Introduction & chpt 1

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Goals for today 

Feedback on Candide 

Investigating the introduction p. vii - xxiv

Background information on A Clockwork Orange 

Important ideas and research 

Language choices 

Word of the day

Superfluous (adj) - beyond what is necessary, excessive

The speaker's explanation of the process was superfluous; the audience already understood the objective. 

Word of the day

Decide whether each word below is a synonym or an antonym of superfluous 

extra   inessential   bare    wasteful     necessary

minimal     extravagant       surplus     sparse   scanty

Word of the day

Decide whether each word below is a synonym or an antonym of superfluous 

Synonyms: extra, inessential, wasteful, extravagant, surplus 

Antonyms: bare, necessary, minimal, sparse, scanty

INTRODUCTION by Blake Morrison 

1. Why was Anthony Burgess annoyed that A Clockwork Orange should be the most famous of his works according to Morrison?
2. ‘There are good reasons for this…’ (paragraph 2, p.vii) Read this paragraph carefully and identify the key ideas explored in the novel.
   
3. Pages viii – x discuss Burgess’s use of language in the novel. What does Burgess call this language and what is its purpose?

INTRODUCTION by Blake Morrison 

1. Why was Anthony Burgess annoyed that A Clockwork Orange should be the most famous of his works according to Morrison?
2. ‘There are good reasons for this…’ (paragraph 2, p.vii) Read this paragraph carefully and identify the key ideas explored in the novel.
   
3. Pages viii – x discuss Burgess’s use of language in the novel. What does Burgess call this language and what is its purpose?

INTRODUCTION by Blake Morrison 

4. Morrison states that ‘much about A Clockwork Orange is prophetic.’ (p. xi) What does this mean, and what evidence does he give to support his point?

5. (a) What distinguishes Alex (the main character) from most teenagers?

(b) How does Burgess use this idea to explore a significant question?

6. How does Burgess ‘work himself into the story’ (p. xiv)?

INTRODUCTION by Blake Morrison 

4. Morrison states that ‘much about A Clockwork Orange is prophetic.’ (p. xi) What does this mean, and what evidence does he give to support his point?

5. (a) What distinguishes Alex (the main character) from most teenagers?

(b) How does Burgess use this idea to explore a significant question?

6.How does Burgess ‘work himself into the story’ (p. xiv)?

INTRODUCTION by Blake Morrison 

8. On p. xiv and xv we are told about Burgess’s ‘annus mirabilis’. What does this mean, and why is it an apt description of the period when he wrote A Clockwork Orange?

9. What was different about the U.S. version of the novel?

10.  Explain some of the reasons for the tension that developed between Burgess and Stanley Kubrick (director of the film).

11. The book and film were both accused of being an incitement to violence. How did Burgess finally respond to this accusation?

Anthony Burgess was an English writer and composer (1917 –1993) from Manchester.

“What I had tried to write was a sort of Christian allegory of free will. Man is defined by his capacity to choose courses of moral action. If he chooses good, he must have the possibility of choosing evil instead; evil is a theological necessity.” Anthony Burgess

Allegory 

The principles technique of allegory is personification, whereby abstract qualities are given human shape. In written narrative, allegory involves a continuous parallel between two (or more) levels of meaning in a story, so that its persons and events correspond to the equivalents in a system of ideas. 

Adapted Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms 

Burgess lived and taught in Malaya for 6 years before writing A Clockwork Orange.

He returned to Britain to a new British phenomenon – the violence of teenage gangs. Youth sub-cultures, such as ‘Teddy boys’, ‘Mods’ and ‘Rockers’, had appeared, each with a distinct style of dress, and a reputation for violence.

This gave Burgess the idea to write a novel set in the near future, “in which youthful aggression reaches so frightful a pitch that the government try to burn it out with Pavlovian techniques of negative reinforcement.” Burgess 

Burgess wanted the narrator to be a teenage thug, so he wrote a draft using slang words from the 60s. However, he feared that these words would be out of date by the time the book was published. Eventually, he found a solution: “The vocabulary of my space-age hooligan could be a mixture of Russian and demotic (colloquial)  English, seasoned with rhyming slang and gipsy argot*.” He called it ‘Nadsat’ (the Russian word for ‘teen’). 

Burgess had spent some of 1961 in Russia researching for a travel book for his publisher. 

 A Clockwork Orange was published in 1962.

Argot: words and expressions that are used by small groups of people and that are not easily understood by other people.

Cambridge online dictionary 

Mods vs Rockers

Whitsun 1964 has become famous as the peak of the Mods and Rockers riots, as large groups of teenagers committed mayhem on the rain-swept streets of southern seaside resorts. 

Jon Savage The Guardian Features writer 

Mods and Rockers were two conflicting British youth subcultures of the early/mid 1960s to early 1970s. Media coverage of mods and rockers fighting in 1964 sparked a moral panic about British youth, and the two groups became widely perceived as violent, unruly troublemakers.

Wikipedia 

Rockers 

The rocker subculture was centred on motorcycling, and generally black leather jackets and motorcycle boots.  The common rocker hairstyle was a pompadour and their music genre of choice was 1950s rock and roll.

Mods 

The mod subculture was centred on fashion and music, and many mods rode scooters. Mods wore suits and other ‘cleancut’ outfits, and listened to 1960s music genres such as soul, blues, beat music and ska. 

Watch the video. Write down what Burgess' motivation was for writing the novel? 

Goals for today 

Silent reading 

Sharing your research with the class 

Consideration of free will 

Choices in Nadsat language construction 

investigation of chapter 1 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Diligent 

Word of the day

Diligent (adj) - hardworking 

Give three example of impetuous behaviour or

Write two synonyms and two antonyms for diligent. 

The rescuers were diligent in their efforts to save the museum paintings from the rising floodwaters.

Word of the day

Diligent (adj) - hardworking 

Synonyms	Antonyms
earnest	careless
careful	lazy
attentive	neglectful
conscientious	reckless
assiduous	thoughtless

Important terms 

Dystopia
Communism
Behavioural psychology
Autocratic society
Human behaviour according to a deterministic scheme
Social realism
Binary Oppositions
(Classical) Conditioning & Pavlov Reaction 
B. F Skinner 

Augustine of Hippo on free will 

Pelagius on free will 

You will be given a term to research. Make a one or two slides (max) explanation for this term and give an example of it in use. Explain how you think this term relates to the novella. 

1. Do you believe that humans are born and destined to be evil, needing cultivation and societal pressures to become good? Or do you believe that we are basically born good, but are corrupted by our social environment? 
   
2. What are some fundamental characteristics of human beings? That is, what makes us different from machines, robots, or other animals? 
   
3. In what sense is evil part of human nature? Is the ability to perform evil deeds, freely and openly, an important part of being human? How would life be if we lost this ability?

Concepts 

A Clockwork Orange 

Concepts: The inviolability of free will, Manipulation, Power, Violence, Language and communication

Nadsat language construction. Find examples 

	Examples	Effect
Child-like lexi s (words)
Religious vocabulary
Shakespearian/archaic language
Cacophonic language (harsh or discordant sounds) Onomatopoeia
Poetic language
Modern slang/colloquialism
Emotive language
Russian/slavic roots

Make this table in your exercise book and collect examples.

What is the effect of these choices? 

Goals for today 

Choices in Nadsat language construction 

Use of the vocative 

investigation of chapter 1 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Impudent 

Word of the day

Impudent (adj) – rude and not showing respect, especially towards someone who is older or in a more important position

Are there character(s) that we have met in our literary explorations that you could describe as impudent? 

The sad thing was that Lindsey had incurred the internet's wrath because she was impudent and playful and foolhardy and outspoken.

Nadsat language construction. Find examples 

	Examples	Effect
Child-like lexi s (words)	Young malchickiwicks
Religious vocabulary	evensong p.8
Shakespearian/archaic language	betokeneth p. 11 O my brothers p.8
Cacophonic language (harsh or discordant sounds) Onomatopoeia	whizzing from wall to wall p.5 (+aliteration)
Poetic language	destruction to the four winds of heaven p.10
Modern slang/colloquialism	crappy umbrella p.6
Emotive language	lights cracking like atomics p.5
Russian/slavic roots	tolchocked p.10 veshch p.5

Make this table in your exercise book and collect examples.

What is the effect of these choices? 

Upward and downward convergence 

Upward convergence:  a person trying to match their interlocutor by making their speech sound more upper-class. 

Downward convergence: a person adjusts their communication to downplay their social status.

"It would interest me greatly, brother, if you would kindly allow me to see what books those are that you have under your arm."p. 6 

Make a note if you notice the protagonist changing his speech depending on who he is speaking to. 

Who said this, do you think? 

“Children; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when elders enter the room, they contradict their parents and tyrannize their teachers. Children are now tyrants.”

Socrates, circa 470BC

Chapter 1 

1. What evidence is there to suggest that Alex has free will in the opening chapter? Find quotes. 

2. Read the paragraph beginning, ‘The Chelloveck sitting next to me,’ (p. 4 -5) and note the  phrases that point to Alex’s sense that free will is important.

3. From "Our pockets were ...isn't everything" (p.3) Alex uses language in a highly expressive way and his attitude is often revealed by the way he speaks.  Describe his tone here. What does it suggest?

4. Find some other phrases, which show his inability to connect blood with suffering and pain.

5. How has Burgess related the violence in the first chapter to the idea of original sin?

Vocative 

Alex often addresses his droogs using the vocative ‘O my brothers’. What connotations does this phrase have?

Vocative = word such as 'darling' or ' madam' which is used to address someone or attract their attention. (Collins dictionary)