Literary Speculation: A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is a very gross novel, well written but gross. I could never bring myself to feel fully for Alex, it truly was wrong when they “treated” him. But he is a protagonist you are never suppose to really like, even in the chapter when he become an adult and is looking for a lady to have kids with. He still jokingly lets you know he is still one of your droogs. Which still gives me a turn in my stomach. Never the less it is still a book that gives an interesting insight to the most base criminal, created out of society. Here is what we now, Alex was not born rich as were his droogs. Britain came up with the brilliant plan of basically building shot holes and shoving all the poor people into to them. Which they actually did, and are still a problem. Also in the book there is a great divide between the poor and the rich, and indulgence is orgasmic in this retro culture. So Alex grew up with violence and with a culture that ignores it or does little to help it. The line in which he has to cross to at least be somewhat well of is a bit tricky since he isn’t rich and won’t have shining recommendations. Especially not from he teacher’s who immediately saw him as a delinquent and treated him as such.

Need I go on, this is something that is still happening today, we still create little Alex’s. Much of the novel is really how we treat criminals, now matter how awful they are or how little the crime, they are just animals. You treat a person like that long enough they become one. Alex even admits to this at one point, jokingly of course to his droogs, but he is telling the truth. His character sees no way out, he has built this power and he aimed to keep it. It was what he saw as the only attainable thing. Till of course he is older, and gets the living shit beaten out of him, since he can’t act violently. Which the government see’s as a somewhat success and removes the treatment. Which is a weird round about way of avoiding the real problem which is where it started, which is them creating a huge gap between the poor and rich.