A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony BurgessThe Americans seem to feel that their culture is superior to that of others, which they believe enables them the right to tamper with the art originated in other nations. In the case of the novel, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, American publishers believed that they had the right to alter the author’s work to suit their society by excluding the final chapter. I believe this was wrong on their behalf and that the novel should have been published in its entirety. By doing so the author is able to exhibit his freedom of thought through art, his choice of the novel’s structure is allowed and his attempt to present his thesis is complete.
Art allows the creator to express their personal beliefs and/or feelings through their work. If their work of art is ever altered, then it destroys the meaning behind it. When American publishers decided to exclude the final chapter, they destroyed the art of Anthony Burgess. The final chapter was written for a reason and by eliminating it, his work was no longer the representation of his opinions. It had taken on a whole new thesis, that of which was not his. He believed that people could change without the use of medication, but this belief was soon modified only to suit the needs of the American society. He was then criticized by American critics in promoting youth violence, which you could clearly see was not his intent if they would have included the final chapter. People began to see the novel’s influence of violence, but never got to experience the positive change within Alex in the twenty-first chapter. His maturity was the whole point of the novel and by eliminating this important event the reader was unable to see the meaning behind the author’s work. Because his work of art was altered, people could not see his beliefs and/or feelings through his work, which denied him the right to express himself as an artist/author.
Anthony Burgess also carefully thought out the structure of his novel. He created three sections, each beginning with the repetition of the question, “What’s it going to be then, eh?” (Burgess, p.5,61,103) and containing a total of 7 chapters in each part. When the chapters were totaled, it equaled twenty-one, which is commonly known as the age of maturity. The twenty-first chapter is significant to the novel because this is where Alex finally matured into an adult. He rejected the childish crimes of violence he once enjoyed and begins to worry about his future, “Perhaps I was getting too old for the sort of jeezny I had been leading, brothers. I was eighteen now, just gone. Eighteen was not a young age…Eighteen was not all that young an age, then. But what was I going to do?” (Burgess, p.147). His friends have also matured in the final chapter, such as Pete, “‘This’, said Pete to the devotchka, ‘is an old friend. His name is Alex. May I,’ he said to me, ‘introduce my wife?’” (Burgess, p.146). By reintroducing Pete as a mature married man Alex was influenced in starting a new life for himself. This also made Alex realize that he was not the only one going through this complicated stage in life. Also, if this chapter were not included, the reader would be unable to see the significance of Alex’s maturity in the twenty-first chapter.
With the last chapter present, Anthony Burgess was able to completely present his thesis. His thesis was that he believed that it was better for a person to choose to be bad rather than a person be conditioned to be good. He displayed his opinion through Alex’s character throughout the novel. Alex had chosen to be bad in part one, he was conditioned to be good in part two and in part three, with the last chapter included, he made the choice himself to become good. Without this chapter present the reader would not see that a person could chose to become good without the help of any institutions, therapy, eugenics or medication. He believed that the choice of being good was the choice of the individual and should not be forced upon them under any circumstances. With the last chapter absent, there was no opportunity for Alex to morally grow. Burgess thought that if the novel ended after chapter twenty, there would be no significant reason for writing the novel because it did not prove what he wanted it to prove. To him, without the final chapter his novel did not serve a purpose nor was it complete. The American publishers believed that without this chapter the novel was more realistic, which attracted their intended audience, the American society. This made Burgess appear to be a man who believed in unacceptable and dehumanizing behavior, which made him extremely upset. This is not what he had intended and was appalled when people thought of him in this way. The American publishers also found the ending too optimistic, but Burgess wanted to demonstrate that an evil person could chose to be good without the help of medication and/or technology. This proves and supports his thesis and without this chapter, it is true that the novel does not serve a purpose because no moral growth can be found within Alex’s character, which is the whole point of the novel.
Through Anthony Burgess expression of freedom of thought through his art, his choice in the novels final structure and his effort in presenting his thesis are all what make A Clockwork Orange a memorable piece of literature. The last chapter should be included because it is what balances and unifies the novel as a complete work of art. The American publishers were wrong in not publishing the twenty-first chapter and should have though more carefully about the author as an artist and his work as a piece of art before they decided to finalize their decision on not publishing the final chapter.