Q1. What do we learn about the character of Alex in “A clockwork orange” form the first four chapters?
In “A clockwork orange” Alex is the main character, there are also 3 other important characters too they are Dim, Pete and Georgie, they are all in the same gang. Alex is the leader of this gang we know this because he calls Dim, Pete and Georgie “his droogs”. Alex is fifteen years old and he is a teenager who enjoys drinking and taking drugs, like all teenagers he is rebellious. He has a lot of power over people and can be quite manipulating at times as in chapter one he buys some drinks for some ‘old baboochkas’ so he has an alibi. We find out that Alex is fascinated and enjoys violence and sex. He chooses to do the bad things he does because he likes to do them ‘But what I do I do because I like to do’. We learn that Alex is well educated and can speak politely to people who are able to find out what he does and make him stop doing what he does, like P.R. Deltoid, his post-corrective adviser; he talks to him very politely however he does go over the top on the politeness and sounds patronising for example ‘to what do I owe the extreme pleasure? Is anything wrong, sir?’ we learn that he doesn’t care for anyone than himself, otherwise I don’t think he would of caused pain to innocent people. He doesn’t like to be dirty, and when Dim was all dirty and looked a mess Alex and the other two characters tidied him up. I don’t think he feels guilty after all the crimes that he commits however I do feel that he sometimes holds back and he only does the bad things he does when he has taken drugs. As well as enjoying violence and sex he enjoys classical music especially Beethoven’s ninth symphony, as when he rapes a woman in her home he puts classical music on and the way he describes the music ‘slooshying the sluice of lovely sounds’. In chapter three he associates violence with the music and climax’s with the music whilst thinking about violence. Alex is very much of an individual.
