[atlantaprog] clockwork orange.

>   From: UncleEggsy@xxxxxxx
>
>   The American publishers didn't like Burgess' last chapter because it 
> softened Alex's character somewhat at the end.  The film is
based on the US pressing of the book, not the original UK version.
>

well, imo, the character wasn't really softened, but rather made
more human, which made his previous behaviour all the more
aberrant, imo, again.  after all, it's fairly trivial to make a 2-
dimensional, unrepentant snidely whiplash, but to give this
character the human traits of introspection and even remorse
not only redeems alex, but also,  in the process of making the
point of the book (that true social/ behavioural reformation
must originate from within, and can not be imposed) humanizes
the tale and makes it relevant, as opposed to an anti-hero (im)
morality play.

i'm not surprised that the american publishers missed this point,
though - comic book mentality and all that.  frankly, without the
final chapter, the book's meaning is completely lost, imo.

oh, and by the way, the slang in the book is all derived from russian.
korova, moloko, devotchka, droog, horrorshow, etc, are all anglicized
russian.  the implication being that, at the time, the totalitarian state
/bad guy/oppressor was the soviet union, and using the russian in the
story in this manner, as a common form of slang amongst the youths,
sort of implied the oppressive environment within which they lived.  the
fact that only the droogies used the russian slang seemed to insinuate,
at least to me, that in spite of their many flaws, they were the only ones
who were aware of, or at least exhibited the greatest effects of, the
true nature of the society within which they lived, which after all is
what the title of the book is referring to.

here's a great webpage on the topic.

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9145/aco.htm



________________________________
john turner

http://lordonly.net - original music

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