A Clockwork Orange

In a “bildungsroman” novel the protagonist must examine their surrounding society or culture. The two cultures present in the novel are that of the bourgeois and the nadsats. Alex examines as well as explains society and the differences between each culture for the reader:

“The day was different from the night. The night belonged to me and my droogs and all the rest of th

. . .
Doctor Brodsky’s treatment made Alex’s moral decisions automatic. ” (175)

Alex’s declaration that he has been cured and returned to normal would be impossible without Alex having a strong sense of his identity in the first place. Initially, Alex desires to knife the old man and rape the girl on the last day of his treatment, however, he chooses to be moral only to avoid “the pain and thirstiness and horrible sickness” (127) The summation of Alex’s state of being is expressed nicely by F.

Aforementioned, Burgess strays from conventional “bildungsroman” structure in making moral conflict impossible for Alex. Alexander:

“They have turned you into something other than a human being. e nadsats, and the starry bourgeois lurked indoors drinking in the gloopy worldcasts, but the day was for the starry ones, and there always seemed to be more rozzes or millicents about during the day, too. Moral conflict does not exist for Alex.

A Clockwork Orange most definitely reaches a conclusion, completing a full cycle. You have no power of choice any longer. ” (45)

Alex’s ability to provide the reader with a concise explanation of the workings of society as well as observations (more millicents about during the day) proves that he watches and absorbs his surroundings. ” (20) Alex would neither be able to explain nor denounce any aspect of society if he did not scrutinize it. The commitment that Alex has been forced to make to “acceptable” morals does not allow him to consider any other option nor contemplate which option is right.

After Burgess’s foray into “unconventional” formation of the novel, he returns to the “bildungsroman” format.

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Approximate Word count = 678
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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