A Clockwork Orange: Futuristic Fantasy
A Clockwork Orange: Futuristic Fantasy? A Clockwork Orange is a book with a moral. More than that, it is a warning: a caution to the 1960s society of which Burgess was a part. His predictions of the world to come are bloody and his depictions of militant regimes and totalitarian states are fantastic and profound. But they are not so far from the truth as one would think... Burgess formed his picture of Alex's world in the world he saw around him in the 1960s. This is most notable in the language that is used. It is absolutely full of Russian words: "horrorshow", "krovvy", "ptitsa", and "tolchock". This is of course a reference to the Soviet regime, which ruled over the USSR with an iron fist. At the time the Cold War was in full force, animosity was high and Soviet communism posed a real threat to the western democracies. But it is possible that Burgess was depicting the future world as well as his own. He is suggesting that if his own society were to carry on the way it was in his time, then it could possibly end up being as strict and oppressive as the Soviet regime. It is even a possibility that Burgess believed that the western countries, including his own country, the UK, would fall under the rule of communism and become Soviet states themselves. If this is true, then it suggests to me an admiration for the Soviet regime, not a dislike: he considered that the Soviets
A Clockwork Orange - review
A Clockwork Orange ` Anthony Burgess has been heralded as one of the greatest literary geniuses of the twentieth century. Although Burgess has over thirty works of published literature, his most famous is A Clockwork Orange. Burgess's novel is a futuristic look at a Totalitarian government. The main character, Alex, is an "ultra-violent" thief who has no problem using force against innocent citizens to get what he wants. The beginning of the story takes us through a night in the life of Alex and his Droogs, and details their adventures that occupy their time throughout the night. At fifteen years old, Alex is set up by his Droogs-Pete, Dim, and Georgie-and is convicted of murder and sent to jail. At the Staja or state penitentiary, Alex becomes inmate number 6655321 and spends two years of a sentence of fourteen years there. Alex is then chosen by the government to undergo an experimental new "Ludovico's Technique." In exchange for his freedom, Alex would partake in this experiment that was to cure him of all the evil inside of him and all that was bad. Alex is given injections and made to watch films of rape, violence, and war and the mixture of these images and the drugs cause him to associate feelings of panic and nausea with violence. He is released after two weeks of the treatment and after a few encounters with past victims finds himself at the home of a radical writer
Comparison of the final chapters of “A clockwork orange”, and “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
Comparison of the final chapters of "A clockwork orange", and "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" A Clockwork orange and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have many similarities and differences. The structure of " A clockwork orange" is very organised and together. There are twenty-one chapters in all, three parts, with each part containing seven chapters. Anthony Burgess used the symbol of the twenty-one chapters to signify that Alex has by the end of the book grown into a mature man, because twenty-one years old is the age at which a boy becomes a man. The book therefore is a journey from youth to adulthood through the eyes of Alex, as in chapter twenty-one he finally leaves his life of crime behind as he says: "perhaps I was getting too old for the sort of jeezny I had been leading brothers" The use of seven chapters in each part, signifies the use of the "seven ages of man" from the play "as you like it", this idea was that mans life was divided up into seven different stages, from birth to death, this could signify, the growing up of Alex, and the dividing of the chapters by three parts could be the different parts of Alex's' life which all helped him become an established man, so the three parts could be the three different view points of Alex as three years passed in the novel. Alex from a small young criminal, in part one: " Dim yanked out his false zoobies, upper and lower. He threw these
How does Burgess portray power in scene 3
How does Burgess portray power in chapter 3, part 1 ? Burgess portrays power in the form of music, as in the Korova milk bar he is ecstatic about an opera to do with suicide, he says, "I felt all the little malenky hairs on my plott stand endwise," Alex is captivated by the music, this enjoyment of music rises and falls over the course of the novel, for in part two he is made sick by the ninth symphony, this effect is similar to music. Music has a massive hold over Alex, and when Dim guffaws over the women singing he strikes out in violence, it's not because of the music he does it, it is out of his own personal feelings, Alex knows Dim has disrespected the song and feels hitting Dim is justifiable. As well as hurting Dim, Alex has intimidated his brothers to make sure that they don't disturb him when he listens to his music late at night, it is probable that it became violent with them. Alex gives music Godlike reverence and will use violence to ensure his appreciation of it. Alex and his Drogues posses the power of destruction in is this chapter. They start off in a stolen car, then push it into the river. Afterwards they tear apart the upholstery in the train, they destroy these things without fear of retribution. Burgess shows how the gang have the power to do anything that they wish, this is reflective on the modern youth , they rove around in gangs committing acts of
Compare and contrast "Blue Remembered Hills" by Dennis Potter, "A clockwork orange" and "Warrior square."
In my essay I will write about "Blue Remembered Hills" by Dennis Potter. I will compare this to "A clockwork orange" and "Warrior square." I performed in Blue Remembered Hills as two characters; I played "Donald Duck." This character is a bit of a loner, he is beaten by his mum and he is teased by his peers because of this, this causes him to be isolated. I also played an extra character, the group I performed with created him and I made up the role and adapted the character. We performed "Blue Remembered Hills" in Rainford high school, on the 8th May 2003. This was our examination piece for our GCSE examination and we were marked on this. I feel that my group did well with our performance and on the whole it was a success, but I think we could improve some aspects of our piece. "Blue Remembered Hills" was written in the 1970's to be performed on television, but was later adapted to be a play. It was set in 1943, in the forest of Dean. It takes place on one day in the summer holidays for 7 school children. The play is a black comedy as whilst the children play there are aspects of tragedy, i.e. domestic violence, bullying, and death. In some ways it is linked to the other plays I have mentioned in theme. All three of the plays contain violence, and death, so there is an aspect of tragedy in the two comparative plays also. Some examples of violence are obvious in the plays,
'We are not encouraged to find much sympathy with the characters in A Clockwork Orange
'We are not encouraged to find much sympathy for any of the characters'. Explore the methods Burgess uses to develop sympathy in 'A Clockwork Orange'. Anthony Burgess uses a number of devices to evoke both sympathy and empathy from the reader, most notably in the direction of the novella's protagonist. Alex's first person narrative thrusts the reader into the dystopian world Burgess creates and the twisted actions he undertakes as a part of his drug-fuelled 'ultra-violence'. Despite this, the reader is also forced into grasping the understanding of the morally disturbed character and Burgess cleverly manipulates Alex as a representation of the young and troubled generation. The plot itself equally contributes to the readers feeling towards Alex as he additionally becomes a government subject; torturing his mind to remove any capacity of evil and the subsequent downward spiral his life takes. But Burgess continually begs the question: is it possible to feel sympathy for a character capable of the most disgraceful crimes? Structurally, Burgess uses the formation of the novella itself and the division of the parts as a method of finding empathy for Alex. Each part begins with the same question to the reader: "What's it going to be then, eh?" which at the start appears innocuous as they decide on their night's dwellings. But this is repeated in the beginning of the second part
What is your response to Alex as he appears in the first four chapters of the Novel?
What is your response to Alex as he appears in the first four chapters of the Novel? In the first four chapters we are given a shocking introduction into the life of Alex. In these first four chapters we see Alex beat up a teacher and a old drunk, rape a young woman and beat up her husband, rob a shop, steal a car and perhaps the most disturbing we see him commit child abuse. At this time I think it is very important for us to remember one thing: Alex is fifteen-years-old. Yet we do not find this out until the end of book one. By delaying this Burgess makes us think that Alex is much older than FIFTEEN and therefore when we our told we begin to realise how dreadful his crimes were. Yet despite these committing all these crime Alex has no fear of the "millicents" or any other figure of authoirty. In the first four chapters Burgess gives us a preview into the life of his anti-hero and shows him in his world of ultra-violence, rape and Beethoven. When Alex is committing these horrifying crimes, he does it very casually and doesn't seem to think about the consequences or about how the crime could make that person's LIFE a living hell. A prime example of how looks down on his crimes, is after he has beaten up the teacher and stripped him, he thinks "We hadn't done that much" and refuses to make any " appy polly loggies". This casual view on his crimes is witnessed again when he
Political Undertones of A Clockwork Orange
Political Undertones of A Clockwork Orange The topic of my essay is the undercurrent of politics that flow through the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. As some people would be supportive of political views rising throughout the novel, and some against, I feel that it is in the freedom of the artist to do whatever they wish with their art, whether it be written, visual, musical, or film. To say that art should or should not contain a certain element is rather fascist and I am, with examples from selected sources, going to argue the right of the author (Burgess) to include political perspectives and themes in his work. "the key issue here is freedom of choice" (Mathews p.37). I will first make a comparison of Burgess' book to Stanly Kubrick's adaptation of the novel regarding the presentation of the police. In the novel, the police are made out to be horrible, vicious people. Alex is said to be "tortured by the police" (Burgess p.121). The police who beat him and leave him in the "outskirts of this village" (Burgess p.121), are a former foe of Alex's named Pete, and a former ally named Dim. This shows that the police have had to get rougher to combat rough criminals. This is comparable to the real world as it is seen that police gradually need to get tougher on crime because crime gets tougher itself. An example of this is the fact that police in America have had
Questions on 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess.
Chapter 2 - Questions on 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess is about a 15-year-old boy Alex who alongside his friends enjoys ultraviolence, rape, drugs and music. They live in a dystopia where the State is corrupt and the people live in fear. The 1962 novel is controversial and much acclaimed, raising moral issues on good and evil. It examines the problems of juvenile delinquents and the possibility of aversion therapy. Chapter 2 (Part 1) of 'A Clockwork Orange' is an important part of the novel. In Chapter 2 the reader learns a lot about Alex and his friends, or as Alex refers to them, his 'droogs'. ('Droogs' comes from the language that Alex uses in the book; it is a kind of teenage colloquial language, called Nadsat, which is used throughout the book). We also learn about Burgess and some of his opinions and learn a lot through the language used to describe what happens in Chapter 2. At the start of Chapter 2 Alex has just left "the Duke of New York", after already that night taking a concoction of drugs, terrorising and humiliating an old man, robbing a local shop, attacking a drunken man and battling with another youth gang. Already the reader knows Alex and his droogs quite well and have already to some extent learnt that Alex lives in a dystopia where the world is a place of terror. It is not a shock to the reader when Alex
Film review - A Clockwork Orange
Film review - A Clockwork Orange John Witherspoon 13GP A Timeless and Important Masterpiece. I don't know about you, but I find there is something deliciously enticing about a banned film. Why, the word "banned" itself has the ability to turn heads and encourage enormous followings. Upon hearing it the perverse filmgoer in me immediately has a strong desire to see what he is made of, to test his nerves and stomach by seeing that which SHOULD NOT be seen... as soon as possible. It is for this reason that The Exorcist haunted my dreams long before I had watched it, and upon hearing of a gang of "ultra-violent" hoodlums, doing as they please in the dysfunctional society of London in - Oh God - the future, I knew I had to see A Clockwork Orange. The film was finally re-released to an eruption of controversy in 1999, having lurked in the shadows for 3 decades. Due to a series of "copycat" crimes throughout the country, allegedly inspired by the film, it was banned in 1972 by its American director Stanley Kubrick himself, whom until his dying day claimed that the film had been "totally misunderstood". So what was all the fuss about? Hungrily I procured a copy on video with some difficulty, being aged only 12. In the first of what was to become many, many viewings, I sat alone, fully prepared to