Reading Response #4

     After reading A Clockwork Orange there were several ideas and themes that seemed to be the most dominate throughout. There were also several parts of the novel that had become increasingly frightening to read and also parts that have become clearer to me allowing me to fully appreciate the novel. 

     The most important, most pronounced and most prominent moral of the story is one man’s freedom, freewill and the power of choice. Burgess believed that a man’s freedom was a defining characteristic of the human race; the characteristic that separates us. In the novel as a result of Alex’s wicked actions, the state removed all of his freedom. In jail Alex didn’t have too many problems, he was still a man that could do as he wished within the boundaries of the jail, despite the fact that he was regarded as a number. But when Alex received his treatment he became less than a number, he was basically considered nothing; he could not choose between good or evil. Without this choice Alex was miserable. This powerful motive made me look at my own options and it made me take my own life into account. Reading this book has given me new insight into how fortunate I am to live in a place where I do have the power of freewill and choice. I am in control of my own life, others may be able to influence my decisions but I always have the choice to do what is right and superior, just as Alex had.

     Through reading this classic novel I have gained a new appreciation for our county’s government. Our government does not enforce brutal treatments upon human beings just because they have done wrong and our government believes in rights and freedoms of all people living within its power. It is remarkable that we are fortunate to have so many rights and freedoms. There are and have been places in the past and present that people have very limited rights and freedoms. I appreciate our government because in this novel Burgess presented the government as a sinister antagonist. The use of technology had become the means of dealing with the criminals at the time the novel was written, Alex being the first guinea pig. This is a technique that our government would never take part in, which makes me very proud of the government I live under, now that I have read this book.

     The diction of this novel I found added to the effectiveness of the novel and made it very unique. I had never read anything like this before, so understandably it was quite a change. I found that the specific style of writing Burgess used put me more into the mindset of the book and its characters. While reading with the specific and odd vocabulary that Burgess used, as a reader, you feel as though you are in slightly altered world, which makes it easier to relate to the narrator who is also the main character.

     What surprised me most in the entire story was the point at which Alex is cured of his treatment. This was completely unexpected; Alex was cured after he tried to commit suicide. He woke up in a hospital feeling quite different than he had been feeling and he could think a variety of bad thoughts and not feel sick. His first thoughts when he woke up were of bad intention and he continued to think similar thoughts without feeling the effects of his treatment. It still remains a mystery as to how the treatment was reversed. It is not fully explained, which I think leaves a lot of space for reflection. Did Alex reverse his own treatment internally? Did other people help to reverse its effects, such as the doctors in the hospital? Or was it his attempt at suicide that changed everything?
I have not come to a conclusion as to why he was changed, but I believe that it was for the better. After Alex was cured, he saw a new light. He decided that he now wanted to take a better path, his freewill was regained. He was given the choice and he made the right decision.

     Reading this book has made quite an impression on me. It was an intense read. The morals and ideas delivered through this are very important and of great value such as the ideas of humanity, government, society and human rights. My mind is now more open to different ideas that I had not considered before and my perspective on certain subjects has changed. Burgess had intended for these ideas to be passed through his words, and they did. I think that every teenager should read this book, or at least give it a try, because I think it helps to enlighten many values and privileges in life that we take for granted on a daily basis.
     This was a highly insightful read, and most definitely deserves to be categorized as a classic novel.