This novel of a young fifteen-year-old boy known only by the name of Alex, is not an exception. Alex, the antihero, and his three "droogs" are a gang of youngsters who goes around in the dangerous streets of London, fighting, raping, pillaging, and all the basic doings generally associated with anarchy. This young hoodlum is eventually betrayed to the police by his own gang and sentenced to fourteen years in prison--a prison which attempts to cure hi

The Ludovico Technique which was administered on him is a process which is intended to cure a person of his violent behavior by forcing him to be unable to choose violence. This is done by forcing the subject to view films of ultra-violence and gore while at the same time he is injected with a nauseating compound. The violence seen on the films and the intense nausea are associated with each other in the brain causing the subject to succumb to profound dizziness when experiencing anything of a violent nature. During one of these films, the soundtrack played along with it happened to be Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which the doctors used on Alex. "Its a useful emotional heighthener, that's all,"(Burgess 113) said one of the doctors to him at the end of a film. Alex used the music to relax and to calm himself down. He also listened to symphonies to help him remain calm as he was recuperating from his attempted suicide. Yet ironic as it is, it was also the same symphonic music that had gotten him in the hospital. Music in this sense also harmed poor Alex. Because the music was played with the films, it was associated in his mind with the violence. Therefore, not only when he saw violence, but also when he listened to classical pieces he was overcome with the intense pain and nausea. "It was not the intention of his State manipulators to induce this bonus or malus: it is purely an accident that, from now on, he will automatically react to Mozart or Beethoven as he will to rape and murder." (CLC 61). The "State" not only committed sin in not allowing the "reformed" prisoner to decide on what path he would take, but also in a sense, "…meddled not only in the mundane area of morals but also in the higher realm of art," (CLC 61) by not allowing him to enjoy his music. "The state has succeeded in its primary aim: to deny Alex free moral choice, which, to the State, means choice of evil. But it has added an unforeseen punishment: the gates of heaven are closed to the boy, since music is a figure of celestial bliss… it has destroyed a human being… it has also destroyed an angel," (CLC 61).

Anthony Burgess suggests that a controlling government will cause a dark, turbulent, gloomy future using mood, using music, and using violence. A passionate lover of classical music, Anthony Burgess readily incorporated this element into his novel. A reader must be somewhat versed in symphony and orchestra to be able to fully grasp what Burgess writes of, "But even as he flatters his readers with the assumption that they have these prerequisites, Burgess reminds them that their cultural attainments are shared by the lowliest, most depraved dregs of humanity." (CLC 70). He had at one point in his life desired to become a composer. Although he did compose classical pieces in his time, he never undertook the task as a profession. This desire translated itself into one of the most important characteristics of the main character, Alex, who himself was an avid listener of symphony, his favorite being Ludwig Van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, "..the Glorious 9th [sic.]" (Burgess 178) as he so called it. He listened to it when he needed soothing and relaxation as depicted after Alex comes home from a night of violence and thievery: Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver [head] the

Some topics in this essay:
Anthony Burgess, Ludovico Technique, Drawn Alex's, Mozart Beethoven, London Alex, English Russian, Symphony Glorious, Fifth Symphony, Alex Pete, Clockwork Orange, anthony burgess, clockwork orange, ludovico technique, dystopian novel, burgess wrote, clc 61, recuperating attempted suicide, real horrorshow, alex music, burgess 181, able grasp, world war ii, clockwork orange burgess,