Alex (A Clockwork Orange)
Alex | |
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First appearance |
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Last appearance |
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Created by | Anthony Burgess |
Adapted by | Stanley Kubrick |
Portrayed by | Malcolm McDowell |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Alexander DeLarge (film only) |
Aliases | The Large (novel) Alex Burgess (birth name; film) |
Nationality | British |
Alex is a fictional character in
Character overview
Alex is the narrator in the novel A Clockwork Orange. The character is portrayed as a thrill-seeking sociopath who robs, rapes, and assaults innocent people for his own amusement. Intellectually, he knows that such behaviour is morally wrong, saying that "you can't have a society with everybody behaving in my manner of the night". He nevertheless professes to be puzzled by the motivations of those who wish to reform him and others like him, saying that he would never interfere with their desire to be good; he simply "goes to the other shop".
He speaks
Character biography
Alex lives with his parents in a block of flats in a dystopian England in which his brand of "ultraviolence" is common. At the age of 15, he is already a veteran of state reform institutions; in the film, he is somewhat older. He spends his days skipping school and listening to music, and his nights terrorizing the neighborhood with his "droogs" Georgie, Pete, and Dim. While the youngest of his gang, he is the most intelligent, and designates himself as the leader. Georgie resents his high-handedness, and begins plotting against him along with the rest of the gang. One night, the gang breaks into a woman's house, and Alex assaults and kills her by ramming her face with a sculpture of a penis and testicles (in the book it is a bust of Beethoven). As Alex flees from the house after hearing police sirens, Dim hits him with a milk bottle (his chain in the book) and the gang leaves him to be arrested. Alex is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Over the next two years, Alex is a model prisoner, endearing himself to the prison chaplain by studying the Bible. He is especially fond of the passages in the
His sentence is
He collapses in front of an old house, owned by a writer the government considers "subversive". The writer is one of the gang's victims, but he does not recognise Alex, who had been wearing a mask as he and his friends beat the man and
He survives, but is badly injured, and wakes up in a state hospital. His parents take him back and the government, smarting from the bad publicity, gives him a well-paying job where he can channel his naturally-violent tendencies against the enemies of the state. The effects of the Ludovico Technique have worn off, and Alex is his old, ultraviolent self again: "I was cured, all right".[4]
While the film ends here, the novel features an additional chapter in which Alex, now a few years older, has outgrown his sociopathy. While his new "droogs" commit crime sprees, Alex sits them out, as he has lost interest in violence. When he runs into Pete at a coffee shop and learns he got married, Alex begins to think about starting a family, but worries that his children will inherit his violent tendencies.
Reception
The
In 2004,
References
- ^ "A CLOCKWORK ORANGE in-depth analysis by Rob Ager 2010". Archived from the original on 9 October 2014.
- ^ Production Photos from A Clockwork Orange, 2003, ARK Theatre Company, directed by Brad Mays
- ^ Kavner, Lucas (20 July 2011). "'A Clockwork Orange' Songs To Be Performed For First Time In History". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
- ^ Heller, Jason (22 March 2010). "A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ Empireonline.com
- ^ Wizard #177
- ^ "Cinema: Kubrick: Degrees of Madness". Time. 20 December 1971. Archived from the original on 21 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ Berardinelli, James. "ReelViews: Clockwork Orange, A". Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- Village Voice. New York City: Voice Media. Archived from the originalon 29 January 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ "25 Biggest Oscar Snubs Ever: #17 - Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ [dead link]Premiere. "The 100 Greatest Performances of All Time". Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- ^ "LA Weekly Theatre Awards Nominations A Clockwork Orange - nominations for "Best Revival Production," "Best Leading Female Performance," "Best Direction"". Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "LA Weekly Theatre Awards A Clockwork Orange - Vanessa Claire Smith wins for "Best Leading Female Performance". LA Weekly. 29 April 2004.