Clockwork Orange

¶ … Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. The author of this paper takes the reader on an exploratory journey though the story and examines several facets of its foundation. There were five sources used to complete this paper. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE Throughout history, authors have used their works to explore various aspects of society. One of the most controversial yet analyzed works of literature in history is, A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess.

The work has inspired and provoked many literary conversations around the world, and treated its readers to a uniquely brutal look at the dark side of human nature. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess portrays how man deals with conflict, which leads to the understanding and acceptance of differences through the use of conflict, theme, and philosophy. The story allows an intense study of human nature, by using brutal tactics of shock value to draw the reader in and make him stay.

The story of a man who learns through his own existence, how to accept differences in life has been used world wide as a backdrop for discussions in literature, theater and philosophy classes. A Clockwork Orange tells the story of a protagonist, who by anyone's standards is lacking moral depth or character (Burgess, 1986). Yet, in the same book we are brought to sympathy of this same man by the way the government has treated his problems.

During this story, Burgess has Alex, the protagonist, address the need to resolve conflict on several levels and that lesson comes with a very high price. Critics, because of the violent and brutal nature of A Clockwork Orange, often attacked Burgess. As years pass and the world seems to become more violent the story gains merit as a valuable leaning tool. Burgess shows Alex learning how to resolve conflict over several years and using several methods.

Initially, his resolving tools consisted of bullying the droogs into submission, but as time went on he realized that he would lose them so he began to compromise. This compromise unfortunately led to his demise as the group leader when he agreed to a job he didn't believe in, and when it went south they abandoned him (A Clockwork Orange analysis (Accessed 02-25-2002). http://www.beaconlc.org/ctech/stuwork/SUMMARY.HTM).

Through the changes, however, he did in fact learn to accept that there are differences in people that are neither right or wrong, they just are. While in prison, he is offered an experimental treatment and it changes his personality when it comes to violence. The researchers failed to provide him with the tools to deal with his old persona, which consequently causes him pain, and suffering as the world refuses to accept the new him.

He is transformed from a man into a machine and this is supposed to better his life as well as the lives he affects. It was not initially easy to convince Alex but the minister pulls out all the stops." As I was saying, Alex, you can be instrumental in changing the public verdict. Do you understand, Alex? Have I made myself clear (Burgess, 1986)?" This quote is a bit of an irony because until now we have seen Alex portrayed as the villain and the manipulator.

However, in this scene as well as others we see the minister manipulating Alex to agree to become a machine and leave behind is natural human traits that he has grown up depending on (Burgess, 1986). An interesting similarity between the old and new Alex, is the fact that they are a bit sociopath in nature. The old Alex rationalized things that he did, including the beating of an old man.

"There was nothing I hated more than to see a filthy old drunkie, a-howling away at the filthy songs of his fathers and going blurp in between as if it were a filthy old orchestra in his stinking rotten guts. I could never stand to see anyone like that, especially when they were old like this one was (Burgess, 1986). " And the Alex who was altered in prison and then released also believed that emotion and reason were not needed for daily life.

Though he was programmed to react to certain stimuli Alex was still one who believed that the means to the end had to be obtained at any cost. In the former case it might have meant robbery, in the latter it meant the escape of the music he had been programmed to react to (Anthony Burgess. (Accessed 2-25-2002) http://www.levity.com/corduroy/burgess.htm). Alex was cold and calculating before his transformation and afterwards he was as well.

The differences being that he understood the societal norms, which he ignored before the experiment. This is illustrated many times in his descriptions of how they spent their evenings.

And there we found what we were pretty well looking for, a malensky jest to start off the evening with (Burgess, 1986)." The story illustrates a man who learns to deal with conflict and accept differences in others (A Clockwork Orange (Accessed 2-25-2002) http://www.altavista.com/r-ck_sm=abee78a3&ref=20080&uid=3a9510f8c4e11c4b&r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.filmsite.org%2Fcloc.html).

The very differences that he used to use for excuses to become violent are things he understands when he is reprogrammed in prison. When he tries to kill himself to escape the music the public becomes outraged and the officials reverse his transformation.