It's still working: A Clockwork Orange

On Fridays, I sometimes have my classes do "Booktalks"-- which are 3-5 minute informal speeches about something, anything that they've read. If a student isn't sure what to talk about he can always pick up a book or magazine from the classroom and simply read to us. It's really fun when students get excited and ham up the presentations. Some give wacky gestures and others just really use their voice changes to draw us in. This week, I was reminded of a book I read ages ago that my students have also found captivating: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Of course there is also a movie based on the book, but the book is a bit challenging and it doesn't get 'artsy' like the movie does.

Please be warned, the content of both the book and the movie may be quite disturbing to some, but the author does a great job commenting on society through the story and the sex and violence are necessary to get the point across. First, you must know that the author has adopted russian words (Anglocized of course) in order to convey a sense of slang words that the main character uses. This is a bit tricky for the first 20 pages, until you realize that mahlenki means little, balshoy means big, and krovy means blood. Also, the old "in-out, in-out" refers to sex. Believe me, there is lots of krovy and lots of "in-out".

The story is essentially this: Alex is the leader of a gang. His gang members are called "droogs". Alex and his gang are hoodlums who rape and pillage from whomever they choose. Finally, there is a challenge of authority from one of the droogs and the droogs sell out Alex. Alex ends up in some sort of asylum and he is forced to have "therapy" which involves watching violent and sexual videos while he is poisoned. Thus, Alex becomes conditioned to no longer be able to stand the sight of sex or violence. The story doesn't end there, because Alex encounters his droogs after he's released from his 'treatment'.

This book has long been a favorite with teens. Why? Is there sex and violence? Yes. There's also the challenge to authority and I think more than anything, teens especially love to read a story written from the "bad guy's" perspective. At least I know I do. And, it's nice to feel torn about whether a character is really "bad" or not. It's nice to read a story that actually has character development and this definitely has that.

Lastly, would I let my teens read this...? Yes. Would I let my teens watch the movie? Not until they'd read the book (and if they were over 17). This is the type of story that requires reflection or even "debriefing" because of it disturbing nature--which is what I think many teens are looking for with their reading; They're looking for answers and ways to experience the "dark side" without having to actually go to the dark side for the answers. This book is one way to do so.