1982. In great
literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of
literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of
violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute
to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.
Violence is abundant in Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, but one particular sequence has a more prominent influence on the overall
meaning than the others: the violence Alex experiences after being
released from prison. His beating at the hands of his old victims as
well as by the duo of his now-deputized friend and enemy serve to show
how savage and vindictive humankind is.
After being turned away from home by his parents and discovering he can
no longer listen to his beloved classical music, Alex takes an
intoxicated trip to the library to read about suicide. The vulnerable
Alex is accosted by an old man, Jack, that he and his droogs beat before
Alex went to prison. Jack and his elderly cohorts mercilessly beat Alex
despite his passivity. Alex had been punished already by the system and
had apparently learned his lesson but Jack continues the
beating until the police step in.
Alex's release was no surprise; his situation was widely publicized as a
triumph of modern psychology and a sign of a bright crime-free future
thanks to the awful aversion therapy to which Alex was subjected to
eliminate his criminal urges. So when an old enemy and an old friend,
now police officers, apprehend Alex for attacking the library patrons,
they know full well that he was really the victim. Bearing old grudges,
they take him to a secluded area and continue the beating that they were
sent to stop.
Alex had already been punished for his transgressions, but still
continued to suffer outside of prison. The people he had wronged insist
on exacting their own revenge, despite the punishment Alex had already
endured. And even the system that was meant to protect him, the very
same one that tortured him under the pretense of saving him, brutalized
him secretly. Burgess used this violence to show how spiteful and
revenge-crazed humankind can be.
I feel like you can still take out some of the summary and expand more upon the "why" Anthony Burgess has it in there. It seemed like you tried to cut down on the beginning as you immediately explained the scene's contribution to the meaning but then you went on to summarize a lot more. If you feel like this is important to understanding I would keep it though, it's just my opinion. Otherwise you had a great essay that is easy to follow with an excellent command of vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job summarizing the scene of violence, but I agree with Santos that you needed to expand more upon the "why" part of the prompt. Also, since this is supposed to be more of a final draft, you might want to add in a conclusion. I don't think your last paragraph can be counted as such. Other than tweaking some of that, your essay is really good.
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