A Clockwork Orange
(Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange offers a haunting portrait of a dystopic society that is beginning to resemble our own world. It is set in a future where the streets are filled with violence and gang-related activities. The streets are run by youth gangs who have such a bleak existence that they violent and brutal acts for fun. The main character is Alex who is in a gang with Pete, Georgie, and Dim. They go around the street assaulting people and raping girls. Eventually, they rob an old women and Alex is left behind and caught by the police. He also murdered the women. Rather than facing a life sentence, Alex becomes part of the governments program to stop criminal activity. He is shown images of violent and brutal acts and brainwashed so that when he sees these images he will feel sick. He is not taught the difference between right or wrong, but it turned into a robot or rather than a clockwork. After being released, Alex becomes a model citizen, but it is because he has no free will. He does not assault anybody because he feels pain when the thought arises, not because he feels that it is the wrong thing to do. The novel ultimately asks whether it is worse to be evil and have free will or be good and not have free will. Humans are capable of both good and evil and the ability to make choices makes one human. Alex may have committed brutal acts, but he was more of a person than after being brainwashed. Burgess does not condone Alex?s behavior, but he also questions the methods society uses to stop it. As a result, the novel makes a large moral statement. One of the main defining characteristics of the novel is the language, which is very unique. Alex and his friends speak in a language that is a mix between English and Russian. There is also some slang added. This is done to make the novel more interesting. It is a linguistic journey. The reader has a fun time reading the unique language and deciphering what the words mean. This also takes the reader?s mind off the brutality of the novel. There are instances are graphic violence in the novel and scenes of rape. Since the novel is written in this mixture of English and Russian the author will be more focused on the language, which will make the graphic scenes not as extreme. The language makes the scenes not seem as vicious as they really are. I will always remember the images of the haunting world created in the novel. It depicts the problems of a crime-infested society, but makes the statement that the government shall not remove the individuality of a person for the benefit of society.
Resumos Relacionados
- A Clockwork Orange
- The City Of The Wild God
- Skeleton Key
- Chaotic Language Entire Book
- Themurder Book
|
|