A Clockwork Orange

Bibliographic Information: Burgess, A. (1962). A clockwork orange. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN: 9780393312836.

Plot Summary: Alex is fifteen-year-old “droog,” who is obsessed with Beethoven and lives in a future dystopian city that is overrun with violent adolescents at night. He leads a gang that speaks in their own made-up slang, “Nadsat,” and wears a costume of armor fit for beating people. The story starts in a milk bar, where the guys get pumped up on the latest drugs before beginning their evening of debauchery and mayhem. Their night goes a little something this: mugging, robbing, fighting with another gang, auto theft, breaking and entering, rape. On Alex’s second night of crime, a woman calls the cops, and due to tension with his “brothers” he is abandoned and arrested.

            In prison, Alex becomes obsessed with the Bible, experiences some of the crimes he dealt from a whole new perspective, and is selected to participate in an experiment to rid him of his violent tendencies. The treatment is so successful, that the doctors even make him associate his beloved Beethoven with nausea. When Alex is released, he is broken and defenseless against his old peers, who have now become cops. They drag him into the country, beat him to a pulp, and leave him to die in the rain. By sheer willpower, Alex drags himself to a nearby house. The man takes him in, feeds him, and lets him rest their, but neither Alex nor the owner of the house realize that this is the very house where the rape took place—resulting in the death of the man’s wife. After hearing Alex’s story, the man recognizes Alex’s slang and associates it with his traumatic experience. He locks Alex in the attic, blasting Beethoven until he jumps out of the window to die.

            But, he lives and is taken to a hospital where the treatment is reversed, and Alex is back to his normal self. After starting up a new gang, he realizes that he doesn’t care for violence anymore, and would rather have a family and live happily.

Critical Evaluation: One of the most prominent themes in this novel, is choice. Since the protagonist is a violent monster and unquestionably evil in the beginning of the book, readers will naturally hope for his redemption, because we can only see through his eyes. By choosing to be wicked, Alex is proving his free-will to the government that wishes to eradicate all evil (and in-turn, create a meaningless world). Burgess seems to be implying that good can’t exist without evil. But, when Alex undergoes treatment, his ability to choose is stripped away, and he becomes a helpless animal. By the end, Alex is given his free will back, and it doesn’t take long for him to choose to be good.

            At the same time, the author seems to be making a commentary on the power of government. How much of our freedom are we willing to forfeit for “the larger good?” This book still applies today, as we face moral decisions about gun laws.

Reader’s Annotation: In this story you can “viddy” some real horrowshow depictions of a dystopian world run by gangs and “droogs”, Oh my Brothers.

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Author’s Online states, “John Burgess Wilson, better known to the reading public as Anthony Burgess, was regularly lauded by critics and peers for his imagination, his humor, his varied knowledge, and his sheer productivity. He was described by Washington Post Book World reviewer Michael Dirda as "the most consummate professional writer now alive. His knowledge of literary, linguistic and musical arcana rivals that of any Oxford don; he writes with a lyrical verve; and he seems willing to turn his hand to anything whatever." Though he was most often known as the author of A Clockwork Orange (a work from whose shadow, he often lamented, he could not seem to escape), Burgess' output also included textbooks; essays; scripts for stage, screen and television; translations of dramatic and literary masterpieces; and numerous reviews of books, plays, and music. "Burgess, one would swear, has it all," proclaimed American Spectator's Reid Buckley. "He is fecund and prolific (dear God, is he!) and a master of language. There seems to be almost nothing that he cannot say, and so say it that it sticks to the tastebuds deliciously long after." Gore Vidal, writing in the New York Review of Books, concurred: "He is easily the most interesting English writer of the last half century."

While in college at the University of Manchester, Burgess had hoped to study his first love--music--but was discouraged by the copious math courses required for such a degree; he instead finished his degree in English literature and linguistics. After a stint with the British Army he worked at some odd jobs in and around London, including teaching grammar school. In 1954 he and his wife, Lynne, moved to Malaya, where Burgess had accepted a position as an instructor of English literature for the British Colonial Service. Though his experiences in Malaya served as the basis for a trio of novels-- Time for a Tiger, The Enemy in the Blanket, and Beds in the East--Burgess still considered writing to be little more than a "gentleman's hobby."

Genre: Science Fiction

Subjects: satire, violence, gangs, crime, British

Curriculum Ties: Science Experiments, Criminal Law

Booktalking Ideas: Does the author present good and evil as a human choice, or are humans born one way are the other?

What function does the language serve in this novel?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to depictions of violent and sexual crimes, this book may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     Book selection rationale.

6.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: This is one of the most frightening dystopias visions ever to enter the canon of Science Fiction, and it raises from very important moral questions. As a teen, I loved the language of this book, and the movie definitely turned it into a cult phenomenon. I feel like this book will always resonate with teens, as they can both identity with Alex’s frustrations about adults and government, and despise his evil nature.