Table of Contents
The Word, Clockwork Orange
By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose good and evil. If he can only perform good or only perfom evil, then he is a clockwork orange, meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up God or the Devil or the Almighty State.
It is as inhuman to betotally good as it is to be totally evil. The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, on order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by the grinding opposition of moral entities.
The word, clockwork orange, describe a person who lacks free will and are akin to a mechanical toy. Burgess believes that being entirely good or entirely evil is not a characteristic of human nature. The essence of humanity lies in our ability to make moral choices, even though those choices might involve a mix of good and evil actions.
It(A Clockwork Orange) seems likely to survive, while other works of mine that I value more bite the dust
Anthony Burgess, the British author of the novel “A Clockwork Orange,” expresses his belief that “A Clockwork Orange” will endure and remain relevant over time, while some of his other works that he personally values more will not be as enduring and will eventually be forgotten or dismissed. Despite his personal attachment to those other works, he acknowledges that they may not stand the test of time or have the same impact as his acclaimed novel.
This passage reveals a common sentiment among authors and creators, where some of their works, which they may not consider their best, end up becoming more widely appreciated and remembered by audiences. It highlights the unpredictable nature of artistic success and how certain works can resonate with people in ways that the creator may not have anticipated.
Terms
| Bog | God |
| deng | money |
| devotchkas | young girls or women |
| droog | friend |
| hound-and-horny | corny |
| kupet | to buy |
| milk-plus mesto | milk that has been laced with drugs, usually stimulants or hallucinogens |
| mozg | brain |
| peet | to drink |
| pol | sex |
| pretty polly | young women or girls |
| rassoodock | reason or to understand |
| rooker | a person |
| skorry | quck or fast |
| veddy | very |
| veshch | thing, material things |
| viddy | to see or to watch |
Chapter 1: What’s it going to be then, eh?
We wore our hair not too long and we had flip horrorshow boots for kicking,
The above phrase seems to describe a group of individuals with relatively shorter hair who wore a particular type of eye-catching or unconventional boots designed for kicking. The imagery created by terms like “flip” and “horrorshow” suggests that these individuals had a distinct and possibly edgy style.
One of the three ptitsa at the counter, the one with the green wig, kept pushing her belly out and pulling it in time to what they called the music.
The sentence seems to describe a scene where three young women, one of whom has a green wig, are at a counter. The woman with the green wig is playfully moving her belly in and out, seemingly in sync with the music that is playing.
Chapter 2: When we got outside
They’d probably just been doing the dirty slovo part of the act before getting down to the malenky bit of ultra violence.
The term “dirty slovo” could represent actions or behaviors that are obscene, offensive, or shocking, reflecting the characters’ inclination toward transgressing boundaries. “Malenky” still means “small” or “little” in the Nadsat language used in the novel. The phrase “malenky bit of ultra violence” suggests that, following their earlier transgressive actions, the characters are about to engage in a smaller yet more extreme act of violence. This progression highlights their capacity for brutality and their willingness to descend further into a darker state of mind.
It showcases the characters’ inclination toward violence and their readiness to escalate their actions to extremes. The sentence echoes the novel’s exploration of the consequences of uncontrolled impulses, and societal decay.
We fillied round what was called the backtown for a bit, for scaring old vecks and the cheenas that were crossing the roads and zigzagging after cats and that.
Basically it means “We wandered around what was known as the outskirts for a little while, scaring elderly guys and the bicycles that were crossing the roads and zigzagging after cats and such.”
The narrator and his friends seem to be indulging in some form of thrill-seeking or reckless behavior, possibly out of boredom or a desire for excitement. The act of scaring the elderly men and bicycles suggests a mix of juvenile mischief and disregard for the well-being of others. The “zigzagging after cats and that” further emphasizes their aimless and chaotic behavior, as they seem to be intimidating the bicyclists who are trying to navigate the roads while chasing after cats.
The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of a sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my swordpen.
The effort to enforce upon humanity, a being characterized by its potential for development and its capacity for kindness, and the endeavor to try and enforce, as I am saying, regulations and circumstances fitting for a mechanical creation. In opposition to this notion, I wield my writing instrument as a symbol of resistance.
In this passage, the narrator is expressing his opposition to the idea of imposing strict rules and mechanistic control on human beings. He perceives humanity as a complex and evolving entity, capable of growth and kindness. The narrator is critical of any attempt to subject humans to laws and conditions suitable for machines. By asserting that he “raises his swordpen,” he signifies his intention to challenge and combat these notions through his writing. The act of raising his “swordpen” is a metaphor for resisting and fighting against the imposition of rigid structures on human nature.
Rerefernces
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