Linguistically inventive, socially prophetic, and philosophically profound, it comes very close to being a work of genius. The story, set in the England of the near future (the book was published in 1962), is simple.
A Clockwork Orange anticipated both the hedonistic, liberal sixties and the violent, disillusioned seventies. These elements combine to make the book and its film adaptations a key counter-cultural work, which is often quoted from and referred to in popular art-forms.
Kubrick has a particular way of visualizing his films. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE has a look and feel completely out of its time, closer to sometime in the future, and its torture sequence in which Alex is regenerated also looks straight out of a science fiction movie.
The importance of evil as well as good in human nature is a fundamental theme of A Clockwork Orange. Alex is despicable because he gives free rein to his violent impulses, but that sense of freedom is also what makes him human.
Psychologically disturbing due to the fact that the main characters are male teenagers who take sadistic delight in their wanton acts of depravity and cruelty. The violence is infamously graphic, and it's not for physical impact, but for its sadistic and psychological tone. There is no blood or gore anywhere.
Ultimately, Alex's story demonstrates that being forced to give up violence–rather than choosing to–is a meaningless gesture. The novel implies that a person's free will must always be protected, even if that person makes choices that are deemed immoral.
Perhaps I wasn't quite ready just like I wasn't prepared for the Star Child scene in "2001" and wasn't sure how to take it. A second viewing might help. But one thing is for sure about "A Clockwork Orange." It is a brutal, disturbing, and even at times offensively off-putting madman story.
Milk. As a substance that primarily nourishes young animals, milk symbolizes the immaturity and passivity of the people who habitually drink it at the Korova Milkbar. Their drinking of milk suggests the infantilization and subsequent helplessness of the State's citizens.
In a prefatory note to A Clockwork Orange: A Play with Music, he wrote that the title was a metaphor for "an organic entity, full of juice and sweetness and agreeable odour, being turned into a mechanism".
In the end, though, by making a deal with the government, Alex joins in the general hypocrisy of society. This is why his cure is both triumphant and ironic: he's become a successful hypocrite, which is all anyone ever wanted or expected of him. cinema, Stanley Kubrick.
There were claims that the film was responsible for a number of 'copycat' crimes including home invasions, rapes, street beatings and murder. Headlines such as 'Hunt for Clockwork Orange Sex Gang' began to appear in the press during the 1970s.
Burgess is recorded as saying that the novel's title was taken from the phrase as queer as a clockwork orange (see sense 1a), though evidence for the existence of this phrase prior to 1962 has not been found.
Nadsat is the fictional slang invented by Anthony Burgess, for the novel 'A Clockwork Orange'. The words used are based on 'Russian, Romany and rhyming slang'. The dialect is used by the teenagers or 'nadsats', with the name coming from the Russian suffix for 'teen'.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess has been banned for it's "objectable language" in Aurora, CO and Westport, MA in the late 1970s. In 1973 a Orem, UT bookseller was arrested for selling the novel. The charges were dropped, but the bookseller was forced to closed his store and move to another city.
A Clockwork Orange gained mixed reviews on its publication in 1962. Most of the reviews praised the inventiveness of the language, while at the same time stressing unease at the violent subject matter.
Why is A Clockwork Orange considered a masterpiece?
Linguistically inventive, socially prophetic, and philosophically profound, it comes very close to being a work of genius. The story, set in the England of the near future (the book was published in 1962), is simple.
Set in a dismal dystopian England, it is the first-person account of a juvenile delinquent who undergoes state-sponsored psychological rehabilitation for his aberrant behaviour. The novel satirizes extreme political systems that are based on opposing models of the perfectibility or incorrigibility of humanity.
What is the message of the novel A Clockwork Orange?
The main message of 'A Clockwork Orange,' a novel by Anthony Burgess, explores the themes of free will, the nature of evil, and the possibility of redemption. It raises questions about whether it is better for a person to choose to be bad than to be forced to be good.
The lashes are a play on femininity, mocking the softness he preys upon by directly reflecting the people who fear him. Alex is innately evil until he undergoes behaviour modification. Behaviour modification strips him of his individualism, reflected in his overly plain appearance thereafter.
Unfortunately, it can be a difficult read, especially the first few chapters, as much of the book is narrated in the fictional argot known as Nadsat (the "teenage" language). Read on to better comprehend this “subliminal penetration,“ which will consequently allow you to enjoy the book much more.
I do warn anyone who is sensitive about violence against reading A Clockwork Orange due to its graphic nature. Although, having said that, I am somewhat squeamish myself and found it bearable, so anyone over the age of 14 or 15 would most likely be able to deal with it.
Parents need to know that this is an extremely violent film. Within the first 13 minutes there is a violent beating of a homeless man, an attempted rape, a gang fight, another beating, and a rape. Sex and violence are paired.
