A Clockwork Orange Lesson Plan

Describe what you know about Alex as a character so far. What are your impressions of him?

Although some students may be tuned into the prose enough to find Alex charming, as it seems many of his victims do, he also gets profound pleasure out of cruelty, enjoys having power even over his friends, and rapes and injures people with no concern or trace of conscience. It is unlikely that contemporary readers will have a particularly positive impression of Alex, though it's worthwhile to ask students if they think Burgess wants Alex to be a sympathetic character. Astute readers might also note that Alex seems quite young, as he is still in school, and has already attended a...