I'm Finished

In the last few pages of this novel, Alex stumbles upon the home of the writer he beat up 3 years ago. Severely injured, Alex asks for the writer to let him into the house to recover (the writer didn't know Alex beat up him up 3 years ago because Alex was wearing a mask in past). The writer, recognizing Alex from the newspapers uses him to be a spokesperson for an anti-government movement he writes for. Eventually, the writer (named F. Alexander) gives Alex an apartment flat to live in. Sounds really generous, right? Unfortunately, things aren't as nice as they seem- knowing the effects of the Ludovico technique, F. Alexander and his colleagues blast classical music in the room next to Alex's. Knowing that this will drive Alex mad with sickness - leading to Alex eventually wanting to kill himself, they keep on blasting the music. Alex jumps out the window in an ill-fated suicide attempt. F. Alexander and his associates wanted to make Alex commit suicide so that they could use him as an example of how the government ruins lives. The government, wanting to fight the bad publicity, somehow reverses the Ludovico technique leaving Alex cured. During his stay at the hospital, his parents also come to visit and offer him his room back. Leaving the hospital with quite a reversal of luck, Alex goes back to his life of crime with new droogs - but somehow he isn't enjoying it. He ditches his new droogs and goes into a cafe reminiscing about how he's leaving youth behind and also even thinkinga bout gettinga wife and starting a family. Ironically, he meets his old droog Pete and Pete's wife Georgina. Seeing how Pete's grown up makes Alex want to grow up even more. The novel ends with Alex going off into the street wondering how he's going to start his new life.

Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Entry 5

Alex is set to be stuck in that "vonny mesto" (stinky place in Nadsat) for about a fortnight. Every day he is subjected to the Ludovico technique (being drugged and then forced to watch violent movies), after a while his body becomes physically sick at even the slightest thought of violence. This is demonstrated several times as Alex tries to fight his authorities but ends up getting severely nauseous. Finally, after the fortnight's passed, Alex is set to get out and back to life - except for one last thing. He goes back into the screening room, not to watch a movie but to be watched himself. An auditorium full of other scientists is seated to watch Alex, Dr. Brodsky's latest experiment. A big bolsterous fellow is sent out on to the stage to fight Alex. While Alex does want to fight back, he can't as he gets too nauseous. The only way to surpress this nausea is to do the opposite of violence - kindness. He starts offering things desperately, starting out with offering presents and then offering to clean the bolsterous fellow's boots with his tongue. Then, the bolsterous fellow is told to leave and a substitute in the form of a curvacious female is placed on the stage. Alex wants to do inappropriate things with her, but when the feelings of nausea come back he instead talks to her like a real gentlemen. The reaction to these demonstrations from the audience is loud. Some are agreeing that this new method of reform works, but other more ethical people are raising that question once again: is it really okay to force someone to be good? Shouldn't it be the person's choice, and that is truly what makes it good?
After the demonstrations, Alex is sent out into the world again with some pocket money. He comes to his pee and em's (papa and mum) apartment only to find that they've rented out the room to a lodger.(his stuff was sold as compensation for his crimes) Upset at this, we see Alex cry for the first time as he leaves the apartment. He then goes to the record store, MELODIA, which he went to in part 1 of the book. He finds that also completely changed, disappointed in everything thus far, Alex goes to another old haunt - only to find it a bit changed too. The old barman isn't there, instead there's some new guy; the building itself has also been repainted and refurnished. Alex takes comfort in finding that ordering a "milk plus, large" is still the same - drugged drinks. A few hours of being high later, Alex decides he wants to kill himself. Not knowing how to do this, he stumbles into the local library to find a book on suicide. As fate would have it, he meets the old man whom he beat up 2 years ago. The old man gets all the other old men in the library to gang up on Alex and beat him down. Funnily, Alex isn't really fazed by this as much as he's annoyed. The faculty at the library calls the police to stop the the ruckus and Alex is arrested. In another twist, Dim (Alex's former droog) and Billyboy (Alex's former enemy) are part of the police force now.
These new happenings really leave me wondering what's going to happen. Is Alex going back to jail? Is he going to kill himself?
I'll just have to read on to find out what happens.

Page I left off on:168
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Entry 4

I last left Alex in an overcrowded jail cell in Staja, or state prison. The jal cell, already being crowded with six people now has seven. This new inmate, I discovered as I read on, is very rude. Alex recalls that this new prestoopnick (Nadsat for prisoner) is a very boastful fellow: "...going on that he'd done this and done the other and killed ten rozzes with one crack of his rooker and all that cal." (96).This doesn't go over well the rest of his roommates, everyone in the cell takes turns teaching the newcomer a lesson...(I can't blame them, I get urges to hit distasteful people every once in a while too)The next morning it turns out that Alex, who had the last go at the rude guy, had hit him too hard once or twice. The new inmate is pronounced dead, and the other five inmates all blame it on Alex. This makes things take a big turn for Alex, he is taken out of jail - but obviously not for release.He is made to sign a contract and is then taken to a building just a walk away from the prison.He meets Professor Branom, who seems nice enough at first. He then gets his own private room and a nice meal. These kinds of things would put anyone at ease, but as I soon find out, his stay will be anything but pleasant.Alex gets a shot injection after every meal, and then has to go to the cinema and watch some films. Too bad he's not watching an Audrey Hepburn films in there; the doctors seat him in this contraptionthat keeps his eyes open no matter what - he cannot blink. (Which leaves me to wonder how his eyes didn't dry out, but I will overlook that minor detail)Alex then is forced to watch footage of people doing all the bad things he's done - ultraviolence, robbery, gang fights, and beating up people.At first he's fine, then Alex and I both find out what the injection is for...The injection makes him really sick and queasy, thus teaching his body to be revolted by violence.The doctors are testing out this new method of reform on him - something I think is highly unethical but somewhat intriguing.It bugs me that the doctors are laughing throughout this whole thing, this whole science experiment seen throughthe eyes of the one being experimented on puts it on a whole nother level of disgusting. It's disgusting to watch torture and just laugh at it.

There was a short dialogue between Alex and the charles (or Prison Chaplain) shortly before Alex left to be a living science experiment.Although at this point Alex didn't really get anything from the conversation, it leaves me (as it probably does most readers) thinking.The thing that really got me was when the charles said, "What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness?" (106).This line is very important even if the reader isn't religious. This issue was addressed earlier in the book when Alex and his droogs raided the writer's home:"...and there was the name - A CLOCKWORK ORANGE - and i said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky bit out loud in a sort of very high type preaching goloss: ' -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, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this raise my swordpen-'"Anthony Burgess leaves us wondering what it is we should do.What's ethical and what's not?
I feel like this question has been raised in Anna Karenina too.Hm...

Page I left off on:111
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Entry 3

"I take it up now, and this is the real weepy and like tragic part of the story beginning, my brothers and old friends, in Staja (State Jail, that is) Number 84F." (85).

In my last entry I was left wondering what trouble Alex and his droogs would get into. The quote above pretty much answers that. I suppose he wouldn't have been punished so harshly (14 years in state prison) if he hadn't killed the old lady. I also find out that two years have passed since his little "mistake" and that Georgie has been killed in a robbery accident. Alex then starts talking about his life as a prison inmate and goes into details about how he rats out prisoners and their plots to escape to get a little favouritism from the administration there. I think this shows alot about Alex's character; no matter how rotten the criminal is, one should still be able to keep an honor code in my opinion.
Alex then goes on to explain the state of his crammed jailcell. Although there's supposed to be three to a cell, the state prison keeps six people in one tiny cell. It gets worse; Alex's cell gets a new prisoner making the final count seven. It seems like they're crammed in there like sardines or luggage rather than people. I think this shows a lot about the way the government is, and how harsh and uncaring it is in the book. Basically, i feel like the government is just saying "You've done wrong, you don't deserve to be treated like a human."

Page I left off on: 96
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Entry 2

"And so I led my three droogs out to my doom." (61).

Lots of things have happened from where i last left off; in chapter four I got to find out more about Alex's world. I was surprised to find out that it parallels our world very much - skipping school, it not being safe to go out at night, tired parents, and record stores. At the record store, Alex finds to younger girls to commit ultraviolence on, but I've long since come to terms with what kind of person Alex is, so i find it "normal" (in the book's context, anyway). The thing that i found most interesting is the quote above, spoken just before Alex and his droogs are off to rob a rich old lady's house. Although I'm in the middle of reading about how this burglary went about, it's clear that this is a strong dose of foreshadowing. This foreshadowing evokes two feelings within me: an eagerness to find out what happens, but at the same time the feeling of wanting to stop reading - for I know Alex is going to get into deep trouble now.

Page I left off on: 67
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Entry 1

Alex and his droogs (Nadsat - teen slang - for "friends") prowl the streets at night and prey on the elderly, weak, and naive. I was intrigued by how little he thought of all the heinous acts he'd done. He starts off the night at the Korova Milk Bar drinking alcoholic drinks (at the age of 15) and then decides that he and his friends should go out and look for someone to mess with. They end up finding a starry (Nadsat for "old") prof with some library books. I was very mad at Alex and his droogs at this point, for they beat the poor old man and ripped up all his books. I think this was a very nasty thing to do, since the man was so old. The night carries on with more brutal acts of violence - robbing a store, trashing a writer's house and harming his wife, all topped off with getting into a knife fight with another group of thugs. So far I'm intrigued and shocked at Alex's casual stance on violence, and impressed by Burgess's linguistic abilities; the use of Nadsat in this book really sets the tone of a disconnect from the youth and old.





Page I left off on: 49
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962

Uh Yeah.

I started this blog as a reading log for the book A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
I'll update this blog frequently with my thoughts on the book.

Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962