Classic Essay

     In 1962 the classic novel A Clockwork Orange, written by Anthony Burgess was published. Burgess’ novel is revolutionary, because of his use of diction, timeless theme and subject matter. A Clockwork Orange takes us to a new world where political institutions override the power of freewill, where English has transformed into a different form of language and youth roam the streets in a daze of mescaline induced euphoria committing the most wretched of crimes.

     One of the aspects that define A Clockwork Orange is the diction. Burgess’ has gone to great lengths to develop a unique writing style; Nadsat is the language of youth in the futuristic realm that the novel takes place. This particular language was heavily influenced by the Russian language therefor, combining the two most powerful and influential languages of the time; Russian and English. This technique is called neologism which means creating new words or terms pertaining to a specific person or publication. The diction is a defining factor of the novel; it is also what makes it unique. The words, although never defined, are not difficult to understand because the contexts in which they are placed allow the reader to develop an easy understanding. The following excerpt from the first page of the novel shows how apparent the language is right from the beginning. “ They had no license for selling liquor, but there was no law yet against prodding some of the new vesches which they used to put in the old moloko, so you could peet it with vellocet, synthemesc or drencrom” (Page 3, Line 10). The reader experiences a new culture through this book. The entire novel is written in the diction of Nadsat. This provides a new reality while reading.

     Classic is often referred to as something that makes people think about new ideas, or something that can change ones thinking. A Clockwork Orange broke the rules. At the time that Burgess wrote his work, the subject matter was not accepted in the media by society. Rape, murder, drugs and sheer violence were not topics that society often spoke of, let alone wrote about. However if one looks past it’s vulgar shell, one can see that that the subject matter was absolutely crucial. Society didn’t want their youth reading this novel, but that’s part of what made it exciting to read. One might consider reading A Clockwork Orange to be rebellious because of its scarcity in literature at this point in history. It was a new and exciting piece of literature when it was published which also backs up the fact that it is a classic.

     While reading this novel it was almost as if Burgess had a message he wanted to deliver to the reader. He revealed a moral through an enriched mind. The entire novel was structured upon the idea of freewill and the birthright of choice. Burgess believed that man is born with dark intentions wired deep into his brain, but that man is offered a choice between the dark and light. If forced to act right, it is not considered an act of goodness. The theme Burgess chose is a theme that almost every single human can relate to. The theme is best demonstrated in the third section of the book; Alex no longer has the choice between right and wrong and is forced to act right as a result of his treatment. At this point, he no longer shows signs of human traits. He is no longer happy, he can no longer love or lust, and he only feels fear for the wrong. Therefore he must act good and has no other option. Burgess believed that the power of choice and freewill is what separates us from animals and machines. Both the power of choice and freewill are the two traits that make each human unique. Also in the third section of the novel there are people fighting for Alex, fighting for his freewill and his right as a human. They fought the government who wanted law and order, even if the price came to the dehumanizing of citizens with prescribed good behavior. In the end freewill prevails. This theme is timeless; it is a time that fights for humanity.

     A Clockwork Orange, is truly a revolutionary novel. Burgess’ phenomenal creative writing style and unique use of diction, as well as the content that shocked those who read it and the everlasting theme that almost every person who reads this novel can relate to is what contributes to this novel’s success. Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange has changed many readers’ perspective. It did After and during my time reading this novel. Burgess helped me to see that every man has a choice, that it is up to that individual to make the choice between what is wrong and what is right. That our choices define us as a person, and makes each of us unique. That possibly, we are defined by our choices.