anthony burgess’ clockwork orange. what was burgess looking at? contextual influences

Anthony Burgess’ Clockwork Orange

What was Burgess Looking At? Contextual Influences

The Ludovico Method, Behaviorism & B.F. Skinner

- Beethoven’s Name- B.F.’s Behavior Mod:

From Animals to Humans- Pavlov & Beyond- Contingencies of

Reinforcement - Nazi Mind Control

How Autobiographical is Clockwork Orange?

-F. Alexander- Who is He?-Title-Wife-Is He Alex?

-Connection to the Narrator

-Travels in Russia (USSR)-Teenage Gang

Burgess and “Nadsat”

-First Draft of the Novel

-Burgess’ Fascination with Slang

-Leningrad, Russia

-Glossary Published

-”Like”

-Mixture of Cockney, Russian

The Clockwork Aesthetic

-Light & Dark:time Of Day & “Classes”

-Alex

-Cleanliness

-Surreality, Blurring Of Realities

-Identification

-Color Significance,E.g. Red

Domestic StabilityAlex’s Identity-Failed Family Structure

-Betrayal by Family

-Empty Dinner

-Inner and Outer Worlds

-An Invented Persona

Culture and Music

-Classical Music

-Complexity Linked With

Alex’s Mental State

-Alex’s Progression

-Timeless Nature of

Classical Music

-Modern Youth Subculture

Violence

Societal Critique of Violence

-Moral Ambiguity of Violence-Youth/Gang Culture-The State-Tenticles of the State

-Critical Reception of Book & FilmAnd the Types of Violence Depicted

-Language & Divisions of Violence

-Cyclical Nature of Violence

-Narrator, Reliability, Point of View

“What’s It Going To Be Then, Eh?”

Rehabilitation, Violence and Religion

-“Bog”, God

-Prison, Chaplain

-Conditioning Program

-Release From Confinement

-UnansweredQuestions

The Last Chapter

-W.W. Norton & Eric Swenson

“[M]erely a suggestion Made for conceptual Reasons.” (Eric Swenson)

-Stanley Kubrick

-The Numerology of Burgess-Shakespeare

Is This Book Still Relevant?

So…..What Did You Guys Think?1.) Does the nadsat help or inhibit your reading orUnderstanding of the book?2.) Can we trust our narrator? Can you sympathize withHim?3.) Do you think that Alex will actually reform his violentWays at the end of the novel? Why or why not?4.) If you had the choice, would you have included the Final chapter in the book? In the film?5.)Is Alex the victim of the modern age or is he just a Teenage thug?6.) Do you believe that criminals can be rehabilitated?How did this impact your reading?

Bibliography

Beehler, Rodger. “Containing Violence.” Ethics 92.4 (1982): 647-660.

Evans, Robert O. “Nadsat: The Argot and Its Implications in Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange.” Journal of Modern Literature 1.3(1971): 406-410.

Farber, Stephen. “The Old Ultra-Violence.” The Hudson Review 25.2(1972): 287-294.

Fraser, John. Violence in the Arts. London: Cambridge University Press, 1974.

Gleber, Anke. The Art of Taking a Walk. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Howlett & Mengham, eds. The Violent Muse: Violence and the ArtisticImagination. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1994.