My bookletter/review of A Clockwork Orange. Go read it.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
I have read several books since the last book letter; however, I decided to write about A Clockwork Orange because it was my favorite. Anthony Burgess wrote this novel in first-person narrative as spoken by the main character, Alex. His unique use of language plays a very critical role in the progression of the story. Also, this language of bizarre British slang adds a touch of humor and provides valuable insight about Alex’s state of mind. I enjoyed this book and feel that the themes of the book deserve discussion and that Anthony Burgess does an excellent job of expressing his point of view.
The first excellent device I saw was how Anthony Burgess uses language to allow the reader to actually relate to a dreadful scumbag like Alex. Despite all of the beatings, raping, and murder that Alex does, it is nearly impossible to hate him and throughout the entire book I happened to be on Alex’s side. I attribute this to Alex’s sense of innocence in the fact that he does not understand the damage and evil he does. The casual and unusual manner in which Alex narrates also makes him seem rather humorous and human; despite the monstrous acts he commits.
The narration and language of the book additionally provide the reader with a vicarious experience of Alex’s life and state of being. Since the theme of the novel is centered among the events that happen to Alex, the ability to experience Alex’s life provides the reader with an experience in which to evaluate the implications of the themes of the novel. In A Clockwork Orange, the reader evaluates the question of what happens when choice is no longer directed by free will through Alex’s experiences.
The reader is at first faced with the question “has Alex changed for the better?”. The answer Anthony Burgess provides is no, because through first person narrative Alex still expresses the desire to commit acts of destruction and evil. This implies that the sick feeling that Alex experiences when faced with evil represents the suppression of his choice to perform evil rather than a voluntary choice to perform good.
I happen to find that free will is extremely significant in the choice between good and evil. The wonderful thing about good and evil is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on the subject, which may attribute to why some people commit acts that seem evil to others. However, I find that our individual method of differentiating between good and evil is universally directed by free will. The absence of free will would then indicate that there is only one version of good and evil, which does not support the claim that everyone has a different opinion about what is good and evil. With this logic, perhaps I liked Alex because I felt he was justified in committing acts of violence in the sense that he didn’t seem to find them evil. However, in its entirety, I love the novel A Clockwork Orange for so eloquently presenting the complex them of distinguishing if free will is necessary in the choice between good and evil. The movie is also wonderful as well because of Alex’s narration.
I have read several books since the last book letter; however, I decided to write about A Clockwork Orange because it was my favorite. Anthony Burgess wrote this novel in first-person narrative as spoken by the main character, Alex. His unique use of language plays a very critical role in the progression of the story. Also, this language of bizarre British slang adds a touch of humor and provides valuable insight about Alex’s state of mind. I enjoyed this book and feel that the themes of the book deserve discussion and that Anthony Burgess does an excellent job of expressing his point of view.
The first excellent device I saw was how Anthony Burgess uses language to allow the reader to actually relate to a dreadful scumbag like Alex. Despite all of the beatings, raping, and murder that Alex does, it is nearly impossible to hate him and throughout the entire book I happened to be on Alex’s side. I attribute this to Alex’s sense of innocence in the fact that he does not understand the damage and evil he does. The casual and unusual manner in which Alex narrates also makes him seem rather humorous and human; despite the monstrous acts he commits.
The narration and language of the book additionally provide the reader with a vicarious experience of Alex’s life and state of being. Since the theme of the novel is centered among the events that happen to Alex, the ability to experience Alex’s life provides the reader with an experience in which to evaluate the implications of the themes of the novel. In A Clockwork Orange, the reader evaluates the question of what happens when choice is no longer directed by free will through Alex’s experiences.
The reader is at first faced with the question “has Alex changed for the better?”. The answer Anthony Burgess provides is no, because through first person narrative Alex still expresses the desire to commit acts of destruction and evil. This implies that the sick feeling that Alex experiences when faced with evil represents the suppression of his choice to perform evil rather than a voluntary choice to perform good.
I happen to find that free will is extremely significant in the choice between good and evil. The wonderful thing about good and evil is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on the subject, which may attribute to why some people commit acts that seem evil to others. However, I find that our individual method of differentiating between good and evil is universally directed by free will. The absence of free will would then indicate that there is only one version of good and evil, which does not support the claim that everyone has a different opinion about what is good and evil. With this logic, perhaps I liked Alex because I felt he was justified in committing acts of violence in the sense that he didn’t seem to find them evil. However, in its entirety, I love the novel A Clockwork Orange for so eloquently presenting the complex them of distinguishing if free will is necessary in the choice between good and evil. The movie is also wonderful as well because of Alex’s narration.