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Consider the Claim that Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange is a coming-of-age narrative
Reflecting a dark totalitarian State, and regular youth driven to violence, A Clockwork Orange was written. Burgess introduces us to an antihero criminal whose motives are hard to comprehend. Without shielding himself behind sociological and psychological explanations, Burgess tells an unconventional coming-of-age narrative that investigates the real nature of free will, and the confines of social order and personal liberty.
Alex DeLarge’s actions are not driven by any intricate motivations, other than the utter pleasure he seems to derive from them: “good for laughs and lashing of the old ultra-violent” is how he describes his actions (Schmoop 112). He is not after money. His drawer is filled with stolen money and jewels he does not need. He is not driven by any psychological needs; his actions are out of his free will.
Life before jail is filled with violence and music. He was addicted to classical music; Beethoven to be specific. Music had a way of arousing Alex’s sexual desire, and violent behavior. Without a valid explanation of his character, one could assert that Alex is an embodiment of evil. He imagined himself raping women and beating up old people in the futuristic London.
Alex and his gang of three also enjoyed spending time in Korova Milkbar where they drank milk laced in drugs. Drug abuse is prevalent in the novel. There was no law against it.
Alex’s next part of his life began when he fell out with Dim and Georgie, and they tricked him to rob an old woman’s house. Alex went inside while his friends kept watch outside. Unfortunately, he was not aware he was being set up. His friends blinded him and escaped. The police soon arrived and arrested Alex. The woman Alex had gone to rob died, and he was sentenced for murder.
He would do time for fourteen years, and it is while in prison, that the second journey of his...