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 ** A Clockwork Orange  **

**Anthony Burgess: ** -Born: Febuary 25th 1917 -Died: November 22nd 1993 -Born as John Burgess Wilson, later created the pen name Anthony Burgess for his first novel, //Time For a Tiger// -His mother and sister both died when he was very young, which caused him to live with his grandmother due to conflicts with his father, Joseph Wilson -Lived a lonely childhood, often isolated and bullied by his peers. He experienced street violence at a young age -Avid fan of the comb-over hairstyle -Studied at many prep schools and colleges, received a degree in Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University of Manchester in 1940 -After college, Burgess briefly served in the military and then pursued teaching jobs at Bamber Bridge Emergency Teacher Training College and the Banbury School -Wrote over 30 novels, his most famous being, //A Clockwork Orange//

**Literary Period: ** //A Clockwork Orange //was written in the 1960’s but takes place in a violent town sometime in the future. The exact time period is undetermined.

**Setting: ** **- ** <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">A Clockwork Orange takes place mainly in the suburbs of Manchester England. Here, Alex and his Droogs cause mayhem and use the city as their violent playground. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">- A majority of the story also takes place in a prison and an insane asylum, where Alex is sentenced because of raping and killing an elderly woman.

**<span style="color: #8064a2; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Main Characters: ** <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">Alex is the narrator and a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in the suburbs of Manchester. He is the leader of a vicious gang called the Droogs who are known for robbery, rape, brutality and pillage. He has a deep love for classical music and connects it to violence. He takes great pleasure in dressing to the “heighth of fashion” and is always at the popular hangouts with the Droogs. He also speaks the teenage slang called nadsat. Alex believes that the government doesn’t allow him to truly be himself (because of laws against cruelty) so he rebels against them at every opportunity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Alex- **

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">Alexander is the man who was brutally beaten by Alex and then forced to watch the rape and eventual death of his wife. Alexander’s project is to prove that the government is treating the youth wrong and when he see’s Alex he uses him to prove his theory. He believes that Alex’s problems are entirely caused by the Ludovico Technique. He eventually realizes it is Alex who raped his wife, and he forces Alex to listen to classical music. Alexander is a greatly intellectual man, and in many aspects the complete opposite of Alex. He is thoughtful, caring, intuitive and is greatly influenced by what happens around him.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">F. Alexander- **

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">The Minister of the Interior becomes an intricate character in //A Clockwork Orange// during the two years Alex is incarcerated. The Minister is the main force behind the Ludovico Technique. He believes in a repressed society and will use all of his power to achieve his idea of a perfect society. He does this by using the Ludovico Technique to brainwash those already incarcerated and he makes thugs into Policemen so they have the ability to create and maintain social order. He isn’t concerned with the effects his experiment has on the patients, but more so with proving others that his way is the “right” way.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Minister of the Interior- **

**<span style="color: #8064a2; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Plot: ** <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">-Essentially this story revolves around violence, revenge, and situational irony. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">Alex is the main leader of the gang, the Droogs. The Droogs roam Manchester seeking violence and sexual satisfaction and take immense pleasure in causing the most amount of harm possible. When the Droogs aren’t out beating men and raping women, they are at bars or the Korova Milkbar which serves milk laced with drugs. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">Eventually the Droogs stumble into a home where they intend to rob the home of an elderly woman. This robbery escalades into brutality and ends with Alex murdering the woman and being thrown into jail. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">At jail, Alex becomes “friends” with the prison chaplain, who mistakes Alex for being religious. Alex breaks this companionship by brutally killing his cellmate and being placed into an experimental treatment group called; The Ludovico Technique. This technique calls for Alex to consume a drug that makes him incredibly ill at the thought or sight of violence or shameful sex. This technique appears to work wonderfully and Alex is let free. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">When released back into his old neighborhood he is confronted by all those he harmed in his past. They all seek revenge, and brutally beat him up and leave him to die. Alex seeks help at a house, which we later learn is the same house he had robbed before and had beaten/raped the owners. Fortunately for Alex he wore a mask during the robbery. Eventually the owner realizes that Alex is the rapist and they torture him in order to make him commit suicide. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">Alex then ends up at a hospital and the state reverses the Ludovico Technique due to its harmful side-effects. Alex is sent to a mental hospital who releases him on the condition that he plays ball for them. After this he returns to his old ways and acquires a new set of gang members. Eventually he starts to tire of creating mayhem, and fantasizes about settling down and finding a wife.

**<span style="color: #5f497a; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Themes: **  <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">A major theme in //A Clockwork Orange// is that the government is preventing the freedom of people even if they say they aren’t. Alex believes that he is being denied freedom by not being able to act cruelly. He blames the government for this and refuses to listen to any moral reasoning.  <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Everything is corrupt, even the government. This novel struggles with the idea that even though the government is supposed to protect citizens and restore peace, it is corrupt at its core. This infuriates Alex and motivates him to continue his antics.

**<span style="color: #5f497a; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Literary Devices: ** <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Symbolism**: Throughout the story many common words are replaced with nasdat words which often represent a meaning of the original word. For example; the word cigarette is replaced with the nasdat word “cancers”. This new word correlates to the original word because cigarettes cause cancer <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Contrast**: The most obvious contrast in //A Clockwork Orange// is that between night and day. During the night Alex and his gang are free to roam around and cause mayhem. They feel free. During the day they are confined by society and the law and feel trapped. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Imagery**: While it may seem at first that Alex isn’t very descriptive or a clear picture can’t be determined by reading this novel, this is false. Once one understands the meaning behind nasdat, the imagery in the book is apparent. Especially when Alex describes his fashion style. **<span style="color: #5f497a; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Recommendation: ** <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">I would definitely recommend this book. At first it might seem like an intimidating read due to the made-up words and quick pace of the plot. But, after the first chapter or so you can easily understand the context of the words and you are familiar with the setting and characters. Once you reach this point, you won’t want to put the book down. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">Specifically, I would recommend this book to anyone who is intrigued by the mental state of psychopaths or sex-addicts. I personally found the lack of morals, and brutal activity both disturbing and extremely intriguing.