Open Prompt Edit #2

1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

        

         Violence is sometimes a plot device in novels, a source of conflict or a way to reveal characterization. In other works violence serves to advance the author’s thematic message. A Clock-Work Orange, though as graphic as any pulp novel, accomplishes this with aplomb. Through use of pervasive violence in his dystopian novel, Burgess advances his statements on brain-washing, societal values, and maturation.

         Just as he uses his slang language of Nadsat to give the reader a feeling of Alex’s brainwashing, Burgess desensitizes the reader with his barrage of violence. Working against the revulsion-triggering Luvodico’s Technique Alex undergoes, the reader is no longer repulsed by the brutality of the actions. Further working against the automatic distaste disturbing violence creates, he makes sociopath Alex a compelling narrator. Despite his delight in rape and “ultra violence”, Alex’s wit, distinguished tastes, and alienation make him appealing, mudding the reader’s moral sensibilities. Burgess conditions the reader through the use of violence to add complexity to his defense of free will.

         Violence allows Burgess to comment on the values of the society and government he has created. Although the government decides to forcibly reform Alex’s violent behavior, the officials are shown to be just as brutal as he is, notably when the doctors administering the Luvodico Technique enjoy Alex’s anguish. Alex, and the acts of violence he commits, is then seen in a more sympathetic light. He becomes a rebel against their hypocrisy, willing to do what they don’t but would like to. Violence comes to symbolize a government not bent on keeping people safe, but keeping people in control.

         At the end of A Clockwork Orange we are introduced to the adult Alex. He finds that violence is no longer satisfying. Destruction no longer gives him the same enjoyment; he becomes bored in of ultra-violence. Alex matures. Burgess uses violence to make the destructive impulses all humans have into an adolescent phase on the way to mental adulthood. By having Alex grow out of violence Burgess chooses to characterize human nature as not one inherently evil, the developed mind leans towards creation.

         More than a shock-tool, the violence in A Clockwork Orange gives it thematic value. Without this brutal imagery Burgess could not create a revolting and complex idea for the reader to grapple with. Violence becomes more disturbing as one is no longer disgusted.