Jove Muidet
asked:
I'm a little terrified to read this book, if anything... the reviews give me limited knowledge of it but I'd like to know the author's main points in the book? To give a psychological insight or provide just a strange, demented and sadist view from the characters?
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A Clockwork Orange,
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Chelsea Bradley
First off, it's important to know that Anthony Burgess himself did not intend for this book to become the cultural phenomenon that it was. Had it not been for Kubrick's controversial film, it's unlikely it would've made the leap from Britain to the rest of the world at all. He wrote this novel at a time when he'd been told by doctors that he was dying, and he was attempting to crank out as much work as possible to secure royalties for his wife after his passing. So as far as HIS purpose of writing it, he's stated that the book was inspired by the young ruffians he'd experienced in his life and his wonderings about what might happen if the government were to attempt to remove their behavior from society.
That being said, the book has taken on a life of its own in many ways. Some see it as an examination of morality, others see it as a rebel's anthem, and many just see it as senseless smut. The key question raised by the book, however, is a simple one: Can one be made good by systematically removing their capacity for evil? In other words, does the absence of evil automatically mean the presence of good? We don't ever really get a clear answer, but it does provoke thought.
As far as the characters and their view of things, Alex is a surprisingly insightful narrator. He is highly intelligent and fully aware of the evil of his actions. As the novel progresses, he experiences several crises of identity that mirror, in many ways, the path of a typical person: he is initially a youthful rebel with a seemingly uncontrollable id, then experiences the consequences of this rebellion, and must decide in the aftermath whether he will change and become a functioning member of society or continue to live on the outside looking in. The difference for Alex is that these stages are taken to the absolute extreme, as literary characters often are.
So no, I wouldn't say the book's point is just to provide a sadistic, creepy story, nor is it to provoke any sort of psychological profile. It exists as an observation of counterculture, and anything additional that you take from it is up to your interpretation.
That being said, the book has taken on a life of its own in many ways. Some see it as an examination of morality, others see it as a rebel's anthem, and many just see it as senseless smut. The key question raised by the book, however, is a simple one: Can one be made good by systematically removing their capacity for evil? In other words, does the absence of evil automatically mean the presence of good? We don't ever really get a clear answer, but it does provoke thought.
As far as the characters and their view of things, Alex is a surprisingly insightful narrator. He is highly intelligent and fully aware of the evil of his actions. As the novel progresses, he experiences several crises of identity that mirror, in many ways, the path of a typical person: he is initially a youthful rebel with a seemingly uncontrollable id, then experiences the consequences of this rebellion, and must decide in the aftermath whether he will change and become a functioning member of society or continue to live on the outside looking in. The difference for Alex is that these stages are taken to the absolute extreme, as literary characters often are.
So no, I wouldn't say the book's point is just to provide a sadistic, creepy story, nor is it to provoke any sort of psychological profile. It exists as an observation of counterculture, and anything additional that you take from it is up to your interpretation.
Medusa Jordan
I think that Burgess was making a statement about how crime and punishment can be handled, how politicians are corrupt, how important it is for everyone to stand up to anti social behaviour. I don't think that there is much psychological insight, or portrayal of the main characters as strange.
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