Alex

__Alex__ - Anti-Hero

Set in a futuristic, totalitarian society, Anthony Burgess' __A Clockwork Orange__ follows the experiences of fifteen-year-old delinquent and anti-hero Alex DeLarge. Alex leads a gang of four, including himself, and his constant crimes of rape and violence are largely overlooked by the oblivious community. Duality such as this idea of man vs. society is a significant theme in the novel: Burgess explores concepts such as immaturity vs. maturity, good vs. evil, man vs. government, and rationality vs. impulse. However, authorities do not remain lax for long. After the boys commit a burglary, only Alex is apprehended by police and sentenced to fourteen years in prison.
 * Synopsis of __A Clockwork Orange__**

Prison does not significantly affect Alex; rather, his animalistic tendencies are magnified. Ultimately, Alex's crimes cause him to be chosen as the first participant in a psychological treatment called Ludovico's Technique. The Technique involves conditioning, or training, Alex to become disinclined towards violence through aversion therapy. During treatment, Alex is injected with a substance that causes him to feel sick; he is then forced to watch graphically violent films. Eventually, Alex begins to associate violence with pain and illness and loses his savage desires.

After undergoing weeks of treatment and prison, Alex is released as a free man unable to commit his infamous crimes. He stumbles upon F. Alexander, the man whose house he had robbed before being arrested, but Alexander does not recognize the boy. Rather, he attempts to use Alex's story to further his own cause of overthrowing the repressive government, stating that it has robbed Alex of his free will. The sanctity of choice is therefore also an important theme illustrated by Alex, as he "should" be the only individual in charge of his fate.

Intimidated by F. Alexander's rebellion, state doctors eventually decondition Alex, allowing the boy to return to his prior destructive state. Although Alex indeed forms a new gang, however, he soon tires of his own immaturity and violent exploits. These feelings are exemplified after he encounters an old gang member, who has married and settled down. Ultimately, Alex decides that he desires what his former friend now possesses - a normal life.

For years, the anti-hero archetype has presented readers with a great challenge. Writers utilize this character in order to elicit feelings of conflict from their audiences; although the audience understands the anti-hero's negative qualities, it simultaneously feels compassion for him. In order to be characterized as an anti-hero, a story's protagonist must exhibit certain criteria. Firstly, he must reject societal values, seek to establish his own rules, and lack societal consequences for his behavior. He should also be angry, marginalized from society, and often deemed crude by those around him. In terms of these measures, Alex can be considered a true anti-hero.
 * Alex as an Anti-Hero**

From the very beginning of the novel, Alex proves his state of marginalization from society. His original attire and language clearly display the fact that neither his own community nor the audience is able to relate to him. Alex himself describes his individuality, commenting that his gang "dressed in...black very tight tights with the old jelly mould, as we called it, fitting on the crutch underneath the tights, this being to protect and also a sort of a design you could viddy clear enough in a certain light, so that I had one in the shape of a spider, Pete had a rooker (a hand, that is)..." (Burgess 4). Through their unique style, Alex and his "droogs" - gang - isolate themselves from their peers, and Alex never establishes a normal role in society. Thus, the gang's alienation contributes to Alex's identity as an anti-hero.

Alex also rejects the values of his society through criminality. Disputing the vast majority of his community's ideas, Alex especially condemns the proposed reform of evil. Rather, he believes that "the not-self cannot have the bad, meaning they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they cannot allow the self...But what I do I do because I like to do" (Burgess 45). By rejecting the notion that evil can be reformed, Alex signifies that he possesses little compassion for societal concerns and carries his dissenting beliefs regardless of authority. This view supports Alex's role as an anti-hero by implying that Alex's beliefs shamelessly challenge those of his society.

The delinquent also has a thirst for establishing his own rules. Completely disregarding law and order, Alex constantly poses the question, "What's it going to be then, eh?" (Burgess 3) Although this quote is used throughout the novel in various ways depending on Alex's mental state, its use at the very beginning proves his determination towards free will. Alex himself determines what each night will bring, how violent he will be, and how much destruction he will cause. He worries not about laws and ethics but of fun and self-fulfillment. Occasionally, he even physically harms his "droogs" in order to accomplish his own goals. In doing so, Alex proves a theme constantly present in the novel, the inviolability of individual choice, and thus portrays himself as the epitome of an anti-hero.

Alex is also deemed crude many times throughout the novel, mainly by adults. This occurs most overtly when Alex is seized for conditioning. A doctor bluntly describes the reason for Alex's detainment, remarking that "[what] is happening to you now is what should happen to any healthy human organism contemplating the actions of the forces of evil, the workings of the principle of destruction. You are being made sane, you are being made healthy" (Burgess 121). This quote supports the portrayal of Alex as crude because he is described as a primitive animal. While the doctor performs various conditioning procedures in hopes of eliciting Alex's reform, the reader clearly understands society's view of Alex. "Normal" people see Alex as a savage beast in need of "refinement" for the general welfare, an idea that contributes to Alex's status as an anti-hero. This characterization further dehumanizes Alex and renders the audience less able to relate to him.

After Alex's conditioning begins, readers notice a drastic change in his disposition; he no longer remains nonchalant towards society, but rather angry. He yells at the doctors regarding his treatment, especially when the violent films meant to cure him also unintentionally cause him to be averse towards his beloved classical music: "Then I noticed, in all my pain and sickness, what music it was that like crackled and boomed on the sound-track, and it was Ludwig van, the last movement of the Fifth Symphony, and I creeched like bezoomny at that. 'Stop!' I creeched. 'Stop, you grahzny disgusting sods. It's a sin, that's what it is, a filthy unforgivable sin, you bratchnies!" (Burgess 127) The fact that Alex's irritation appears once doctors begin to condition him may be because he feels robbed of his free will. His lack of control thus lead to a change in his personality, illuminating a harmful effect of power. Although temporary, Alex's anger supports his role as an anti-hero in the story.

Perhaps most importantly, Alex is never truly punished by society for his misdeeds. The society remains dedicated to totalitarianism but completely disregards its youth, allowing Alex and his gang to run largely free from consequences. However, Alex's victims are not as oblivious as the government, although they possess no power to control him: "[The victim] cried out: 'It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law nor order no more" (Burgess 17). Before Alex is sent to a hospital for conditioning, he reigns free in society: only having been berated by police - and lacking strong parents - Alex never faces true punishment prior to treatment. Society's oblivious attitude towards Alex thus casts him as an anti-hero.

Another example of an anti-hero character is Victor Frankenstein, who fits all of the archetypal criteria just as Alex does: Frankenstein's unnatural creation marginalizes him from society, deems him a failure, elicits his anger, and leaves him ignored by society as a whole. The two most important ways in which Alex is similar to Frankenstein involve their egocentrism. Both characters relentlessly pursue their own goals, deaf to the warnings and condemnations of others. Also, Frankenstein and Alex both commit their respective deeds in their own interests but ultimately discover that their actions do not fulfill their desire for happiness. Thus, selfishness generally leads to most of the qualities of an anti-hero, supporting the idea that both Alex and Frankenstein fit that role.

Based on their negative qualities, readers may find it difficult to sympathize with a protagonist such as Alex or Frankenstein. However, close analysis of the archetype suggests that anti-heroes are paradoxically portrayed as more human than the other hero types. Anti-heroes are displayed as flawed but capable of self-improvement; thus, the audience may actually be able to relate to them more easily than it believes it can. Overall, literature seems to portray anti-heroes in such a conflicting manner in order to highlight both the positive and negative qualities of mankind: everyone possesses flaws.

1. USE NADSAT. //Example:// "So down I ittied, slow and gentle, admiring in the stairwell grahzny pictures of old time - devotchkas with long hair and high collars, the like country with trees and horses, the holy bearded veck all nagoy hanging on a cross." - Page 66 //Commentary:// In this quote, Alex describes one of his crimes: he enters the home and views photographs from various eras, including a depiction of Jesus. The fact that Alex discusses these antiques in his rebellious language illuminates his isolation: his hostile values do not correlate with those of his community. Furthermore, Alex's careless description of Jesus supports this idea by implying heresy. His rebellion renders him an outcast.
 * How to Speak Like Alex**

2. REPEAT A FEW WORDS IN EVERY SENTENCE. //Example:// "They were creeching and going ow ow ow as they put their platties on, and they were like punchipunching me with their teeny fists as I lay there dirty and nagoy and fair shagged and fagged on the bed...Then they were going down the stairs and I dropped off to sleep, still with the old Joy Joy Joy Joy crashing and howling away." - Page 51 //Commentary:// Alex's repetition, which lends a sense of urgency to the story, also illustrates his role as an outcast. He does not follow traditional grammar rules, which are inherently present in the surrounding society of law and order. Thus, Alex's community considers him even more of a rebel based on his self-portrayal as uneducated. His unorganized, rough speech patterns never quite coincide with those of his society.

3. ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE AS "BROTHER," DISREGARDING THEIR ACTUAL GENDER. //Example:// "But after that they all had a turn, bouncing me from one to the other like some very weary bloody ball, O my brothers, and fisting me in the yarbles and the rot and the belly and dealing out kicks, and then at last I had to sick up on the floor and, like some real bezoomny veck, I even said: 'Sorry, brothers, that was not the right thing at all.'" - Page 76 //Commentary:// Alex's referral to both his audience and his fellow characters as "brother" ironically demonstrates his alienation from society. Although the word "brother" indicates a close bond, Alex's relationship with the world is anything but. His beliefs and mentality do not coincide with even those of his gang, let alone anyone else. Thus, Burgess uses this satire in order to imply Alex's lack of connection with his surrounding community.

4. DO NOT SEPARATE YOUR SENTENCES, BUT SIMPLY COMBINE THEM. CONJUNCTIONS ARE OPTIONAL. //Example:// "It had not been like edifying, indeed it had not, being in this grahzny hellhole and like human zoo for two years, being kicked and tolchocked by brutal bully warders and meeting vonny leering like criminals, some of them real perverts and ready to dribble all over a luscious young malchick like your story-teller." - Page 86 //Commentary:// Alex's run-on sentences support the idea that his poor grammar isolates him from the strict and orderly society in which he lives. Again, authorities expect a certain behavior from citizens - a behavior which Alex seems incapable of performing. Alex remains fixed in his practices and beliefs throughout the novel, completely resistant to change. Thus, his unorganized speech patterns display his alienation by illuminating his dogmatism.

5. INSULT AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN. //Example:// "Bog bust and bleed you, you grahzny bastards...Bog murder you, you vonny stinking bratchnies. Where are the others? Where are my stinking traitorous droogs?" - Page 71 //Commentary:// Alex's insults serve as the bluntest demonstration of his isolation. Using them throughout the novel, he constantly implies that he can neither get along with or relate to those around him. He antagonizes those who argue with him, a group that tends to include most of society. In this way, Burgess outlines Alex's role as an anti-hero.

6. REFER TO YOURSELF AS "YOUR HUMBLE NARRATOR" WHEN SPEAKING TO OTHERS. //Example:// "And then I was into another saucer brimful of creamy moloko and near went flying again, the whole veshch really a very humorous one if you could imagine it sloochatting to some other veck and not to Your Humble Narrator." - Page 69 //Commentary:// Alex's ironic referral to himself as "Your Humble Narrator" clearly outlines his narcissism. Although not even slightly modest, Alex considers himself an exceptional human being to whom no one can compare. Thus, Burgess illustrates Alex's marginalization from society because Alex places himself on a pedestal above everyone else.

__Conclusion__ Alex's speech patterns can generally be described in the same way as the character himself - contradictory. Thus, one should imitate Alex's syntax and diction whenever he or she desires loneliness or alienation. When an individual becomes frustrated due to either daily or long-term stresses, he should begin to praise himself while disrespecting others. Only then will he gain the space and independence that he indirectly requests. Any other use of Alex's speech patterns will render an individual unnecessarily isolated and unsupported.


 * ALEX'S OBITUARY*

//May 10, 2019//

Alex DeLarge, 75, of England, died Thursday in Denver, Colorado.

Alex was born to the late P and Em in an English countryside village on Dec. 12, 1944. Leading a life of crime until he was fifteen, Alex was the first individual selected to participate in a conditioning experiment called Ludovico's Technique. After learning to associate violence with illness, he relinquished his infamous identity as a delinquent in favor of a relatively conservative lifestyle. Although he was later deconditioned by the government and allowed to revert to his prior behavior, Alex ultimately decided to settle down. He completed his high school and college education and ultimately married Mary Armstrong in 1963. They lived together in England before relocating to America in 1970.

Alex worked as a high school musical teacher before retiring in 2003. He was extremely passionate about interesting his students in the classical arts, especially through the work of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was given the Teacher of the County award in both 1995 and 1998. Alex also enjoyed traveling and spending time with his family.

Alex is survived by his wife and two children: Anna Jane DeLarge and Matthew Blake DeLarge, both born in Denver. He is also survived by three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be sent to the classical music program at DeBreen Middle School.

A viewing will be held at 4 P.M. on Sunday at Dignity Memorial Funeral Home. The burial will occur at 5 P.M. the same day at Fairmount Cemetery.

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