Eh? 'A Clockwork Orange': A Look at the Multiple Endings of a Literary Classic

by Morissa Schwartz

Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange has been controversial since its first 1962 publication in Britain mainly due to its many violent scenes. The book was published in America that same year with the entire final chapter removed. This was done at the insistence of the American publishers who said that American audiences would never believe the original ending where the protagonist, Alex DeLarge, chooses a family over violence. But was the new ending really better? What do the multiple endings say for literature, publishing, freedom of speech, and society.

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2015

Reviews

[Chris Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alex, dead outside his head,
wary how you tread and tread,
on violence he is bred and fed,
behind his eyes, crimson, red,
in the wind, a howling, his voice you dread,
No worry, punk ass Alex has a family, they call him Fred.

Chris Roberts, God Absolute