:ahem:

[krissybeth]

I have decided that there is SO MUCH idiocy on LJ, I will commence writing more entries. Perhaps short entries, perhaps poorly written entries, but hopefully a voice of saneness and nonbrain gouging opinions. I'll probably just give updates about my life, which I haven't done in awhile. Writing is also much more productuve for my brain than sitting

Comments

[stillnotelf]

April Fool's Day Resolution! Those are the best type. You shoulda waited.

[invertedjello]

its sad...cause its true :)

BTW, that's one of my favorite departures into literary theory. Which means I should probably restrain myself and NOT comment on it.

[krissybeth]

Aww, c'mon, now I'm curious.

I mean, it feels wrong to tell an author he made a wrong decision about his own book and his own characters, especially cause Burgess had this crazy numerology thing going on, but that last chapter... phew...

He seems to contradict himself on the concept of free will. Alex deciding he;s grown up and won't be a youthful hoodlum anymore? It seems like he doesn't have a choice about the matter. I wrote a three page paper on this but, in the 1986 introduction Burgess says that men without free will are machines. But in the last chapter Alex says youthful people are like machines! So youths have no free will....? But then what did the government take away from him????

Craziness.

[kksimone]

I don't know how I feel about the endings of Clockwork Orange. I'm pretty sure I read it with the original ending--I don't know if it's still possible to buy a new copy without Burgess' last chapter.

I thought the book's penultimate chapter ended with Alex jumping out the window and that was it. (I could be wrong and don't have a copy here with me) In the movie, he jumps and then the doctors "fix" him so he can listen to Beethoven and have sex with super models and kick the crap out of stuff, and I can't remember if that happens in the book--either in the next to last chapter or last chapter.

I always thought it odd that Burgess dropped the last chapter for the American edition because he thought we cynical Yanks could handle that sort of bleakness.

[krissybeth]

Book ends with Alex going back to the old life, right down to getting 3 droogs. He also has a cooshy government job. But he meets his old friend Pete, who's married, and decided to move on with his life. He's not young anymore (he's 19!!!) and decides to settle down so he can have a son carry on his crazy lifestyle.

And Burges claims he only let American publishers take out the last chapter because he was a poor starving artist. The publishers of course claim they "suggested" editing out the lasdt chapter, and Burgess agreed. But yeah,. that's the reason the publishers gave. America is tough, we can take Alex not reforming.

[momoironohana]

Idiocy eh?? I'll gouge your brain bitch. :-P

[krissybeth]

Now, now, you know I'm not referring to you. Certain people just update every 4 hours or so and fill LJ with mind numbingly horrible personal thoughts!

[momoironohana]

Ooooooooohhhhh..... I hadn't thought of THAT ONE! Yes... my friends list is this close to being trimmed by one user... which sadly enough will just about halve the entries.