Alex Delarj - the main character of the film "Clockwork Orange"

Alex Delarj is a fictional character in the anti-utopian film "Clockwork Orange", shot 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, propensity to unmotivated violence, juvenile delinquency and youth protest against established rules in society.

The book by Anthony Burgess

This work by a British writer was published in 1962. The main character and narrator in his novel is a high school student named Alex, who heads a street gang. He lives in a subculture based on extreme violence. For Alex and his accomplices, committing atrocities becomes an end in itself. With the help of criminal acts, they express their disobedience to the authorities. The name of the main character remains unknown in the novel "Clockwork Orange". Alex Delarj was first mentioned in the adaptation of the literary work for the cinema.

Specificity of the novel

The book contains numerous shocking and naturalistic scenes that have caused mixed reactions among readers. In addition, Anthony Burgess made a bold experiment with the form of story telling. The novel is partly written in a fictitious jargon, artificially created by the author himself. In addition to his literary talents, Burgess possessed linguistic abilities and knew several languages. He traveled a lot around the world and shortly before writing "Clockwork Orange" he visited the Soviet Union. Perhaps this was the reason that most of the words of slang are borrowed from the Russian language.

In the original text they are written in Latin. Nowhere in the book is there an explanation of their meaning for English-speaking readers. Such a non-standard artistic method created for the public certain difficulties that prevented understanding the content of the novel. However, the writer did not want to abandon the idea of using mysterious jargon, since he tried to emphasize that antisocial adolescents live in their closed world and communicate in a language that is not familiar to the rest of the people.

Stanley Kubrick's film

Cult American director enthusiastically reacted to the proposal to film a book that received many conflicting reviews of readers. He wrote a cinematic script, very close to the literary original. The reaction of Anthony Burgess was the opposite. He was alarmed by the prospect of transferring from the book to the screen scenes of excessive violence. However, the writer believed in the talent of Stanley Kubrick and the charisma of the actor Malcolm McDowell, chosen for the main role in the film. Unlike the 15-year-old hero of the literary work, Alex Delardj in the movie looks much older. McDowell managed to convincingly portray the character of the cult novel on the screen. Alex Delarj on a photo from a film became a classical image of the villain.

Director Stanley Kubrick received many threats and accusations in the propaganda of cruelty. He was forced to stop renting a picture in the UK.

Beginning of the character's biography

The history of Alex can be divided into three parts. The first tells of his life with his parents in the anti-utopian version of British society. During the day, the protagonist studies at school, and at night beaten, robbed and raped casual victims. Alex Delarj is portrayed as a sociopath who is intellectually aware of the incorrectness of his behavior, but can not 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 sentences him to a 14-year prison term. The administration of the correctional facility suggests that Alex take part in experimental treatment 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 been treated has a desire to manifest aggression, he begins to experience severe pain. Alex Delarj gets the right to early release after the successful completion of the experiment.

By-effect

The third part of the story describes the adventures of the protagonist after leaving the prison. Alex discovers that, recovering from the craving for violence, he simultaneously lost the ability to protect himself from aggression on the part of other members of society. His parents reject him. The people to whom Alex Delarj inflicted evil in the past are persecuted and beaten. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, he enters the hospital. From this moment the development of events in the film differs significantly from the literary original. In the film, the treatment stops working, and Alex again turns into a psychotic-obsessed sociopath. The finale of the book is more optimistic: a few years later the protagonist grows up and overcomes his destructive tendencies. Alex begins to think about the time for him to start a family and have children.