That is how novelist Anthony Burgess lets his "humble narrator" Alex, Alexander the Large, begin the telling of his brutal odyssey from a criminality loving youngster to a mind- conditioned "clockwork orange"- toy made by the state.

Alex, the 15-year-old leader of a gang of "droogs" lives a life based on brutality, rape and even murder before he gets "cured" of his evil behaviour by the Ludovico Technique, "a scientific method for taking moral choice away from troublesome criminals" . Due to this method Alex is changed into an adapted object fitting into the rules of the state.

Appearing in 1962, A Clockwork Orange was published in two different versions: the American one that contained twenty chapters and lets the protagonist regain his "evil attitude" in the end and the version that appeared anywhere else and contained one chapter more. There Burgess "young thuggish protagonist grows up. He grows bored with violence and recognises that human energy is better expended on creation than destruction."

About ten years after the release of the book director Stanley Kubrick turned the novel into a remarkable film, which is based on the American edition of the book and str

This statement practically explains what happens to the novel´s protagonist Alex. He uses his "free will" to decide on "evil" and he is "totally aware of his own evil and accepts it with complete openness" . But still he would be able to change his mind, to grow up and get tired of his behaviour. He is a free human being able to act according to his own decisions. But when put into prison he gets conditioned by the "Almighty State" which "deprives him of his free will" . Because of that Alex becomes a clockwork orange, "something that appears to be fully human but is basically mechanical in all of his responses" . After being "cured" of his tendency towards evil Alex is no longer able to act the way he wants. His free will is being suppressed and he has to act according to the rules of the state, which makes him little more than a robot.

"Some persons have criticised you for celebrating evil by making Alex attractive" is what Gene Siskel remarked in an interview with Stanley Kubrick in 1972. And actually the villain of the story is the hero, which may sound strange if you consider the fact that the hero is a raping and murdering teenager. But it is true, viewers and readers tend to sympathise with Burgess young protagonist. What could be the reason for this?

Burgess´ main intention to write the novel was to create a "moral lesson, and it is the weary traditional one of the fundamental importance of moral choice" . That sounds quite similar to the director's intention, but if you consider the fact that Burgess wrote a novel containing one last part that is missing in the film, his idea of moral freedom has to be seen in a different way. His protagonist grows up and takes the chance to use his moral freedom- he grows tired of his criminal life. With this change the stress lies on the ability of changing and not on the pure criticism of suppressing the moral freedom. It also gives the "novel the quality of genuine fiction, an art founded on the principle that human beings change" , a point Burgess states in his introduction A Clockwork Orange Resucked. He goes on by saying: "When a fictional work fails to show change [...] then you are out of the field of the novel and into that of the fable [...]." . A small hint of criticism about Kubrick´s work can be found here, when Burgess finishes by saying: " The American or Kubrickian Orange is a fable; the British or world one is a novel" . This may be true, but there is still a difference in the intention of the both of them, and therefore it is understandable that Kubrick decided on the shorter version of the book, even though he knew both versions.

This may be another reason for the viewer/ reader to sympathize with Alex: the fact that he is human, maybe not one of the best acting ones, but still someone who chooses his way of living and stands for it.

The language that is used by Alex and his droogs, Nadsat, can be called an example for the changing of language in society. If you have a look at how teenagers talk, what words they invent and how they converse you can draw a clear line between the book and reality. This is one of the less important- and also less dangerous- realistic elements of the book.

A Clockwork Orange - What is the meaning of the title of book and film? What is the general intention of this story and how did Burgess and Kubrick work out certain elements? What are the important points for writer and director? What do they think about the "Almighty State" and its deeds? How does the reader/ viewer react to the story- especially to the main protagonist Alex?

Some common words found in the essay are:
Stanley Kubrick, Clockwork Orange, Ludovico Technique, Alex Kubrick, Bourneuf Alex´, Burgess Kubrick, Conclusion Considering, Maybe Burgess´, Kubrickian Orange, Alex Alexander, clockwork orange, stanley kubrick, moral freedom, personal freedom, protagonist alex, reader/ viewer, act according, moral choice, able act, ludovico technique, stanley kubrick novel, free choose evil, main protagonist alex, director stanley kubrick, alex clockwork orange,
Approximate Word count = 2956
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)