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Ana P. Ries
A.P.E. P.4
1-18-08

A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess

In A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Burgess skillfully uses destructive characters such as Dim, Pete, Georgie and mainly Alex to portray the dark side of humanity, yet with his story thick with Irony, he uses their corrupted actions to show the root good of all humans. Burgess shapes the moral of his story through his clearly unique form of wording, double meaning actions, and powerful tone he quickly shapes another world that reflects the darker, and in turn more hopeful, depths of the human mind.
Anthony Burgess uses a powerful choice of wording. With words such as 'the old glint' 'I put my nogas onto very comfy wolly toofles' the armed millicents or rozz patrols.' When separated from the book, they may seem amusing and silly words, but deep within the pages, the words take on new and darker meanings. Burgess choices such wording because it is said, that the first fear ever known, is the fear of the unknown. By using different wordings then most are familiar with, readers find their mind deeper in though, in question, and thus more vulnerable to the deep and disturbing messages the characters reflect about humanity. "
he looked a malenky bit ploogly when he viddied the four of us like that" is how he reflects the terror of the "starry' man he watched in fear as the four large brutes approach him at night. He is just an old man, alone in the streets, armed with nothing but a few old books from the library. Yet instead of 'he was filled with terror when he saw them' he "Looked a malenky bit ploogly when he viddied the four of us like that." The wording, being odder, strick a deeper chord. Burgess also choices for Alex to continously say 'Thou', and 'thy' to twist what we see as 'gentleman' words in the mouth of one so violent who robbes old men on the street and break into young couples houses. Burgess clearly enjoys using innocent and sophisticated words to describe such corrupt and low actions of his characters.
Anthony Burgess novel was written to explore the mind, to question actions, "Why must we destroy? Why do some wish for destruction, and others creation?" He answers that through Alex, Dim, Pete, and Georgie's actions, their young, destructive actions, and later, for the older Alex, the wish for creation. Alex is shocked when he finds Pete in a small coffee shop in the last chapter, with a wife, happy. Far from the destructive youth he had once known, from the days of bashing in cars and what-not. The young childish tone vanishes, words such as 'fatty' and 'horrorshow' are replaced with 'humble' and 'sweet flowers.' Alex takes a sharp turn from the character that Burgess had shaped throughout the novel, the horrific final lines in chapter six of the final book, "I was cured all right" To refer that he could once again strike at innocents without regret, quickly erased. Alex, wished to create.
Burgess uses a dark, yet playful tone through out the book. The only serious tone, for the last chapter, is still a dark one as Alex reflects on his past. Bugess enjoys mocking the horrific actions of his characters. "Down this bood poured in like red curtains, but you could viddy Billyboy felt not a thing, and he went lumbering on like a filthy fatty bear, poking at me with his nozh." He takes a serious situation and uses childish tone. "Filthy fatty bear" provoke the thought of two children fighting then of a large gang fight. Another sense, where a large, overwhelming doctor enters the room, he is described as, "you could viddy who was the real important veck right away, very tall and with blue glazzies and with real horrorshow platties on him, a most lovely suit." This was a man of great power, who was controlling our 'poor dictators' future, and lead to great pain to him on behalf of his past, and he is simply the one "you could viddy" as being in control. Even when faced with the great power of the law, Alex's thoughts still seem childish, all destructive thoughts in this book hold a mocking tone, for only the young and foolish could bring such destruction as they did.

"Destruction is for the youth, creation for the starry." Starry refering to the older half of society, those who had learned and lived. Burgess used his unique wording, creative tone, and finished with an amazing turn of character on Alex behalf to take one deep into the human mind, challanging the quesion, "Why does one destroy, and another create?" and through his twisted, ironic novel, answers it without quesion.