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  • Essay / The role of the character Alex in highlighting the theme of a clockwork orange

    As the protagonist and narrator of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, the character of Alex is an intriguing study from start to finish. the end. Specifically, comparing the first and third parts of the novel, Alex's world, internally and externally, his characterization and difficulties are revealed to be mirror images of each other, both identical and reversed. While Alex was the soulless executioner in part one, he repeatedly finds himself a victim in part three. Where he was once welcome at the beginning of the story, he is cast out by the end. What pleases him at the beginning makes him suffer in the third part. This symmetrical and careful structure clearly and symbolically shows how much Alex has changed and what Ludovico's technique has done to him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay In the first part, Alex, as an extremely vicious gang leader, is an arrogant 15-year-old thug without the slightest sympathy . for his victims. He does not appear to rape, steal, beat, or murder for money, valuables, sexual gratification, or other tangible things. As we see at the beginning of Korova Milkbar, he is willing to spend every penny he has on drinks and snacks for old women, just "so that we will have more incentive" to shoplift (8 ). Alex is portrayed as being violent and sadistically evil simply for the experience, for the joy of it, and not as a means to an end. He seems to derive some aesthetic satisfaction from engaging in evil for evil's sake. He even considers his violence as a kind of art, as evidenced by the description of his favorite weapon. “For my part, I had a beautiful, star-studded horror show, a hard-fought britva [razor] on which, at that time, I could shine and shine artistically” (16). Overall, nothing in his past can explain why he is so cruel and mean, why his penchant for violence is so high. As his state-appointed guidance counselor, PR Deltoid, tells him: "You have a good home here, good loving parents, you don't have too bad a brain." Is there a devil crawling inside you? » (39). While leaving this question unanswered, we see that Alex's commitment to evil is so pure that he fantasizes about nailing Jesus to a cross. Along with his violent tendencies in the first part, Alex is also portrayed as immature and irresponsible. He holds no job and appears to have no responsibilities of any kind. He stays outside all night, without informing his parents, sleeps all day and always expects to be fed, clothed and taken care of. At the Korova Milkbar, Alex and his friends communicate in teenage lingo that sounds distinctly like baby talk. They use words like "appy polly loggies" for apologizing, "eggiwegs" for eggs, "skolliwolli" for school, "boohooed" for crying, and "fistie" for fist. These linguistic choices allude to their infantilism and, in light of their anarchy, their childish and perverse nature. Additionally, in the first part, Alex is portrayed as very arrogant, self-centered, autocratic and too firmly convinced of his superiority over everyone he meets. His haughty attitude towards the other members of his gang eventually leads them to betray him. After losing some place in his group, Alex vainly assumes that taking on a thievery job alone will prove his dominance over them once and for all. “I thought… I was going to show my fickle, worthless droogs that I.