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Clockwork Orange Dystopian

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Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange is a post-apocalyptic tale warning against the dangers of totalitarian government. Combining recent psychological revolutions involving Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning and the dystopian genre, the novel presents the idea that change and the capacity to make conscious decisions is indicative of an individual’s sense of humanity. Burgess originally constructed the novel to be separated into twenty-one chapters, with seven chapters each being split up into three parts. When releasing the novel in America, however, the publishers opted to omit the last chapter even though those in other countries left the novel as is. The primary question left resonating with several readers is whether or not this last chapter is necessary in providing the novel with a wholesome conclusion. …show more content…
Burgess and many novelists would argue that a true story has not been told without the existence of character development—without this last chapter, Alex regains the ability to choose yet quickly rediscovers the joy in violence and illicit activities. The final chapter makes it possible for audiences to see that Alex is perhaps capable of changing his values by his own means—one day, after getting bored with the violence he and his new gang participate in, he wanders into a bar to be shocked by the news that one of his old friends is now married with children. This shock manifests itself into admiration and envy: Alex begins to imagine what his life could be like if he had a family of his own. The original ending perfectly captures the idea that it is the capacity to change and make decisions that defines humanity by exemplifying such

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