In Anthony Burgess' dystopian novel Clockwork Orange, Alex is forced to become a product of a governmental experiment. He is confronted with the question of conforming to what the government wants him to be and what he has always been. Burgess uses the violence of youth to highlight the problems in the new futuristic city, while showing insight to whether or not people can change from their past behaviors to new ones.
In the beginning of Burgess' novel, Alex is portrayed as a violent and ruthless towards his victims. He is superior to others as he beats, steals, and rapes people throughout the beginning of the novel. In a particularly disturbing incident, Alex beats a man and rapes his wife in front of him, forcing him to watch. Alex, clearly finding pleasure in the pain and suffering he causes others, feels superior as his boys continue to rob the house. In a later discovery, he is told that the wife that he had raped later died. The lack of compassion that Alex feels when hearing this news shows the audience the type of gruesome person that he truly is. As a violent person in power, Alex is able to be seen as selfish. It helps portray Alex as a heartless and sadistic person at the beginning of the novel.
Later in the novel, Alex is used as a governmental experiment called the Ludovico's Technique, where violent images are shown to Alex as he is given a drug that makes him feel nauseated and sick. He begins to associate the sickness with the violent images, making him sick whenever he is a witness to violent crimes. This use of violence, something that had once made Alex feel empowered and in control, now cripples him and is used as a weapon against him. This leaves him defenseless against enemies. Burgess effectively uses violence as something that can be used for and against Alex, showing Alex's struggle to be what the government wants him to be and what he has always known. His defenselessness pushes him to beg the man that he had once beat to take care of him, ironically leaving him at the mercy of those he had once been in control of. The violence is used effectively in the plot to create a turn of events. It shows the power switch in the novel. It creates sympathy for Alex, despite his horrific actions in the beginning of the novel. Readers recognize the pain that Alex experiences and begins to wonder if the experiment truly pushes Alex to change his ways now that violence is used against him.
Seeing that the violence that Alex had always known and embraced to be so deep in his core, the audience questions the society that he lives in. Prostitutes, drugs, and violence all openly roam the streets and Alex, representing the youth as a whole, indulges. Seeing the problems in the society from the violence Burgess shows, it raises questions regarding society and the violence surrounding it. In this way, Burgess and his use of violence is successful in using the violent youth in Alwx'a society to raise questions about the problems in society.
Seeing that the violence that Alex had always known and embraced to be so deep in his core, the audience questions the society that he lives in. Prostitutes, drugs, and violence all openly roam the streets and Alex, representing the youth as a whole, indulges. Seeing the problems in the society from the violence Burgess shows, it raises questions regarding society and the violence surrounding it. In this way, Burgess and his use of violence is successful in using the violent youth in Alwx'a society to raise questions about the problems in society.
Using violence as a tool for exposing character growth and governmental problems, Burgess is able to explore the ideas of whether or not people can change from their ways and the effect of violence in the youth of the futuristic city. From comparing and contrasting Alex from the beginning of the novel to the end, readers are able to create their own conclusions regarding Alex as a maturing human. Without violence, readers would have a harder time seeing the flaws in the society Burgess created as well as the growth that Alex experiences through his trials with and without violence.
Hey Joyce! I'd first like to say that you did a really good job writing this. The structure is really organized, and I can completely follow along with what you're arguing. That said, your first two paragraphs started to sound a little like you were merely summarizing the plot. You might want to try cutting out some of the details, and putting in more warrants. Another way would be to put in different topic sentences that make it clear what you're arguing. Other than that, good job!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a good revision from your original version. You did a better job answering the prompt and connecting to the thesis this time. However, I think it can be improved even more if you elaborate more on the second part of your thesis: whether or not people can change from their past behaviors to new ones. I didn't really notice that much about this and that is an important part of answering the part of the prompt about how the violence contributes to the meaning of the work. In order for it to not be too long, maybe just focus on the bare minimums of the plot for the first two body paragraphs and then elaborate more on the connections with the thesis in the other body paragraphs.
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