Let's put it to bed...last thoughts on A Clockwork Orange.

Though done with the novel, I have yet to start another, so here is my last post on A Clockwork Orange.
Overall it was an interesting novel, and by interesting I mean disturbing and just absolutely horrifying. I did enjoy the novel however. I went into it with high hopes and came out satisfied, though the beginning was tough to endure. The completion of the novel leaves me wondering more about Anthony Burgess; not only about who he is, but how he could come up with such a story. Could his life be such a story like his novels? It turns out Anthony Burgess wrote and wrote and wrote everything he wanted in a very short period of time. He was falsely diagnosed with a brain tumor, which I suppose is a good thing for it kick-started his career as an author. He was a seriously well-rounded individual, serving in the war, was a educator, screenwriter, composer... the list goes on and on. And of course how could we leave out nympho, drunk, and tax dodger. Anthony Burgess was an intellect above all, and has made countless notable quotations that I find very interesting. In a blog titled "Clock Works" there is a more in depth analysis of his life, and Burgesses' unabashed opinions on a wide range of topics. I was reading and came across this quote, "How can one fade out in peace, carrying vast ignorance into a state of total ignorance?"  Rather than scanning over this quote, it had me stopped dead in my tracks. As as avid quote-lover I was intrigued! He made this quote in relation to his attempt to learn Japanese and Hebrew in his late years, but failed because he was unable to read the characters. As seen in Clockwork, Burgess had a deep love for linguistics, therefore explored many different tongues, and was disheartened when he was unable to conquer yet another language. I feel that this quote offers a lot of explanation into his crazy, out of line novels. His novels offer a glimpse into what the world could always become, there is very few things stopping the government from becoming a totalitarian rule, and ultra-violence becoming a part of everyday life. As Americans we believe strongly that this is it, this is what the world is like, everyone should be like us. But the saddest part is that in some places on this earth, the government is in total control, perhaps not as severe as that in Clockwork, but a less-exaggerated version. If not for novels like Burgesses' we would be completely ignorant to other societies, which is no way to leave this place. Though, condemned for a while and endlessly talked about, I suppose books like A Clockwork are necessary for the understanding of our lives, and how good we actually have it. It is easy to parallel this novel with many events in history; the citizens are constantly living in fear of the violent higher power and when it will turn on them. Burgess chose to live his life in a highly informed manner. He chose to explore the world, the languages, the history and apply them to his life and his work. It's as if his novels are saying "hey, get a grip, your time here is short... learn something." And I certainly had my eyes opened in reading this novel, so whatever Burgess did, worked.