Summary of clockwork
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The narrator, 15-year-old Alex, and his gang - Dim, Pete, and Georgie - run amok in futuristic London. When the foursome isn't downing drug-laced milk in the Korova Milkbar and speaking in the Slavic-influenced slang of nadsat, they are robbing, beating, and raping socialist London's citizens. On this particular night, they beat up an old man with science books and a homeless man, get into a fight with a rival gang led by Billyboy, and steal a car and take it for a joyride to the country. At a cottage labeled "HOME," they beat up the author of "A Clockwork Orange" - a manuscript celebrating human free will and denouncing any infringement upon it - and rape his wife. Back at the Korova Milkbar, Alex hits Dim for interrupting a woman singing a piece from an opera - Alex is a great lover of classical music, especially Beethoven, and he always imagines himself engaging in violent and sexual acts while listening to it.
Alex's parents are ineffectual, and his farcical Post-Corrective Adviser, P.R. Deltoid, cannot fathom why London's youth has turned to criminality. The next night, Alex gets into a fight with Dim and Georgie to assert his leadership. The gang proposes they rob a rich old woman's house. After an unsuccessful attempt to get the woman to open the door, Alex sneaks into the house while his friends wait outside. He gets into a fight with the woman and her cats, but the police soon arrive. His friends betray him, temporarily blinding him while they flee, and Alex is arrested. The police brutalize Alex and are elated to have caught him. Alex soon discovers the woman has died, and he is sentenced to 14 years of jail for murder.
Alex, now known as number "6655321," spends two years in State jail, dealing with brutal wardens, homosexual prisoners, and mindless labor. He relates that Georgie has died. His one supporter in prison is the chaplain, who has taken Alex under his wing since Alex got interested in the Bible - little does he know that Alex entertains violent fantasies when reading the book. Alex asks about a new treatment - Ludovico's Technique - which frees the prisoner and ensures he remains free. The chaplain is skeptical about the treatment, as it eliminates the subject's power to choose. A cell scuffle results in Alex's killing a new prisoner, and the powerful Minister of the Interior asks the prison Governor to use Alex as a guinea pig for the new treatment.
Alex shrugs off the chaplain's concerns about the treatment and signs up. He is transferred to a new hospital, where he is given a shot after each filling meal. The treatment, under Dr. Brodsky, consists of being forced to watch violent films (his eyelids are propped open) while strapped in a chair. The films are violent, and Alex has a terrible physical reaction to their violent content, feeling sick and begging the doctors to stop. The doctors have a sadistic streak in them, however, and happily continue the treatment. Alex soon finds even the thought of violence, not to mention the demonstration of it in reality, makes him ill. Classical music, used as a soundtrack for some of the films, also makes him sick by association. After two weeks, Alex's treatment is over and he is trotted out to demonstrate the effects for an audience. Even without the shot, any semblance of violence or sex debilitates him, and he is pronounced cured by the Minister.
Alex, now a free man, is also a celebrity, his case touted by the Government as a major step in turning back rampant crime. He finds London is a less violent place now. He is no longer welcome in his home, as a lodger named Joe has displaced him in his parents' home. Alex no longer enjoys classical music, either, and contemplates suicide. The old man with the science books and other elderly people beat Alex up in the library, only for the police - now including Dim and Billyboy - to take Alex into the country and further brutalize him. They leave him for dead, and he seeks shelter in the "HOME" cottage.
Alex's parents are ineffectual, and his farcical Post-Corrective Adviser, P.R. Deltoid, cannot fathom why London's youth has turned to criminality. The next night, Alex gets into a fight with Dim and Georgie to assert his leadership. The gang proposes they rob a rich old woman's house. After an unsuccessful attempt to get the woman to open the door, Alex sneaks into the house while his friends wait outside. He gets into a fight with the woman and her cats, but the police soon arrive. His friends betray him, temporarily blinding him while they flee, and Alex is arrested. The police brutalize Alex and are elated to have caught him. Alex soon discovers the woman has died, and he is sentenced to 14 years of jail for murder.
Alex, now known as number "6655321," spends two years in State jail, dealing with brutal wardens, homosexual prisoners, and mindless labor. He relates that Georgie has died. His one supporter in prison is the chaplain, who has taken Alex under his wing since Alex got interested in the Bible - little does he know that Alex entertains violent fantasies when reading the book. Alex asks about a new treatment - Ludovico's Technique - which frees the prisoner and ensures he remains free. The chaplain is skeptical about the treatment, as it eliminates the subject's power to choose. A cell scuffle results in Alex's killing a new prisoner, and the powerful Minister of the Interior asks the prison Governor to use Alex as a guinea pig for the new treatment.
Alex shrugs off the chaplain's concerns about the treatment and signs up. He is transferred to a new hospital, where he is given a shot after each filling meal. The treatment, under Dr. Brodsky, consists of being forced to watch violent films (his eyelids are propped open) while strapped in a chair. The films are violent, and Alex has a terrible physical reaction to their violent content, feeling sick and begging the doctors to stop. The doctors have a sadistic streak in them, however, and happily continue the treatment. Alex soon finds even the thought of violence, not to mention the demonstration of it in reality, makes him ill. Classical music, used as a soundtrack for some of the films, also makes him sick by association. After two weeks, Alex's treatment is over and he is trotted out to demonstrate the effects for an audience. Even without the shot, any semblance of violence or sex debilitates him, and he is pronounced cured by the Minister.
Alex, now a free man, is also a celebrity, his case touted by the Government as a major step in turning back rampant crime. He finds London is a less violent place now. He is no longer welcome in his home, as a lodger named Joe has displaced him in his parents' home. Alex no longer enjoys classical music, either, and contemplates suicide. The old man with the science books and other elderly people beat Alex up in the library, only for the police - now including Dim and Billyboy - to take Alex into the country and further brutalize him. They leave him for dead, and he seeks shelter in the "HOME" cottage.
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