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The author:
Anthony Burgess was born on the 25th of February in 1917. In Manchester, where he was born, he studied English at the university. After spending six years as a soldier he came back invalided in 1959.
He started to be a professional writer to provide security for his wife. Burgess went on writing and published more than 30 books until his death in 1993.
A Clockwork Orange:
Alex robs, rapes, tortures and murders people - just for fun, with his three friends Pete, Georgie and Dim. There is also another gang, which they hate, leaded by Billyboy.
Alex and his friends arrive at an old cottage in the countryside and play the old trick where Dim pretends to be wounded and where an ambulance is absolutely important! The trick works out and as the woman opens the door the 4 young men invade and begin their "real horrorshow". They rape her and beat down her husband till both are lying on the floor motionless. Then they leave the house again and go for a drink.
Alex adores Ludwig van Beethoven and each time when he hears his music, he sees people who are tortured and murdered, women who are raped. When he meets his friends, he notices that there is some kind of tension between the four of them. But then they start a new tour to the city where they find a great house to make a real horrorshow. They play their trick but this time the old woman in the house is suspicious and does not open the door. Alex goes in alone through a window. The woman phones the police while Alex steals some precious things. When he comes in the kitchen he meets the woman and they start to fight. When Alex has settled the problem he wants to leave and he already hears the noise of the police. But when he wants to run out, Dit smashes him with a chain. Alex can't see anything and soon he is prey of the police.
Alex has to stay in prison for one year but the warders like him, because he does not make any troubles. The others escaped. There is a "new technique" he heard about. It is called "Ludovico's technique" and is supposed to change bad into good. is really keen on being the one, who is allowed to take part.
They choose Alex and take him to a room where he gets to see special, very cruel films. Each film is accompanied by classic music. Also pieces of Beethoven...
He gets to see two films per day and every time sickness and pain come up.
After six months he is "cured". And as a "good guy" he marches out into the world.
Alex is free now, but does not know what to do. If even one single violent thought comes into his mind, he feels sick. He goes to the library and there he sits next to a man he has violated one year ago. He attacks Alex, who is helpless and even happy when the police comes. But the two policemen are Dim and Billyboy. They beat Alex up in the countryside. When he has recovered he finds a house where the man is very helpful. He cares for Alex till he tells him the story about Ludovico's technique and the two policemen who treated him that way. Then Alex notices that it is the man whose wife he and his friend have raped and who died afterwards.
Alex trusts the man but he also recognized Alex's face and only pretends to help him. He takes him to a room where Alex hears loud music -Beethoven. Alex gets desperate and because he can't open the locked door he jumps out of the window.
In the hospital where he awakes, everyone tries to cover the experiments. Someone plays some classic music. Alex sees violent acts and brutal murders again. But there is no sickness and pain anymore. He can also act out Horror Shows again. But soon Alex starts to think about his life and then he realizes what he is really longing for. It's a family. Someone to love.
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