text: Unlike most dystopian novels, which tend to focus on what may happen to government in the future, "A Clockwork Orange" focuses on the nature of the individual in the future. Our protagonist is Alex, only 15 years old but already a habitual criminal, roving the streets with his band of friends, taking advantage of every opportunity to wreak havoc on the world around him. The boys have no qualms about attacking the helpless. In fact, the more helpless the victim, it seems, the more pleasure the boys take in the act. The most interesting and disturbing aspect is that the boys manage to maintain a strange sort of innocence even as they commit the most heinous and violent crimes. They aren't doing any of this out of malice toward their targets; in fact, it seems to matter very little who they pick as a victim. They are creating mayhem just because it's fun for them.
  
  Everything changes, however, when one particular break-in goes horribly awry and Alex finds himself sentenced to 14 years in prison for murder. There, though he manages to create an illusion of good behavior, we see that the experience has no real impression on his sense of morality. Then, after two years, he is chosen for a new, experimental rehabilitation program, designed to rid him of any desire to indulge in, or even contemplate, any acts of violence. As we see, however, this "treatment" also leaves him without any choice in the matter of being good or not. He HAS to be good because he is programmed to be. This, of course, raises the question central to the book: Does good behavior actually mean you are a good person if you have no freedom of choice?
  
  The book can be a little difficult to get in to at first, predominantly because of Burgess's unique style. The story is narrated by Alex and thus, is written in the complex slang language, invented by Burgess for this book, that the youth of this society engage in. For example, a sentence taken from the opening chapter: "He looked a malenky bit poogly when he viddied the four of us like that" (pg. 5). There is no glossary, but if you stick with it, you will start to develop a feel for what most of the words mean after a couple chapters. However, if you find yourself having difficulty, a nice, comprehensive lexicon can be found on Wikipedia if you search for "English to Nadsat" (due to review guidelines I am not allowed to include a direct link). Unfortunately, it is alphabetized by the English equivalents, not by the slang terms, so looking up a word can be a little difficult.
  
  One final note of interest: The original British publication of "A Clockwork Orange" had 21 chapters, as does the current American edition. However, when the book was first published in the United States, the last chapter was dropped. As Burgess explains in his introduction to the restored version, publishers considered this 21st chapter a sellout. Whether it is or isn't is up to you to decide, but I can tell you that the presence or absence of the last chapter makes a huge difference in the overall feel and message of the book. Without the final part of the story in place, the book offers a bleak message, implying that human nature cannot really change. On the other hand, reading the book with the final chapter in place gives us a little more hope. Beyond that, Burgess tells us in his introduction, interpretation is up to you
  