A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is a novel pervaded by a multifaceted and intrinsic musical presence. Protagonist Alex's passion for classical music imbues his character with interesting dimensions and resonates well thematically: the music in the novel can be characterized as a synecdoche for high culture, counterbalanced by Alex's violent and antisocial behavior. Some of the novel's most violent scenes are performed to the music of various composers of the Classical and Romantic eras, creating particularly jarring moments in the narrative, complete with a wealth of interesting hermeneutic possibilities. Stanley Kubrick's infamous 1971 adaptation, a film known for its depictions of violence and notable for its faithfulness to the source material, consequently features a score that reflects the musical arrangement of the novel, although it chooses one particular work - the Ninth Beethoven's symphony - to recite. as a sort of narrative catalyst. Examining both Burgess's novel and Kubrick's film adaptation, I will describe how music is used in the works in both similar and contrasting ways, bringing into focus aspects of the relationship between the mediums of film, music, and literature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Considering the connection between his two arts, Burgess states in an article entitled "Music and Literature": "Music might have pretended, with Berlioz and Strauss, to absorb literature, but in reality it had become an addition to literature – critical, illustrative.” A Clockwork Orange it can be argued that music is presented as both a critical and illustrative force; Burgess draws on his musical influences and expertise to enrich this exploration of morality in the first person of Alex is accompanied by music in various contexts and at various vital points in the narrative. He is playing when he is in states of rumination, for example, at the beginning of the novel he listens to Bach as he considers the actions of himself and his "droog" during the previous day: Then I took the beautiful Nona out of the case, so that Ludwig van was now also nagoy [naked], and set the needle hissing on the last movement, which was all a joy. There it was, the bass strings like govore from under my bed in front of the rest of the orchestra... and then the beautiful happy melody all about Joy which is a glorious spark like that of heaven, and then I heard the old tigers leaping inside me and then I jumped on these two young ptitsa. (50-51)extreme psychopathic behavior. "The previous two examples demonstrate how Burgess uses music in an illustrative way in A Clockwork Orange. As the play progresses towards the second act, however, we can see how the role of music acquires a critical as well as illustrative position. Ludovico, a central element in the novel's exploration of choice and free will, produces an unfortunate side effect for Alex: he can no longer listen to classical music without feeling intense and debilitating physical discomfort. The treatment is intended to condition the subject to try this disease when exposed to any type of physical or sexual violence, and Burgess uses this idea to investigate important questions regarding autonomy, as a criminal who undergoes the Ludovico technique becomes a kind of robot in regards to his revered “ultraviolence ”, Alex becomes incapable of choice. The climactic moment of the final section, he is driven to attempt suicide by the sounds he once enjoyed so much: Am I just an animal or a dog? ... I have to:/4149775.