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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Part 1, Chapter 4 of Anthony Burgess's novella A Clockwork Orange.
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Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange paints a bleak picture of violence on both sides of the law.
Teenaged Alex, along with his crew of miscreants, wreak havoc on a dystopian version of modern Britain. Raping, robbing, and killing with impunity, their nihilistic lifestyle culminates in Alex's arrest and incarceration.
In prison, he enters a program that aims to retrain his sick mind using cruel and inhumane techniques-drugging him and forcing him to watch violent films in order to create a negative association with that type of behavior.
In the process, he loses his ability to choose evil or enjoy good-in other words, his humanity.
Both a howling indictment of the penal system and a bleak parable of disenfranchised youth culture, the narrative trajectory shows in stark detail the duality of societal violence and the violence committed in order to correct it.
English novelist Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange was first published in 1962. Misdiagnosed with a brain tumor, Burgess experienced a writing spurt, producing A Clockwork Orange in three weeks. An exploration in morality and free will, A Clockwork Orange retains its double-edged character decades after its publication.
The novella A Clockwork Orange contains many enduring themes, including free will, as Alex believes that the freedom to choose is the core tenet of morality; conformity, as falling in line with the masses means relinquishing the freedom to choose; and humanity versus the "goodness" the State imposes on Alex that deprives him of essential elements of his humanity. Important symbols include music, darkness, Nadsat, and milk.
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