Technique, it is supposed to cure him of his
ultra-violent ways. He is transferred to a new building specifically made for this new
treatment. Here he is basically conditioned through many injections and he is made to
watch films of rape and violence. The mixture of these images and the drug cause him to
associate feelings of panic and nausea with violence. Alex is released after two weeks in
this new program, he is deemed cured and released back into the general public after only
2 years of incarceration. After a few encounters with past victims of his he finds
himself at the home of a writer; who had also been a victim of Alex's, but does not
recognize him, who is strongly opposed to the new treatment the government has subjected
him to. This writer believes that this method robs the recipient of freedom of choice and
moral decision - therefore depriving him of being human at all. After Alex is in public
for a while he is beaten and taken advantage of by many people. He eventually goes back
to his violent ways, and joins another gang. Alex eventually attempts suicide and the
state is forced to admit that the therapy was a mistake and 'cures' him again. Alex
realized that his ultra-violent ways were wrong so he wanted to start a family now that
he saw his old "droog" Pete was married and had a family. 
This book is one that seems perplexing on the outside because it is riddled with such
slang that no one is used to but once you get through one chapter you can get the gist of
what the characters are saying. If the reader looks down into the deeper meaning of the
text there is a lot to be said about it. How should people be reformed to fit into
society? To what length should the government or anybody go to mold and form people to a
particular norm or desired shape? From a review one would think this book to be
simplistic but it is quite complex and very entertaining with the violence it seems to be
a good thriller. All of these questions are raised in A Clockwork Orange. This makes it
not only a thrilling page-turner but a thought-provoking novel also.
Bibliography
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
ANTONY BURGESS- A LIFE OF...