End of A Clockwork Orange

I thought the book as a whole was very strange and not something I would normally read. A lot of important themes were disscussed like youth violence and freedom of choice, but the ending was very odd to me. I mean, once Alex was released he was pretty much a vegetable and I sort of pittied him and how he was targeted from his past gang members, but after a while he went back to his old ways anyway. So is it really necessary to pity or feel bad for someone because they do not have a choice anymore? I mean, when he was brainwashed he could not think for himself, so I did feel a little bad for him because you would think everyone should have the right to have a choice. But then when he could finally have a mind of his own, what did he do with it? He went right back to his old, violent ways. So are we supposed to pity those who do not have a choice if the choice they make will harm others? As discussed in class I believe this is one of the major issues being debated.

It also makes me sort of frustrated with the fact that in an instant, Alex decided he wanted to be "good" and have a family. On page 212 he blames his violent actions as being young in stating "And all it was was that I was young. But now as I end this story, brothers, I am not young, not no longer, oh no. Alex like groweth up, oh yes." So to me it is bizarre that all of a sudden he wants to "change his ways" and have a family just because now he is grown up? I don't think so. How can somebody truly change that quickly? It seems almost impossible and almost as if there should be "A Clockwork Orange II". I would like to see how Alex "changed" when he met a woman, fell in love, and had children. It would be sort of scary for the fact that he has a reputation for raping women and being very physically aggressive towards others so I would be very curious how he would even act around a woman and a child.

A Clockwork Orange

A quote I would like to elaborate on is found on page 61 in stating "The Mansion or the Manse or some such piece of gloop. Where this very starry ptitsa lives with her cats and all these very starry valuable veshches. Such as? Gold and silver and like jewels." The question I brought up in our group today was: why do you think, in this case, Alex and his gang targeted wealthier individuals, especially because there is a lot more security surounding their homes when they can rob the "slums" and get away with more. My group members responded by saying that the gang would have to rob a lot more homes in the slums to equal the amount of profit from a wealthier home. But then again by doing so there is a greater risk for getting caught whereas in the slums you are more likely to get away with robbery, rape, violence etc... I find this interesting because it seems smarter to rob the slums and not have the risk of getting caught than to rob a mansion and have a great risk of getting caught. I feel that the smart choice would be to target the slums, but at the same time there is a larger reward when targeting the wealthier families. But if Alex and his gang did not care whether or not they got caught then what is there to lose? Nothing.

Lastly I would like to express how I feel about one the topics discussed in class today. We were asked whether or not society is to blame for youth violence. My answer was no. Although parents, teachers, education, media, and society play a role in how we view the world and react in certain situations, it is not solely the cause of "acting out" in our youth. Every individual has the personal choice on how they want to express their emotions. Some people shut down and some people act out. But no matter what it is the individual's choice how they want to deal with their pain. Some people seek help while others feel it is neccessary to steal or murder others for example. Even though our parents are a huge influence on how we see the world, we have the choice on how we want to live our lives. So to blame society and the media and other forms of influence is completely ridiculous. Our actions are chosen by us. We have the choice!