Essay on the Language of A Clockwork Orange

Character in both novels use unsuccessful escape methods to cope with their loss of identity. Alex, the protagonist in A Clockwork Orange, turns to classical music such as Beethoven when his gang members question his hierarchy within the group. Alex describes his bedroom where he goes after an argument with his gang members : "the little speakers of my stereo were all arranged round the room, on ceiling, walls, floor, so, lying on my bed slooshying the music, I was like netted and meshed in the orchestra." (Burgess. 37). We see Alex return to his bedroom many times after confrontations where his identity is disputed. Eventually, Alex is conditioned to feel sick whenever he hears classical music so Alex loses this escape method as he can no longer listen to classical music. Also, Alex relies heavily on the use of drugs when he is unable to deal with his loss of identity, " officially sanctioned "milk bars" that serve a variety of drug tonics to send one off on incoherent fantasies" (Gottlieb). These "milk bars" are locations where young

The created patch-work language of Nadsat in the novel, A Clockwork Orange, satirizes the social classes and gang life of Anthony Burgess's futuristic society. The most prominent of these tools being his use of a completely new language and the depiction of family life from the eyes of a fifteen year old English hoodlum. Burgess effectively broke arcane traditions when he wrote A Clockwork Orange by blending two forms of effective speech into the vocabulary of the narrator and protagonist, Alex. Burgess, through his character Alex, uses the common or "proper" method of vernacular in certain situations, while uses his own inventive slang-language called "Nadsat" for others. Many

The use of the phrase “viddy him swim in his own blood while we counted the takings”, shows how criminals such as Alex and his “droogs”, can get away with such vicious acts of crime so often that it has become a hobby for them as they take so much enjoyment from the acts. Also the casual tone depicted from the text suggests the careless nature that Alex has towards the vulgar acts. These combined together add to the theme of corruption in society in ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

Vile. Traumatizing. Deranged. These are words to describe the original behavior of Alex, the unusual protagonist of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. By day, Alex appeared to be a polite and well-educated young member of English society.

Anthony Burgess's writing style in his most famous novel, A Clockwork Orange, is different to say the least. This novel is praised for its ingenuity, although many are disturbed by Burgess's predictions for the future. However, for many, it is close to impossible to comprehend without outside help. This is because Burgess created a language specifically for this novel, called Nadsat. This Russian-based language forms conversations between the narrator, Alex, and his teenage, delinquent friends. There are many assumptions as to why Burgess chose to complicate A Clockwork Orange by filling it with the confusing Nadsat language. Some opinions are that the language shows A Clockwork Orange readers

The use of music as a motif in (Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange 1962)] creates a lens so that the viewer is able to recognize the trend that violence has to destroy an individual’s identity. Although Alex (Malcolm McDowell) clearly associates violence with his own individual identity and sense of self, he consistently reveals the impossibility of remaining an individual in the face of group-oriented violence. The images that music create coincide the destruction of Alex’s identity, either through compliance to a group’s style of violence or through failure to embrace the similarity of group actions associated with violence. As the movie progresses, musical imagery follows the exit and return of his personal identity as a role of his

Similarly, the character of Alex McDowell and his actions are presented with methods comparable to that of Bonnie and Clyde. Stanley Kubrick stresses the violence in A Clockwork Orange as a way to show the full extent of his harmful maniacal ways. Narration alone can only tell us so much about his personality and isn't able to comprehensively encompass the significance of the violence attributed to Alex. It isn't until we see the crimes being committed in vivid detail that we are able to recognize the true nature of Alex’s moral extent. This illustrates him as the character he is meant to be as per the novella written by Anthony Burgess. We learn through wide angle shots of the moments leading up to the raping of a helpless woman, that Alex is entirely comfortable with the sadistic action and even finds it amusing. Upward facing camera angles that specifically place his face as the focal point are used during this scene and many others like it to enunciate his sinister appearance. They are used to show that as a person, Alex enjoys these all to pernicious behaviors. The excessive realness of the scenes only supports our understanding of his lack of humanity. Alex’s aggressiveness is magnified by the way he senselessly beats the old man under the bridge and the husband of the raped woman. Incorporating an undisturbed shot of him doing so allows it make a greater impact on the audience's perception of the character. Just as in Bonnie and Clyde, violence is shown with no

The theme, “fate versus free will”, originates when Alex volunteers for an experimental program, the “Ludovico Treatment” (the combination of an illness-inducing resolution and films of violence, rape, murder and war), that will allow him to depart his imprisonment within two weeks (Newman, 1991). During the “Ludovico Treatment”, Alex is classically conditioned to befall violently ill when observing, or even thinking about, violence and sex. The “Ludovico Treatment” is triumphant and Alex is “free to leave” (Newman, 1991). However, Alex is virtually helpless outside the prison because of his classical conditioning, and the government, realising the danger Alex can pose for political revolutionaries, deconditions him and assures him that he will receive a good job in exchange for his support. Alex, on the other hand, realises "I was cured all right" (Burgess, 2011:132), and plans to recommence his life of “ultraviolence” (Newman, 1991). The title, “A Clockwork Orange”, refers to "the attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation" (Burgess, 2011:18), thus claiming that “humans” have free will. As soon as this free will is, one way or

“A Clockwork Orange” starts with Alex posing the question: “what’s it going to be then, eh?”. Burgess begins the story by demonstrating that Alex

In the novel A Clockwork Orange, the author Anthony Burgess tells a story about a young man name Alex and his friends, every night they go around and start committing violent acts. In the novel Alex expresses his freedom of choice between good and evil. The freedom of choice is a decision that every person must make throughout his life in order to guide his actions and to take control of his own future. This Freedom of Choice, no matter what the outcome is, displays person power as an individual, and any efforts to control or influence this choice between good and evil will take way the person free will and enslave him. In this novel the author uses this symbolism through imagery. He shows that through the character of

A Clockwork Orange is a novel by Anthony Burgess that was published in 1962. This piece of literature brings the reader into the mind if a borderline psychotic teenager, Alex, alongside with him is his three other friends: Dim, Georgie, and Billy. Being teenagers and causing trouble in not surprising but when looking at some events from Alex’s view the reader can see how disturbing his thoughts can be. Alex being the leader of his gang leads them to break-in to elderly people houses and rob them of some of their valuables. Alex, in one if his break-in kills an elderly women leading him to jail which he pretends to be meek.

A Clockwork Orange, a novel written by Anthony Burgess in the 1960’s takes place in dystopian future in London, England. The novel is about a fifteen year old nadsat (teenager) named Alex who along with his droogs (friends) commit violent acts of crime and opts to be bad over good. In time, Alex finds himself to be in an experiment by the government, making him unable to choose between good and evil, thus losing his ability of free will, and being a mere clockwork orange. A “clockwork orange” is a metaphor for Alex being controlled by the government, which makes him artificial because he is unable to make the decision of good verses evil for himself and is a subject to what others believe is right. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

There are many themes in A Clockwork Orange such as the theme of manipulation, of the necessity of evil in human nature, of the immaturity of the young generation, of good versus evil, of morality, of free will and so on but the most important themes remains the philosophical question “is forced goodness better than chosen evil?”. The answer to this question will be offered by Alex whose life will become like an experiment whose meaning and purpose is to offer an answer to this dilemma. In the end of the story the society will come to the conclusion that enforced bad is as bad if even not worse than chosen evil because by not allowing people to make their own choices they lose the quality that defines them as human beings, the quality

     A Clockwork Orange had a loose theme of the necessity of not only good, but also evil in human nature. Alex may have been selfish and deviant but his character and the characters like him did seem to have a strong grasp on the concept that life was for living. Without the ability of choice to commit evil acts which was an impulse inside of him, his ability to act human was affected. The freedom of making these choices seems to be what makes us human. Hence without this freedom he is driven to attempt suicide.

     The created patch-work language of Nadsat in the novel, A Clockwork Orange, satirizes the social classes and gang life of Anthony Burgess’s futuristic society. The most prominent of these tools being his use of a completely new language and the depiction of family life from the eyes of a fifteen year old English hoodlum. Burgess effectively broke arcane traditions when he wrote A Clockwork Orange by blending two forms of effective speech into the vocabulary of the narrator and protagonist, Alex. Burgess, through his character Alex, uses the common or “proper” method of vernacular in certain situations, while uses his own inventive slang-language