Hannah Charlton

Ms. Seaton
4U English
16/11/2015
In The End.

Everyone deserves their happy ending. At least that is what we are hoping to get. The
ending of Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange wrote an ending that was neither happy nor
sad. It did however give closure to not only to the reader but the protagonist and the author
himself.
The final page is the ending. The book itself ends with the final page in the final chapter.
That is where all the loose ends are tied up and the final curtain has closed. The way Burgess
wrote the last page it was as if Alex was saying goodbye to the reader. This is shown when Alex
says, ....O, my brothers. and so farewell from your little droog. And to all other in this story
profound shooms of lip-music brrrrr (141). That is the final statement that even though
throughout the book all the bad and the ugly stuff happen, Alex and Burgess said goodbye and
were ready to move on beyond the book. The last line in the book gave that final push that
everything was going to be okay. This is shown when Burgess wrote, But you, O my brothers,
remember sometimes thy little Alex that was. Amen. And all that cal (141). This statement is
saying that even though Alex has decided that he no longer wants to be a gang leader, the old
him will be remembered as a memory of what still could be if he had not want to change. It gives
a sense that even though the book is done and that there are no more pages to read, the story
is not over for Alex. He is growing up.
The protagonist, Alex, had killed, assaulted and done some unthinkable things. He was
thrown into the life of the gang at a young age age so it was the only thing he knew best. Once
he hit the age of 18 he was going tired of the contsent violence and ready to grow up and make

a life for himself`. This is shown the ending is tying all the lose ends, Alex says, And all it was
that I was young. But now as I end this story, brothers, I am not young, not no longer, oh no.
Alex like groweth up, oh yes (141). This is Alex accepting the fact that he is ready to grow up
and he knows that he is getting older. He knows that he needs to let go of his youth and
everything that came with it. This proven when he admitted to liking growing up by saying, Yes
yes yes, there it was. Youth must go, ah yes. But youth is only being in a way like it might be an
animal (140). This is saying that as teenagers mature, it is like taming an animal. First they are
wild and full of energy, and by the time they get to an age they learn to be civil and know what is
right and what is wrong. With growing up, he got some closure with his youth and what his past
was. He accepted what he did and he can move on. It is the ending of one chapter and the start
to another book.
Anthony Burgess wrote 21 chapters in his book. Most adults can agree that the age of
21 is when maturity is at its highest. The last chapter is Alex being an adult as was stated in the
last paragraph and reaching that maturity level. Burgess wrote the book and planned it out that
it followed the ways of life. At the beginning of life it is full of fun and trying to make life worth
living by doing anything possible. In this case it was Alex becoming a gang leader and leading
his droogs. As the book and life progresses certain events happen that will define a person's
personality then at the end relation that the fun is over and the future needs to be considered.
Burgess publishers did not want the 21st chapter to be in the book because they wanted a
happy ending. 25 years after the first publishing of his book they finally let him have his last
chapter because he told them that not all endings are happy and not all endings are sad. It is
realty. How it has been taken, is how it is viewed.
Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange does not only have a happy ending, but a sad
ending that makes the reader think about not only the past but their future. Closure is what
closes the final curtain.