A Clockwork Orange

It has been a couple years since I have read Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and so this week I decided to revisit that novel. Anthony Burgess is a very talented author and every time I read A Clockwork Orange, I discover a new detail I had previously over read. The first time I read A Clockwork Orange was in ninth grade when my parents were given a vhs of the film adaptation. I had decided to read the novel prior to watching the film, since films tend to leave out many of the details that authors write. The novel was hard to understand at first with the colloquialism Burgess' characters speak. The further into the novel that I got, the more invested I felt in the plot and the life of Alex and his droogs.
The main character Alex's inability to experience feelings in response to the crimes he commits creates an interesting plot; his droogs an interesting sub plot. Alex, as the leader, is very reluctant to give up his position when he is tested by his colleagues and he is quick to respond with violence. Of course being violent themselves, his droogs trick him into getting caught at the scene of one of Alex's worst crimes where he murders a woman. My favorite part of the novel is when Alex gets out of prison early to be in an experimental method of brain washing. Everytime they played a movie of violent acts, Alex would eventually begin to feel nauseous. The cool part was when he also began to associate Beethoven's 5th with violence and nausea. The entire novel is excelently written and following Alex's journey through his crimes to punishment back to how he ends up at a house where he commited earlier crimes is very interesting.
Of course I saw the film after I had read the novel, and it was a good portrayal of the novel. I was impressed with the adaptation. Burgess' novel is better than the film, but I feel like the actors and the script were a good portrayal of the events that happen throughout the novel.