66 pages 2 hours read

Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1962

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Part 1, Chapters 4-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary

Alex wakes up the next morning following a disturbing dream in which he was chased and beaten by Georgie and Dim. He decides not to go to school and chooses to sleep in, take a trip to the record shop, and maybe make his afternoon classes. However, before he can get back to sleep, his “Post-Corrective Advisor” (43), P.R. Deltoid, shows up at the door to check in on Alex. Deltoid hints that he knows Alex and his droogs have been engaging in criminal activity, but since he cannot prove it, he can only warn Alex of a potential comeuppance.

After Deltoid leaves, Alex muses about why he behaves the way he does and why he is drawn to violence and crime—but only for a moment. He thinks he simply does what he likes. He spies an article in the newspaper about “Modern Youth” and reads it, wanting to know what the older generation thinks of him and his cohort. He scoffs at the notion, expressed by the journalist, that “Great Music” and “Great Poetry would likely quieten Modern Youth down and make Modern Youth more civilized” (48-49). In his experience, blurred text
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By Anthony Burgess