A Clockwork Orange (novel)



""When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.""

- Prison Chaplain

A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 novella by Anthony Burgess. It was adapted into a 1971 film by Stanley Kubrick. In a dystopic future where street crime is rampant and youths are uncontrollable, teenage sociopath Alex and his friends prowl the night spreading terror and destruction wherever they go. By daybreak, Alex returns home to his vapid parents, who turn a blind eye to his activities, and enjoys his second favorite thing in the world: classical music. On one particular night, his gang brutalizes some people they find on the street, then steal a sports car and drive out to an isolated mansion to torture and rape the resident couple. They finish the night off at their local watering hole, where they sip milk laced with narcotics.

Things are going swimmingly for Alex until his gang begins to chafe under his leadership. Alex is still content with pointless violence, but the gang is starting to grow up and think about making a profit. After a fight for supremacy, he reasserts himself as the leader, but bows to the gang's interest in robbing a wealthy widow's house. Alex takes the lead in the robbery, but the widow discovers him, leading to a fight. As the gang flees, they betray Alex and leave him for the police to apprehend. At the station, the police inform Alex that the widow died of her injuries, making him a murderer. He is quickly sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

In prison, Alex settles into his old habits, pretending to be a model prisoner while plotting his return to violence. When he discovers that the government is planning to test an experimental treatment on a prisoner in exchange for freedom, Alex jumps at the opportunity. The prison chaplain warns him not to volunteer, claiming that no external force can turn a man good, but Alex is only interested in getting free and returning to his murderous ways.

The treatment turns out to be a nightmare. Alex is constantly injected with drugs that make him sick while watching scenes of violence in a theater. His mind soon associates violence with the sickness, causing a Pavlovian response. Particularly abhorrent to him is the classical music on the soundtrack, which he inadvertently relates with the sickness as well. When the procedure is complete, Alex cannot even think about violence or rape without suffering from crippling illness, rendering him harmless to society. He also can't listen to his favorite music without intense pain.

Alex's case is controversial. His own prison chaplain argues against the procedure, and other critics agree that removing Alex's capacity for moral choice has not turned him good, but reduced him into a programmable machine. The government, however, is only interested in the bottom line of cutting down crime. They release Alex into the world, still evil to his core, but without the ability to defend himself against all his enemies and former victims. His fate ultimately proves the self-defeating nature of the government's program.

For tropes specific to the movie, see here.


 * Adults Are Useless: Alex's parents are either clueless about his nightly excursions or in complete denial. They abandon him once he gets out of prison. Almost every other adult Alex meets wants to use him to further their political agenda or pound the living daylights out of him for his ruthless acts. Even the prison chaplain, the closest thing in the book to a character who cares about Alex as a person, just wants to bugger him. Not that Alex exactly invites compassion.
 * All There in the Manual: Some editions of the book have a glossary for the Nadsat slang.
 * An Aesop: Human goodness must come from free will; as such it is intrinsically wrong to deny even the vilest of individuals their capacity for moral choice.
 * Arc Words: "What's it gonna be then, eh?" is stated a number of times in the book by various characters. It seems to relate to the theme of moral choice. Each of the three parts of the novel have this as their opening sentence.
 * Asskicking Equals Authority: Subverted. Alex outfights his whole gang to reestablish himself as their leader, but they betray him at their first opportunity.
 * As You Wish: In Alex's second visit to the writer, he avoids blatantly identifying himself, but inadvertently does so while saying several of his common phrases that he also uttered while raping the writer's wife.
 * Author Avatar: The author. In the book, his name is given as Frank Alexander (his book is called A Clockwork Orange), and the rape scene is based on a vaguely similar incident that occurred to Burgess' wife during World War II.
 * Bad Guy Bar: The Korova Milk Bar. Alex says that the drug-laced milk served there really sharpens you up for some ultraviolence. In the beginning and end, he describes the fashion of his gang as fitting in completely with the bar's patrons.
 * Bilingual Bonus:
 * Alex's Nadsat slang is partially based on crudely anglicized Russian, so Russian-speakers might better understand it from the onset. However, part of the fun for some readers is learning the argot as they go along. And, some Russian-speakers may find the primitive translations rather annoying.
 * The Polish translation actually came in two versions: one with the argot based on English, and the other one based on Russian (appropriating both languages into Polish). This comes from the fact that, at the time, more people would be familiar with Russian than with English. The Other Wiki has more on that.
 * Black and Gray Morality
 * Black Comedy: In the book, Alex narrates with a level of smug self-satisfaction that might count.
 * Book Ends: The 21st chapter, where present, begins by mirroring the first chapter.
 * Bored with Insanity: In the 21st chapter,
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: Subverted. Alex already was crazy before he was brainwashed. Afterwards, Alex's mental state could be considered even worse.
 * Brainwashing for the Greater Good: Brutally deconstructed.
 * Crapsack World: Big time.
 * Crazy Cat Lady: The rich widow's house is filled with cats.
 * Death of the Author: Publishers disliked the final chapter of the book and simply left it off of initial American publications. Many critics prefer the edited version, which significantly changes Burgess's central message. He disowned both versions, but his criticisms are generally ignored, and it continues to be his most popular work.
 * Did They or Didn't They?: In the book, when Dim and Billy take Alex out in the middle of nowhere for a beatdown, what apparently happened during the attack was so graphic that Alex refuses to describe it to the readers. The attackers put their clothes back on afterward, suggesting a rape.
 * Downer Ending: In the American version, no one learns anything, and Alex is given free rein to exercise his violent tastes with government protection. In the English version, Alex never feels regret for his actions, but finally matures and simply doesn't feel like murdering and raping anymore, implying that sociopathic tendencies are a natural part of youth (and by extension, the natural state of humanity).
 * Dramatic Reading: An in-universe example. Prior to the droogs' attack on F. Alexander and his wife, Alex mocks the writer by reading his work-in-progress in this manner.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: Happens frequently. They are symbolic and are used for foreshadowing.
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Dumb Muscle: The gang's strongest member is referred to only by his nickname, "Dim." In the opening lines of the book and film, Alex explains that Dim is, in fact, "very dim."
 * Dystopia
 * Evil Versus Evil: The "hero" is a violent, sadistic sociopath; the government that apprehends him is a corrupt regime that's halfway down the road to becoming a totalitarian police state, and the revolutionaries are.
 * Fascist but Inefficient: The government is portrayed as this.
 * Faux Affably Evil: Alex. Perhaps one of the ultimate examples of this.
 * Fire-Forged Friends: As adults, Dim and Billy Boy put aside their youthful rivalry and become partners on the police force.
 * For the Evulz: The whole reason for the old Ultraviolence.
 * Four-Temperament Ensemble: Alex is melancholic, Georgie is choleric, Pete is phlegmatic, and Dim is Sanguine
 * Future Slang: Burgess was a language expert. He invented the "Nadsat" slang partially based on the Russian language. Part of the intention was to distance the reader from the horrific acts being described.
 * Genre Busting: According to The Other Wiki: "A Clockwork Orange is most frequently described as political satire, dystopian science-fiction, black comedy, and crime drama, although its crossover appeal to the horror fan community is unmistakable."
 * Heel Face Brainwashing: The point of the Ludovico treatment is to turn bad men "good," but the novel ultimately shows that this is impossible.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: The Writer, upon realizing who Alex is, proceeds to torture Alex with the same kind of sadistic glee that Alex had previously shown him.
 * Humiliation Conga: The second half is one big one for Alex.
 * Idiot Ball: Alex allowing his former victim, F. Alexander, to identify him. He says several things to trigger the writer's suspicion, each time making a mental note to be careful about this. This comes to a head when, after he uses "dim" as an adjective, the writer recalls the name of his droog Dim. Instead of keeping quiet, Alex blurts out "What do you know about Dim?"
 * Karma Houdini: Alex receives a lot of punishment through the second and third acts, but ultimately gets away with his freedom. In the American and film he smugly celebrates his return to violence, while in the British book he settles down with a cooshy government job.
 * I Kiss Your Foot: A man forces Alex to lick his shoe to prove that he is completely incapable of defending himself as a result of the treatment.
 * Large Ham: Mr. Deltoid and the prison guard probably qualify. Frank Alexander becomes one after he realizes who Alex is.
 * Loud of War: The fact Alex finds classical music unbearable after being subjected to the brainwash is exploited by
 * Meaningful Name:
 * It's probably no coincidence that the writer and his wife are Mr and Mrs Alexander.
 * The "Ludovico" Treatment - Latin for Ludwig.
 * Alexander, Peter, George and Dimitri. Detecting a pattern?
 * Mind Rape: The Ludovico treatment... which is creepily similar to the Real-Life Aversive therapy.
 * Neologism: Some of Alex's Nadsat Future Slang has trickled into common usage, most notably "horrorshow" and "ultraviolence." "Droog" is widely understood as well, though not very widely used. An alternate name for the trope is Grokking the Horrorshow after all.
 * The New Rock and Roll: Subverted. Music really does inspire Alex to commit horrible acts, but it's classical music that he listens to. He speaks of "Ludwig Van" as an icon. The trope is emphasized when Alex reads a newspaper article that suggests a keener interest in the arts might stop teenagers from committing crimes. He laughs at it.
 * Oh Crap:
 * After Alex's release from prison he has many, but a truly epic one for him is when he gets rescued from an attack by two coppers. Said coppers  It Got Worse.
 * After being carried into the writer's home by the bodyguard, and explaining to him what had happened, the writer suddenly exclaimed "I know you!" But it's because he recognized Alex's picture in the papers that morning, rather then recognizing him as the rapist of his wife.
 * Only One Name: Alex's last name is never given in the book.
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: "Ho, ho, ho! Well, if it isn't fat stinking billy goat Billy Boy in poison! How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap, stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have﻿ any yarbles, ya eunuch jelly thou!"
 * Psychic Dreams for Everyone: Alex and his father dream events that eventually come true, albeit in a roundabout way in Alex's case.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: Alex and his gang wear certain effeminate details of makeup; fake eyelashes on one eye (Alex), Mascara (Georgie), rouge (Petey) and lipstick (Dim). As seen in the Korova Milk Bar, this is the reigning fashion of their set.
 * Restraining Bolt: The Ludovico treatment is an aversion therapy that causes Alex to suffer intense physical pain whenever he thinks about violence or rape, with the unintended inclusion of certain types of music.
 * Retired Monster:
 * Revised Ending: The original British edition had 21 chapters, but the initial American edition left out the 21st chapter, which was more of an epilogue, and the film adaptation is based on this edition. Later American editions restored the missing chapter. The relatively bright ending that was removed caused a strange inversion of Happily Ever Before.
 * Shaped Like Itself: "Dim being really dim..."
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: At the far, FAR cynical end of the scale.
 * Social Services Does Not Exist: Averted insofar as Alex is assigned to regular meetings with one (P.R. Deltoid). On the other hand, Deltoid has a severe case of Adults Are Useless, and later turns on Alex, who enjoyed jerking him around a little too obviously when he was a client.
 * The Starscream: Georgie to Alex.
 * Strange Syntax Speaker: Nadsat involves eccentric word order in addition to new words.
 * Teenage Wasteland: Adults still try to run society, but gangs of teens have become uncontrollable.
 * Teens Are Monsters: The dystopic world is based around this, and the 21st chapter of the book highlights this. Much of Alex's friction between him and his old gang is based on Alex being the youngest and therefore the last to mature.
 * Totally Radical: Averted; Burgess knew that the current slang would become obsolete in a few years, so invented his own set based on Russian. Khorosho (good) becomes "horrowshow", druhg (friend) is "droog", etc.
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future: The setting is London in the near future as viewed from the Sixties.
 * Utopia Justifies the Means: Classic free will vs. know-it-all society conflict.
 * Verbal Tic: Mr. Deltoid, yes?
 * Villain Protagonist: Alex is one of the most famous villain protagonists in cinema and literature.
 * What Is Evil?: "Come now, you know that's just a matter of words."
 * Wicked Cultured: Alex's speech and gang attire are sarcastically genteel, and he's an absolute freak for classical music.
 * Word Salad Title: The "clockwork" part clearly has something to do with the way the treatment makes Alex programmable, but Burgess has given several different explanations for what the title is supposed to mean:
 * The phrase comes from "as queer as a clockwork orange," a phrase Burgess claimed to have heard, but of which there is no record of ever being used before he wrote the book.
 * "Orange" is a pun on the Malay word for man, though there are no other Malay words used in the novel.
 * "Orange" refers to the human capacity for "color and sweetness."
 * Within the book itself, it is used as a metaphor for the brainwashing procedure: a criminal who is conditioned to be sickened by violence is as unnatural as a clockwork orange... a machine imitating life, but not alive itself. A clockwork orange would be an utterly useless contraption (you can't eat it)... so to would the human robbed of free will be useless as a human being.
 * Writer on Board:
 * The 21st chapter shows Alex This after displaying all the signs of a psychopath- deriving joy from causing pain, total disregard for the consequences of his actions, and a complete lack of empathy for others- for the previous 20 chapters.
 * Burgess adapted it into a play for the express purpose of making sure that no-one else would, as they would surely take the film version as their source. To distance it as far as possible he actually made it a musical, much of the dialogue taking its meter from the works of Beethoven, and the play has it's definite end where the author intended, Alex growing up and getting bored with youthful madness. It even includes a fantastic summation to the play's intended message to the tune of the fifth symphony (which you'll find in the quotes section). The script even suggests that a man dressed as Stanley Kubrick should come onstage trying to sing "Singing in the Rain" as a counterpoint, and get lynched by the rest of the cast.
 * Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Alex often mixes this with his Nadsat slang.
 * You Are Number Six: Alex is referred to with his prison number "6655321" in the book.
 * Zeerust: The book's setting is the near future as viewed from the Sixties.