A Clockwork Orange – New Testament for American Youth? In Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, he observes a characteristic of youth that has been documented from the story of Icaris to the film Rebel Without a Cause. Through his ingenious method of examining this characteristic, the science fiction novel, he created an aspect of what he chose to observe: rebellion. Our hero, Alex, begins the novel by explaining his mischievous exploits in a way that is not far from nostalgia. , which is tinged with a bit of sarcasm for any sincere pity one might feel for its victims, such as when he recalls his own realization of the importance of the term "A Clockwork Orange". Alex says of the author and his wife that he "would have liked to hit them harder and tear them to ribbons on their own ground. (CO 38)" By the juxtaposition of the intelligent rational used in the contemplation of this concept with the complete rational disrespect for this, Burgess shows Alex's attitude as one of childish ignorance coupled with testosterone-induced negative energy. An attitude that is not absent from any boy's education. As Alex grows through the difficult age of adolescence, he participates in what we have called depaternalization, freeing himself from the constraints of the previous generation. This is accomplished through random acts of violence, of course, but also through Alex's existence within a subculture, which by definition is distinct from and therefore contrasts with the dominant culture. Alex's subculture is youth, and it is defined by his lifestyle. dress and its slang. Alex's clothing style, which has been described to us twice, once with his first gang and once with his second, is deliberately scandalous by our standards, with "a pair of blacks......middle of paper ......t You have to get good at maintaining the theme of free will, although it must be much more reassuring for all the older people reading the book My argument is that the book is meant to oppose. old people, just like Alex and just like the public (i.e. American youth) Thanks to its rebellious character obtained by the omission of the last chapter, A Clockwork Orange has become a manifesto of rebellion, a. aspect of the culture it was written for Today, Madonna dresses like Alex did in Kubrick's film, choreographing dance routines that resemble scenes of rape and ultra-violence from the. film when he walks the streets of campus, where bohemian lifestyles are embraced, the words "in-out, in-out" and ". “Ultra-violence” arouses cheers of recognition and admiration. Has A Clockwork Orange become the “New Testament” of American youth? ??