Reading Response #1

     After reading approximately 50 pages of “A Clockwork Orange”, I can’t be sure of what the theme of this classic novel will be, but at this point it seems as though a possible theme could be teen angst. Another theme that is very apparent throughout is violence and/or drug abuse. My reasoning for this is that the majority of what I have read so far has related to teen violence and persistent drug abuse. Other possible themes could be democracy and communism, pet mixed into one form of government or an evil government. 
     There is a lot of character development throughout the first section of this book. The narration is done by “Alex” the main character which allows him to express his thoughts and opinions to the reader in a personal manner quite frequently. To fully understand what is going on inside of Alex’s head, you must first understand his dynamic language, this language is a signature of A Clockwork Orange. Adapting to the slang and peculiar language is critical in understanding this novel. Even though we already see from Alex’s perspective, the writing style of Burgess allows the reader to think outside of the box and to reflect on more than just the book itself. Always reading from the point of view of Alex can make it difficult to determine what the other characters of the story are thinking. As a result, the reader is left with limited information regarding the other characters. 
     A Clockwork Orange was set in the future from when it was written; Burgess wrote the book in England in 1958 - 1961. The novel takes place in either a large town or small city in England. Apart from the dark streets of England, main settings are the Korova Milk Bar as well as Alex’s apartment. 
     Not many mental conflicts are apparent at the moment but when analyzing physical conflicts there have been multiple instances which seem to be a strong aspect of the book. Alex and his “droogs” go on nightly raids of “ultraviolence”, which pleases his gang of four. This could be something that they genuinely like to do as a 15 year-old in future England, or it could be aspects of the drugs that they take nightly in a milk mixture which contains synthemesc, a hallucinogen that fuels this gangs hunger for violence and adrenaline.