Alex Delarge is a fictional character in the dystopian film A Clockwork Orange, filmed by American director Stanley Kubrick. The picture is based on the book of the same name by the British writer Anthony Burgess. The author did not specify whether the action of the work unfolds in the distant future or in an alternative reality. The plot touches on topics such as sociopathy, a penchant for unmotivated violence, juvenile delinquency, and youth protests against established rules in society.
Anthony Burgess Book
This work of a British writer was published in 1962. The protagonist and storyteller in his novel is a high school student named Alex, who leads a street gang. He lives in a subculture based on extreme violence. For Alex and his accomplices, the commission of atrocities becomes an end in itself. With the help of criminal acts, they express their disobedience to the authorities. The name of the protagonist remains unknown in the novel A Clockwork Orange. Alex Delarge was first mentioned in the adaptation of a literary work for cinema.
The specifics of the novel
The book contains numerous shocking and naturalistic scenes that have caused mixed reactions among readers. In addition, Anthony Burgess performed a bold experiment with a narrative form. The novel is partially written in fictional jargon artificially created by the author himself. Besides literary talents, Burgess possessed linguistic abilities and knew several languages. He traveled extensively around the world and, shortly before writing A Clockwork Orange, visited the Soviet Union. Perhaps this was the reason that most of the words of jargon are borrowed from the Russian language.
In the original text they are written in Latin letters. Nowhere in the book is there an explanation of their meaning for English-speaking readers. Such a non-standard artistic technique created certain difficulties for the public, which hinder the understanding of the content of the novel. However, the writer did not want to abandon the idea of using mysterious jargon, because he sought to emphasize that asocial adolescents live in their closed world and communicate in a language unfamiliar to other people.
Stanley Kubrick Movie
The cult American director was enthusiastic about the proposal to film the book, which received many conflicting reviews from readers. He wrote a cinematic script very close to the literary original. Anthony Burgess 's reaction was the opposite. He was alarmed by the prospect of transferring excessive violence from a book to the screen. However, the writer believed in the talent of Stanley Kubrick and the charisma of actor Malcolm McDowell, who was selected for the main role in the film. Unlike the 15-year-old hero of a literary work, Alex Delarge in the film looks noticeably older. McDowell was able to convincingly translate on the screen the character of the cult novel. Alex Delarge in the photo from the film has become a classic image of a villain.
Director Stanley Kubrick received many threats and allegations of cruelty. He was forced to stop renting a painting in the UK.
Beginning of a character biography
The story of Alex can be divided into three parts. The first tells of his life with his parents in an anti-utopian version of British society. During the day, the main character goes to school, and at night he beats, robs and rapes random victims. Alex Delarge is portrayed as a sociopath who intellectually recognizes the incorrectness of his behavior, but is not able to change it.
Treatment
The next stage of his life begins after he kills a woman in the process of another robbery. Alexa is arrested by the police. The court sentenced him to a 14-year prison term. The administration of the correctional institution offers Alex to take part in experimental treatment in order to get rid of the craving for violence and antisocial behavior. The method consists in developing a conditioned reflex in the patient. If a person who has undergone treatment has a desire to show aggression, he begins to experience severe pain. Alex Delarge is eligible for parole upon successful completion of the experiment.
Side effect
The third part of the story describes the adventures of the protagonist after leaving prison. Alex discovers that after recovering from a craving for violence, he simultaneously lost the ability to protect himself from aggression from other members of society. His parents reject him. The people to whom Alex Delarge has done evil in the past are harassing and beating him. After a failed suicide attempt, he ends up in the hospital. From this moment, the development of events in the film is significantly different from the literary original. In the motion picture, the treatment ceases to work, and Alex again turns into a violent sociopath. The finale of the book is more optimistic: after a few years, the main character grows up and overcomes his destructive inclinations. Alex begins to think that it is time for him to start a family and have children.