"Clockwork" Language Reconsidered: Iconicity and Narrative in Anthony Burgess's "A

Clockwork Orange"
Author(s): Robbie B. H. Goh
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Journal of Narrative Theory, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 263-280
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"Clockwork"LanguageReconsidered:
Iconicityand Narrativein AnthonyBurgess's
A Clockwork
Orange
Robbie
B. H. Goh

AnthonyBurgess'sA ClockworkOrangeis a novel structuredaround

repetitivepatterns,the mostobviousbeingits three-part division,eachbe-
ginningwith an identicalquestion("What'sit going to be then, eh?").
PhilipRay sees this tripartitestructure as an imitationof theABApattern
of the eighteenth-century Italian"da capo aria,"suggestingthatAlex's
movementtowardslaw-abidingadulthoodtakeson the characteristics of a
formal,predictablereturnwithina set-piece(137).Burgesshimselfspeaks
of the "arithmology" of the original21-chapternovel("21beingthe sym-
bol of humanmaturity"),suggestingthatthe narrative's formmimesthe
organic and social development of the protagonistAlex, althoughthis or-
ganicarithmologydoes nottotallyescapethe suggestionthatAlex'smatu-
rity is a kindof depersonalising andinorganicassimilationintothe norm
or social standard(Play withMusic,vi). Indeed,this is preciselythe ob-
jection made by the first Americanpublisherof the novel, W. W. Norton,
which arguedthat the final chaptershould be omittedin orderto minimise
the sense of a reassuring and expected moral conformity at the end of
Alex's career.1
Structuralrepetition reinforces Burgess's vision of the constraintsof
social structures, which create merely a "clockwork"morality through

JNT Journalof NarrativeTheory30.2 (Summer2000):263-280. Copyrightc 2000 by

JNT: Journal of Narrative Theory.
264 i N T

Skinnerianconditioning and other less obvious, more insidious means-

and language itself, as a socializing system, is not exempt fromthis indict-
ment. M. Keith Booker arguesthatthe teen language,"Nadsat,"spoken by
the narratorAlex, representsvarious forms of entrapmentand condition-
ing: it may reflect the subtle influenceof"Russian propaganda,"as well as
havingan "alienating" effect on its teen speakers,since it cannotbe un-
derstoodby mainstreamsociety.Furthermore, its "lustfor violence"and
"contemptfor women"also play some role in determining Alex's repeti-
tive crimes(95-97).EstherPetixgoes so faras to findin Nadsat"thePla-
tonic formof mechanism:the cadenceof a metronomeandthe ticking-
tocking ramificationsof humanitywithout its essence" (126). Other
scholarswho are less concernedwiththe formalrepetitionsin the narra-
tive structureof his novel, neverthelessalso emphasizeBurgess's"struc-
turalist"foregroundingof the "ideal patterns"of languagerules and
rhetoricalelements.2
Burgess'suse of languagein thisnovelmakesa statementaboutthe in-
dividual'sstruggle(with varyingdegreesof sincerityand effectiveness)
for authenticityunderdystopianconditionsof social control.Interwoven
into the largerrepetitivestructuresof the novel are momentsof startling
linguisticvariationandexperimentation, stemmingon the one handfrom
Alex's neologisticplayfulnessand inventiveness,and on the otherfrom
his mimicryof the linguisticperformances of othersaroundhim. Theo
D'Haen, who the
argues minority view that Alex represents theartisticim-
pulse, the "creative,imaginative,liberatinguses of language,"bases his
argumentin parton Alex's superiorlinguisticflexibility,sincehe canuse
a "gentleman'sgoloss"as well as his teen argotNadsat(46). It is worth
noting fromthe beginningthatAlex's narrativeis thus curiouslyhybrid
andheteroglossic,rebelliouslyinventiveat one moment,andperfectlyim-
itativeand conformist(despitehis often satiricalor deceptiveintent)the
next. In this light, it does seemtoo optimisticto argue(as D'Haendoes)
thatat the end,thereis a "preservation of the protagonist's linguisticcre-
ativityandimagination,andof his individuality" (49). Thedominanceof
the largerrepetitivestructures in the novel seemsclear;whatis less clear
is the scope for individualfreedomandinventivenesswithinsuch larger
structures.
The novel's vision of social controlis thus encodedin the different
kindsof linguisticperformances on thepartof Alex,the Everymanof this
 "Clockwork" Reconsidered
Language 265

dystopianworld. Alex's "infantile"experimentswith language-with

smallmorphemicunitsandthepossibilitiesof transplanting themto create
new words,with soundsandtheiriconicandphonemicqualities-consti-
tutesa sortof micro-politicsof the individual(125).3Setagainstthisis the
repetitive,deceptiveanddehumanising languagewhichAlex attributesto
the adultfiguresof powerin his society,but whichalso threatensto take
over his discourse.Nowhereis the novel's dystopianvision moretren-
chantlyarticulatedthanin the narrative'scode of intratextual influences
and repetitions,in its intrusivenumericalpatternsand forms,associated
with socialpowerandcorruption.
It is worthpointingoutthatthe novel'sdystopianqualityis not simply
a realistecho of the socialwoes Britainwas facingin the 1950sandearly
1960s.Thereare,on the one hand,allusionsto socio-politicaleventssuch
as the Burgessand Macleanspy scandalof 1951, andrelatedfearsof a
largergroupof communistsympathisers in Britishgovernmentandsoci-
ety. This is transformed in the novelinto the Russian-based morphological
and lexical elementsin Nadsat,and the imaginingof a largerinfluence
throughRussianmusicandpopularculture.The generalsocialclimatein
thenovel,withits rampant youthviolenceanda government whichis cyn-
ically authoritarian and helplessat the sametime, also seems to borrow
vaguelyfromcontemporary phenomenalike the riotingTeddyboys in the
mid-1950s(who, like Alex's gang,dressin pointedlyretrospective fash-
ion), andthe difficultiesandcriticismsfacedby the Conservative govern-
ment in the late 1950s in theirresponseto those riots,the Suez Canal
demonstrations, racialviolenceand othercrises (Spittles16-23). How-
ever,Burgess'snovel is apoliticalin the sensethatit is not interestedin a
moraljudgementof the largersocio-politicalsystem.Klawitter,discussing
Burgess's1985, observeshis insistenceon the autonomyof art,and his
criticismof Orwell'snovel forallowingsocialrealityto determineartistic
form (160). Burgess'sconcernis with the individual'slived experience
withinthe novel's given scenario,whichencapsulates the effectof power
in generaluponthe individual,ratherthansatirisinga particular political
regime or era. By makinglanguage and its relationship experiencethe
to
primarypoliticalarena,the novelemphasisesthe textualityof politics,its
manifestation as poweroverthesocialpraxisof the individual,andits cre-
ationof a dilemmaof legalityandindividuality.
In this foregroundingof languageas political arena, it is Alex's
266 IN T

concernwithiconicityandonomatopoea whichembodiesthe
in particular
novel'snarrativehopefulness.Iconicity,in CharlesSandersPeirce'ssemi-
nal terms,is a relationshipof "similarity" or "resemblance" betweenthe
formalor materialaspectsof the sign, and its signified(105). ForPeirce,
the icon refersto its referent"merelyby virtueof charactersof its own"
(whichcharactersaresaidto "resemble" or be "similar" to thereferentob-
ject), whereasa "symbol"signifies"byvirtueof a law,usuallyan associa-
tion of generalideas."Thusit is possibleto distinguishbetweenthe non-
mimetic,abstractandconventionalsignificationof symbolicsignson the
one hand,andiconic signs on the otherhand,wherethe formalproperties
of the sign mimethe signified.
To this intriguinghope for a formof significationpriorto "thelaw,"
RomanJakobsoncontributedthe notionof the reassuringmaterialityof
iconic signification. In discussingthe "poetic function"of language,
Jakobsonthoughtthatit consistedin "promoting the palpabilityof signs"
(326). Yet this "palpability,"thoughsignificantas a formalcharacteristic
whichdistinguishespoeticlanguagefromotherformsof discourse,is ini-
tially defined by Jakobsonas a projectionof the "principleof equiva-
lence"fromthe axis of"selection"ontothatof "combination"--i.e. it is a
principleof imitativecontiguity,betweenpartsof the sign andbetween
signs,consistingin rhythmic,phonemic(alliteration, assonance)andother
equivalences.Imitationin this sense-what JergenJohansencalls an "in-
trasystemicsimilarity"-is a clusteringof similaror relatedformalele-
mentswhich"hasnothingto do withtherelationship betweensignandob-
ject" (49); it thus seems quitedifferentfromwhatPeirce(1955: 106) saw
as the icon's abilityto reveal"truths" via "directobservation"(106).4 Yet
laterin the sameessay,Jakobsonextendshis discussionof thepoeticfunc-
tion of languageto notethe "internal nexusbetweensoundandmeaning"
whichthusarises,invokingPope'sdictumthat"thesoundmustseemand
echo of the sense"(373).
Thusnotwithstanding the purely"intrasystemic" natureof this semio-
sis, iconicitypointsto thepossibilityof a palpabilityof signs,a signifying
processmarkedby fundamental notionsof materialresemblances andcor-
As
respondences. cognitive theorists
like Lakoff (1987), Lakoff and John-
son (1980), LakoffandTurner(1989)andGibbs(1994) show,the mental
processesunderlyingmuchof our figurativelanguageare organisedand
structuredby fundamental categories,or "idealizedcognitivemodels"in
 Reconsidered
Language
"Clockwork" 267

Lakoff'sterms(68). Thesefundamental "prototypes"of meaningareoften

to the somaticbasesof our "everydaybodilyandperceptual
attributable
experiences"(79). Iconicityand onomatopoeiacan thus be seen as lan-
guage which, while no doubtfigurativeand conventionallike otherlin-
guisticitems,neverthelessgestureto the concrete,materialworldby map-
pingourexperienceof thingsontoa corresponding of the sign.
materiality
As Lakoffputsit,

certain
givenourbodies,weperceive
... aspectsof ourex-
ternalenvironmentvery accuratelyat the basic level,
though not so accuratelyat other levels. As long as we are
talking about propertiesof basic-level objects, interactional
propertieswill seem objective. (51)

Iconicityas "basiclevel"significationfindsa correspondence in Derrida's

topologyof the body as a basis (albeit unacknowledged occluded
an and
one) of "the law's" linguisticevasionsand deferrals:in his analysisof
Kafka'sparableof the Lawandthe doorkeeper, Derrida(invokingFreud)
describessociety'slegal mechanismsas a formof "delay,difference,en-
noblingelevation,diversionof the olfactorysensefromthe sexualstench,
repression"(193). Implicitin Derrida'sown analysisis an iconic signifi-
cationwhichfindsmeaningin the resemblanceor analogywiththe body,
in particularwith the "abundance of the hair... aroundpointedshapes"
whichcharacterises the doorkeeperandwhich,in his reading,recallsthe
"genital zone"(195). Thelaw'sdoorkeeper defersmeaningby verbalplay,
at the same time that he recalls meaningby iconic resemblanceto base
genitalandanalbodyparts;forDerrida,this is in turnan iconicmapping,
a "topology"of society'sdenialof its own contingentoriginsandbases.
Similarlyinspiredby Freud,Lecercleinsistson the "materiality" of lan-
guage in a way thatis less concernedwith the returnof or gestureto re-
pressed absences, and more aurally concernedwith the "physics of
speech"andthe speaker'sandhearer'sexperienceof language-production.
(105)
Burgess sharedthis fascinationwith the "mimologic"basis of lan-
guage,andwas particularly interestedin its bodilybasis(Genette5). Thus
in the languagehe inventsfor the film TheQuestfor Fire, he speaksof
creatinga form of speechthatis "iconic,"thatis "merelya specialized
268 I N T

form of bodily gesture"(Kirstein321). Thus, the neologism"buuuun"

refersto the moon in a logic of correspondence betweenthe oralexperi-
ence of thatsound,andthe roundnessandheightof the moon:as Burgess
says, "the round,moonlikeshapeof the mouthwhen pronouncingthe
word depicts the satellite and the high vowels renderits elevation"
(Kirstein321, 322). Muchof Alex'slinguisticplayfulnessin A Clockwork
Orangerevealsa similarmimologicdesire,as whenhe describesa tooth-
less victim(whosedentureshe andhis ganghavejust destroyed)as mak-
ing "chumblingshooms-'wuf waf wof'" (Burgess 1962, 7). "Chum-
bling" clearly borrowsfrom the morpho-semantic structureof existing
wordslike "mumbling," and
"rumbling" "grumbling," whichcarrysimilar
connotationsof indistinct,low sounds.The voicedlabialsound/m/ in the
middleof thesewordswhichclosesoff the firstsyllable,togetherwiththe
predominantly low vowels, contributeto this sense of indistinctness,cor-
roboratedby words like "stumbling," "bumbling" and even "rambling,"
withtheirsenseof slow,difficultor obstructed movement.Sincethenovel
uses orthographicexperimentation ratherthan standardphoneticrendi-
tions of sounds,it is not possibleto determineexactlyhow the toothless
victim enunciatesthese words.It may be thatthe victimmakes"chum-
bling shooms"becausethe suddenloss of his denturescauseshimto cre-
ate fricativesoundsin the unaccustomed gapcreatedin his mouth.
It is possibleto quarrelovertheexactphoneticreproduction of the vic-
tim's "chumblingshooms"(whetherfricativeor plosive,alveolaror velar,
and so on), althoughthatis not the novel'smainpoint.Rather,the novel
compelsthe readerto speculateon the likely or possibleproductionof
these "chumbling" sounds,in the lightof the speaker'slackof teeth.The
focus is not the actualsoundmadeby the victim,but ratherthe abrupt
changein speech patternand soundproduction(comparedto his earlier
righteousindignationandhighmoraltone)as a resultof the changein the
conditionsgoverningthat production.Alex's act of brutalityforcesthe
victim(and,vicariously,the reader)to discoveror at leastdwellon the in-
eluctablyphysicalbasisof words,a basiswhichAlex'snarrativethenre-
createsand lingerson with evidentfascination.The link betweenbodily
postureandlanguageis recalledlaterin the novel,whenAlex's father(in
responseto his son's aggression)is describedas speaking"likehumble
mumblechumble"(Burgess1962,49). We arenot toldthatAlex's father
wears dentures,but "chumble"recallsthe earliervictim of Alex's vio-
 Reconsidered
Language
"Clockwork" 269

lence, the "umble"syllables yoking the sense of impededor difficult

progressevidentin the earlierinstancewitha senseof pronounced caution
or cringingwithdrawalin the laterepisode.So just as the first victim's
"chumbling" suggestsa suddenchangein his mouth'sphysicalproduction
of sounds,the father's"chumbling" likewisedepicts(fromthe point of
view of Alex's delightedinterest)a shift in speech productionwhich
marksa physicalrecoilingfromthe implicitthreatof violencein Alex's
discourse.Indeed,Alex's neologisticlink betweenthe two victims has
some physiologicalbasis:whenAlex is moreexplicitlyviolentwith his
parents,one of his threatsis to "kickyourzoobies [i.e. teeth]in"(1962:
179), which (theirunsurprised and resignedresponsesuggests)is not a
new threat.The father's"humblemumblechumble"is thus,fromAlex's
imaginativepoint of view, almosta physicalreflexto a well-knownand
specificthreatof mutilation.
Thistype of neologisticplayon Alex'spartrelieson a playof similar-
ity anddifferencefromexistinglexicalitems,essentiallyconsistingof a
to
differentand unexpectedmorphemicelementgraftedonto the "umble"
which can be found in manywords.The new combinationthus created
seems to be a variationon what Derek Attridgecalls "lexical ono-
matopoeia," whichrelyon established"semanticproperties" butalso fore-
ground"phoneticproperties" to a much extent,
greater in orderto create
"heightenedmeaning"(148, 151). Otherinstancesof Alex's neologistic
play move furtheraway fromconventionalmorphemicborrowings,how-
ever,andrely even moreon analogicalsignificationsof materiality. Thus,
for example,the mockingraspberry as
whichhe sometimesglosses "lip-
then just two pages later as
music": it is rendered as "brrrrzzzzrrrr,"
"Prrrrzzzzrrrr,"and when Alex is in prison,as "Prrrrrp" (Burgess1962:
12, 14, 78).Attridge,arguingfroma similarinstance Ulysses,pointsout
in
thateven here,certainconventionshold:upper-caseorthography (noneof
the examplesis placedat the startof a sentence)may suggestemphatic
pronunciation, while the repetitionof letterssuggestsprolongedduration
(138). However,even such basic "rules"cannotdeny the very different
statusof such nonlexicalsignifyingitems,whencomparedto the normal
combinatoryrulesof lexicalitems.Here,vowel soundsneednot be inter-
spersedwith consonantones, durationandvolumecan be mimedby the
size andlengthof the wordsthemselves(ratherthanby separate,abstract
indicators),and individualsounds(in particular, the labializationof "p"
270 N T

and "b")are of more importancethanthe symbolic significationsof letters

within a syllabic cluster.Alex's fussy renditionof these three instances in
completely different orthographicterms indicatesan emphasison the indi-
vidual bodily performances which, are supposed to be representedby
these terms. His narrative, together with these individualised perfor-
mances, thus resists the tempting simplicity and conformity of conven-
tional orthographyand lexico-morphemicregularity.
Not surprisingly, many of these nonlexical iconic elements stem
from bodily experience: not just the labial sensation of making "lip-
music," but also the inchoate verbal outcries accompanying sexual
orgasm ("aaaaaaah," 33), tiredness ("yawwwww," 26), battle-rage
("Aaaaaaarhgh,"54) and pain or shock ("hauwwwwhauwww hauwww,"
54). Alex's "aaaaaaah" of orgasmin thisinstanceservesto distinguishthis
episode,to a certainextent,fromhis manyothersexualexperiences.The
latter are registered in chillingly impersonalterms: as the athletic
metaphorof "plunging"(23), the transientmechanicalactionof "theold
in-out"(105), or the coldlyabstractphrase"doingtheultra-violent" (113).
Again, there is an iconic andbodilylogic to this differentiation:
the latter
expressionsareused whenAlex is in his (as it were)publicor socialrole,
as the leader of his gang's gang rapes, or otherwise fulfilling the persona
of the young delinquent.In contrast,his onomatopoeicexpression of sex-
ual pleasure is auto-erotic and private, as he lies listening to his beloved
Beethoven's Ninth in his own room. His "aaaaaaah"of pleasurenot only
schematically conveys something of the extra length and durationof his
climax, as well as the throatyback-vowel sounds he makes in the intensity
of sex, it
of his pleasure;by standingout fromthe otherrepresentations
also marks the place of the private, personal Alex. The iconic moment
suggests, if not exactly a redeemingview of Alex, then at least an alterna-
tive self to the language and perspectiveof his public or groupbehaviour.
This attention to iconic detail is not confined to organic bodies, how-
ever, and Alex's narrativealso delights in what happensto inanimateob-
jects: their movement, impact, texture, contact, and so on. Thus, a chain
whirled during a fight is rendered, not with the expected "whoosh,"
"whirl"or "whirr"(all of which are in the O.E.D.), but rather"whissssssh-
hhhhhhhh"(16), where the pronouncedhissing sound heightens the sense
of the sheer velocity of the movement. The same chain, swung by the
same agent Dim, is later turnedtreacherouslyon Alex, but the sound is
 "Clockwork" Reconsidered
Language 271

represented differently,as "whishhhhh" (1962, 64). The differencesin the

two representations reinforcethe concretedistinctiveness of thesetwo ex-
as
periences, perceivedby Alex: on the first occasion, there is a fightis in
the open between two gangs, a confusedmelee in which Dim's chain
reachesout at greaterspeed and force acrossa greaterdistanceto hit
Alex's opponent;on the secondoccasion,in contrast,Alex is standingin a
doorway,and Dim's unexpectedblow is delivered"gentlyand artistic
like"at a close, specifictarget.Thisdeparture frommorecommonlexical
like
onomatopoeia "whirl," this violation of notions of orthographic regu-
larityandeconomy,thusallowsthe novelto registerdistinctanddifferent
experiencesof objects,in this case renderingdifferentexperiencesof the
momentum,soundandimpactof the weapon.
Similarly, a car pushed into a muddy canal submergeswith a
"splussshhhh andglolp"(25) whichconveysnotonlyAlex'sclose andde-
lightedinterestin the process,but also a rich suggestionof texturesand
physicalproperties:the thicknessof the filthywaterandthe slightresis-
tancethis offersthe sinkingcar,the suddenescapeof an airbubble,per-
hapsthe hissing of the still-warmengine,andso on. A disc (of an organ
hymn)playedon the prisonchapel'sturntablecomeson witha "growww-
wowwwwowwww"(80), suggestingthe sonorousblareof the pipeorgan,
the wobblyrotationof the turntable, andthe hollowandreverberating ac-
coustics of the chapel all at once. It is not that these iconic or ono-
matopoeicitems somehowsignifythe materialobjector its surrounding
environmentin any naivelyimmediateor objectiveway.Rather,they en-
tice the reader'sparticipation in an alternativesemioticsin whichthe sign
refers,notto conventionalandabstractmeanings,butvia its ownpalpabil-
ity to corresponding qualitiesin the physicalconsistency,properties,and
kineticsof things.Thefactthatthissemioticprocessis suggestivebutcan-
not be conclusive in any scientificor empiricalway, only emphasizes
Alex's (and the reader's)interpretative activity-which, in the novel's
is
view, preferable to the passiveacceptanceof conventionalmeanings.
Alex's shockingviolencethushasa perverselinguisticrole-in Lecer-
cle's terms,it is a "violence"(4) in languagesuchas is manifestedin the
linguisticpathologiesand aberrantdiscoursesof writerslike Lewis Car-
roll, EdwardLear and Aidan Higgins, but is also to be found (less
obtrusively)in more common,public discourses.Lecercle sees such
orthographic,morphemicand grammaticalviolence performedon lan-
272 J N T

guageas a "lackof meaning[in conventional termswhich]turnsoutto be

a kindof excess,"creating"aproliferation of partialmeaningsandstruc-
tures."Drawingon the workof DeleuzeandGuattari,Lecerclesees such
linguisticviolenceas the opportunity for the emergenceof a "remainder"
of meaning,for "minority"valuesand expressionswhich are otherwise
occludedby the conventionalandconventionalising languageof the ma-
jority.In a similaraesthetics of power, Walter Benjamin,in his analysisof
Brecht's"epictheatre,"arguedthatthe "interrupting of action"by "ges-
ture"(whichcarriesan abruptness andimmediacyanalogousto Alex'slin-
guistic violence) playedan importantrole in breakingthe "illusionistic"
linearityof narrativein naturalist drama(3-5). Thevieweris thusinduced,
by suchmomentsof "astonishment," to reviewandre-considerthe domi-
nant"conditions" of art(butalso of the sociuswhichproducesthatart).
A ClockworkOrange'svisionof the politicsof languageemergesout
of the reader'ssensitivityto linguisticviolencewhichis fosteredbyAlex's
peculiarnarrative.It allowsthereaderto becomeawareof linguisticregu-
larityand repetitiondisguisedas idiosyncracy,which is associatedwith
the treacherousadult advisorsand acquaintancesof Alex's world, its
powerbrokersandinstitutional figures.Thus,forexample,whenthepolit-
ical subversivewho wants to exploitAlex, Z. Dolin (omegato Alex's
alpha),is introducedto us as "coughingkashlkashlkashl"(162), several
orthographicand morphemicaspects come to the fore. Regularityis
markednot only by thethrice-repeated word(a microcosmof thetripartite
structureof the novel, its "trinity"whichdeterminesshapeandmeaning),
but also by the near-or quasi-lexicalaspects.It certainlysuggests"cash"
(whichis whatbothDolinandhis enemiesin governmentimplicitlyoffer
Alex, as a bribeto inducehimto co-operatewiththeirpoliticalmachina-
tions),but also "catch"(bothin JosephHeller'ssense of a preventivele-
galism,and the physicalarrestand incarceration alwaysthreatenedin a
police state), "casual"(which is the mannerand attitudeof the state
throughoutits horrendoustreatmentof Alex), as well as "casualty" (what
Alex becomeswithinall thesepowerprocesses).Moredistantly(butpos-
sible, dependingon how the vowels in "kashl"wereto be pronounced) it
could also invoke "causal,"suggestingthe entiresocial determinismof
Alex's world.These morphemicresemblancesand overtones,a function
of the relativeregularityof the syntacticstructureof "kashl,"primethe
 Reconsidered
Language
"Clockwork" 273

readerto noteotheraspectsof linguisticandsocialconstraints operativein

the novel.
It is hardlysurprisingto notice,then,thatDolin'scoughis not distinc-
tive or idiosyncratic,but exactlyechoes the soundsof Alex's exhausted
car earlierin the novel ("coughingkashlkashlkashl,"25). The orderin
which these identicalsoundsare presentedis also iconicallyimportant:
Dolin'scoughimitatesthe car,thehumanperformance reproduces theme-
chanical,in the narrative'sschematisation. Anothersuch damningimita-
tion of the mechanicaloccurswithAlex'smother,whoseseeminglyspon-
taneousand genuineexpressionof grief at Alex's sentencingis rendered
"owwwwwowwwwwowwwww"(75). Thisinitiallyhas someof the fea-
tures(redundancy, length,violationof expectedconsonant-vowel combi-
nations) of Alex's inventiveneologisms. However, the human spontaneity
of her performanceis spoilt,somewhat,by her repetitionof this perfor-
mancewhenAlex is in hospital:"Owwwww,"and "Owwwwww"(173).
Therepetitivenatureof theseoutbursts overwhelmsthelittlevariationthat
exists (betweenfive or six "w"s,suggestinga slightvariationin duration
of the sound,andbetweenthe lowercase anduppercase "o,"suggesting
differencesin emphases).
Furthermore, the mother'scry suggestsits own dependenceuponcon-
ventionalmeaning,when she shapesher performance into a near-lexical
item: "'Owwwww,'boohooedmy mum. 'Gone back owwwwwwme"
(173), referringto the fact thatthe boarderJoe, in whose favourshe had
evictedAlex, has himselflefther.It couldthusbe the loss of extraincome,
or the sense of the injusticedoneto Joe (andindirectlyto herself),which
causes the mother'sgrief, ratherthanany directfeelingsfor Alex. The
near-lexicaltransformationis also interestingbecause it now suggests two
separatemorphemes,"owwwwww" + "me,"which reinforcesthe sugges-
tion that the mother's sympatheticgrief is insincere, and really an expres-
sion of selfish concerns.As in the case of Dolin's cough,it once again
does not surpriseus thatthis seeminglyindividualhumanperformance is
reallya general,repeatedrule:a manbeatenin a police stationearlierin
the novelmakesmuchthe samesound("owwwwwwwww," 68), andthere
is someresemblanceto the soundof the prisonturntable,as well as to the
mincingaccentsof the troublesomeinmatewho assaultsAlex ("Owwww,
yew wahnt noo moor trabble.. ." 90).
Otherinstances of mechanicalhomophonyand homologyabound.
274 N T

Sometimes Alex is aware of these repetitionsin his own discourse, as for

example when he nervously greets his newly-mutinous gang members
with the catch-phraseused by his Post-CorrectiveAdviser: "I seemed to
have picked up that yes? from P. R. Deltoid.... Very strange"(52). Else-
where, these unthinking and mechanical repetitions seem to be beyond
Alex. One of these is the novel's title, which is Burgess' story of Alex's
life, butit also returnsas a stockphrase,a meaninglessandtriteecho.On
accidentallyre-visitingthe "HOME"of his victim,the writerF. Alexan-
der,Alex unpromptedly recallsthe title of the former'smanuscript,which
"A
(in an apparentmise en abyme)is also ClockworkOrange":"Itwas
funnythatthatstuckin my mind"(159). Indeed,the phraseis significant
chiefly for its mindless,mnemonicpower,andAlex actuallytrotsit out
earlier,as the Ludovicotechniqueis workedon him:"AmI justto be like
a clockworkorange?"(129). Again, the phrasecomes to Alex nolens-
volens.:"I didn'tknow whatmademe use those slovos, brothers,which
just camelike withoutaskingintomy gulliver."Whatpreventsthistextual
homologyfromfunctioninglikethe self-consciousplayfulnessfound,say,
in the nouveauroman,5is thethematicandstructural deviceof mechanical
repetitionin whichit functions.When Alex reads bits of themanuscript
of
F. Alexander'smagnusopus,the effectis of a pompousnessmadeall the
moreforlornby Alex's sneeringaffectedness:

bitoutloudin a sortof veryhigh

ThenI reada malenky
type preachinggoloss: "-The attemptto impose upon
man, a creatureof growthand capableof sweetness,to
oozejuicily at the lastroundthebeardedlips of God,to at-
temptto impose,I say,lawsandconditionsappropriate to a
mechanicalcreation,againstthis I raisemy sword-pen-"
(21-22)

F.Alexander'shodge-podgeof purplepatchesandtriteexpressionsmarks
the hollow insincerityof his politicalagenda,a subversiveintentwithout
personalconvictionor sincerity,as his mercurialattitudeto Alex laterin
the novel suggests.If Alex does not knowwhy the phrase"a clockwork
orange"sticks nolens volens in his brain,the readerhas a good idea:its
functionin the worldof the novel is propagandistic,affectinga "preach-
ing"tone while merelyrepeatingvaguehumanisticideas.
 "Clockwork" Reconsidered
Language 275

Languageis thusa barometer, indicatingthe extentof the individual's

strugglefor authenticityin a dystopianworldof profoundsocial control,
fear, selfishnessand betrayal.The moralityof Alex's career,readthus,
goes beyondthe mere"linguisticplay"whichis supposedto deferor de-
tractfrom the tragicconsequencesof his violence,as if languagewere
merelya game whichhadlittlerealconsequencein society.His own lin-
guisticperformance is set againstthe language-as-power usedby the adult
membersof his society-be theyideologues(scientistsandpoliticianslike
Dolin,Dr Branom,andthe Ministerof the Interior,whoselanguagetrans-
formsthe humaninto an abstractfigure)or unthinkingpawnswho echo
uncriticallythe termsand valuesof mainstreamsociety (Alex's parents,
the seniorcitizenswho beathimup in the library).
Alex's linguisticviolence-the iconic and bodily gestureshe forces
languageto perform,in violationof conventionalrules-is moresignifi-
canteven thanhis physicalactsof violence:curiously,whilehe is willing
to gratifyhis variouslustsat the expenseof others,he is particular about
takinglife. The deathsof the old womanwiththe catsandof his cellmate
areunintended,andAlex in bothcasesmaybe saidto havesomeprovoca-
tion in theiroffensivebehaviourto him.His violencedoes not precludea
certaincarefulawarenessof the extentof the harmhe is inflicting:he
sumsup his assaulton the old bibliophilein chapterone with"Wehadn't
donemuch,I know"(8), andsimilarlyat the end of the assaulton the oc-
cupantsof"HOME"scrupulously opinesthat"they'dlive"(24), although
as it turnsout he is partlywrong. More significantly,his physicalactions
also functionat times as an interruption of greaterevil (even if this is not
the intendedresult):thus his fight with Billyboy'sgang allows theirin-
tendedrapevictim to runaway(15), andhis criminalcareerandviolent
"rehabilitation" by the statebringsa haltto the use of Ludovico'sTech-
niqueas a statetool. In the sameway,his iconicneologismsandexperi-
mentationsarea linguisticviolencethatinterrupts the greaterevil of soci-
ety's hypocriticalmoralising,andself-servingpolitics.
Alex's turnto maturityandresponsibility in the twenty-firstchapterof
the novel must thus be seen as a profoundloss, althoughBurgess-in
re-examining different effects of the two versions of his novel-
recognizes the morality without noting its basis in his protagonist's
linguisticperformance. In a 1986introduction, "AClockworkOrangeRe-
sucked," which prefaced a new American edition (with the twenty-first
276 IN T

chapterrestored),Burgessarguedthatthe finalchaptersignalledthe fact

that"a humanbeing is endowedwith freewill."Whilefor the American
publisherthe vision of an "unregenerable evil"was a truerrepresentation
of humanity,for Burgessit is Alex's"moralprogress"at the end,whenhe
"comesto the revelationof theneedto get somethingdonein life,"which
carriesthe moralvisionof thenovel(vii, viii).
To remain"unregenerably" stuckin a certainconditionis mechanical,
whileto changeis moralandhuman;one cansee thelogic of Burgess'sar-
gument,and its relevanceto the novel. However,it is also a sweeping
view which seems curiouslydetachedfromthe particulars of the novel's
language and structure. Alex's turn towards a "conventional" life at the
end of the novel also sees himturningawayfromwhatis vitallyinventive
and interestingin his use of language,and embracinga borrowedand
stilteddiscourse.Significantly,his visionof a "grownup"life is also de-
rivativeandrepetitive,takenfromthe unpalatable andpretentious life pre-
sentedto him by Pete andhis new wife Georgina(whosenamemarksher
as a repetitionof and surrogatefor Pete's old gang friend,Georgie,in
Pete's presentlife). It is a life of "smallness"("smallflat,""verysmall
money"),name-dropping("you wouldn'tknow Greg"),and triviality
("wine-cupandword-games"). Themostthatcanbe saidforit is thatit is
"harmless"(188-189), althoughas the rest of the novel shows,passive
conformityto society'sdiscourseandvaluesis its ownevil.
In the uncertaintyandloneliness("Butwhatwas I goingto do?")pro-
voked by Pete's smug vision, Alex's narrativevoice and languagealso
changesignificantly,as he adoptsthe termsandvaluesapprovedby soci-
ety.He framesthis visionof maritalbliss andparenthood in termsof pub-
lic, stockimages:the newspapercuttingof a babywhichhe keeps,the do-
mestic scene "like these cartoonsin the gazettas"(190). The final
paragraph is particularlytelling:whilesometracesof Nadsatremain,it is
also clear thatAlex's languagemutatesinto the inheritedlanguageand
mechanicalrepetitionsassociatedearlierin the novel with politicians,
adultsin badfaith,andsocialpowers.Thusthe repetitionin quicksucces-
sion of the vague phrase"allthatcal,"a sign thatAlex (for perhapsthe
firsttime in his narrative)cannotfindinventivelanguageequalto thesitu-
ationbeforehim. Even his nonlexical,iconic languagelacksconviction:
his "lipmusic"is now "brrrrrr," farless phonemicallycomplexor striking
thanhis earlierperformances, of theprison
andit is also a near-repetition
 "Clockwork" Reconsidered
Language 277

buzzer(89), and an exactrepetitionof the doorbellof one of Alex's vic-

timswe encounterearlierin the novel(58).
Burgess'sdystopiancritiqueof societyoffersno simplisticsocialcura-
tive, no modernistfaithin socialregeneration. Even in its less contrived
and symmetrical20-chapterform,the novel's vision of the micropolitics
of the individualis far fromrosy:if the individualfindsmomentsof au-
thenticityandresistancein a formof linguisticviolence,this is so closely
affiliatedwith a chillingphysicalviolence which is, however,the only
means of interruptingsociety's lineardeterminisms.In the 21-chapter
formthatBurgessintended,the triumphof society'slanguage-as-power is
even morepronounced,withAlex's finalassimilation.If any hopefulness
remains, it lies in the praxis of linguistic inventiveness in search of new
meaning, which the novel's narrativecreates for the reader.

Notes
1. The versionboughtby W. W. Nortonfor the Americanmarket,on which Stanley
Kubrick'sfilm was based,had the final (twenty-first) chapterloppedoff. Burgess's
originalmanuscript(to which the BritishpublisherWilliam Heinemann was faithful)
hadtwenty-onechaptersdividedequally intothreeparts of sevenchapterseach.Ray's
point aboutthe tripartitestructureof the novel is clearerin the Americanversion,
wherethe rhetoricalquestion("What'sit going to be then,eh?")appearsthrice,al-
thoughthe human"arithmology" of twenty-onechaptersis thenlost. In the British
version,therhetoricalquestionentersa fourthtime,atthebeginningof thetwenty-first
chapter.
2. See DearloveandRudick;botharticlestalkaboutthepost-ClockworkOrangeworks,
aboutBurgess'sunderlyingconcernwith domi-
but also makerelevantobservations
nantlanguagepatternsandstructures.

3. Burgess'suse of a youngprotagonist andmicro-lin-

is centralto the micro-political
guisticexplorations of the novel. Like the writers of children's
Victorian literature,
Burgess uses such as
pre-socializedprotagonists estrangement devices,compelling
readersto follow theirinterrogationof aspectsof societythatarenormallytakenfor
Burgess'schildren'sstory"ALongTripto Teatime"
granted.Interestingly, hasanother
suchcorrespondence: its schoolboyprotagonist, Edgar,entersintoa wonderland-like
otherworldwhoseeventsandpersonagesareorganized,encyclopedia-like, aroundthe
letter"E"(Tigges:202). Burgesshimselfprovides,as one of the glosses of Alex's
name,"a lex(is): a vocabulary(of his own)"(1978:96). It is worthnotinghowever
278 N T

that"lexis"is etymologicallythe wordratherthana "vocabulary" as such,and thus

moretrulyindicativeof his fascinationwiththemorphemic elementsof words.Alex's
name,if it invokes"lexis"at all,doesso by preciselythesamesortof morphemicplay
("lex"abstractedfrom"lexis,"+ the prefix"a,"whichis notherethe Greekmeaning
of "without,"but derivedfromOld Englishprepositional forms)Alex himselfper-
formsthroughout the novel.

4. Peirce'sexampleis that'by meansof two photographsa mapcanbe drawn'(106), a

relationof schematicanalogybetweensignandsignified.

5. The contrastwith the ways similartextualdevicesare used in the nouveauroman,

magicrealismandsimilarlyself-reflexivenovels,is clear;see Jefferson,McHale,and
Faris.

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