The Role of Language in A Clockwork Orange Kelsey Norris College

Anthony Burgess wrote A Clockwork Orange in 1962, when the fear of war loomed over everyone’s heads. The youth of that generation were born to be rebels. They felt they needed to counteract the obedient society of the 1950s and sow their own path. Therefore, they created their own kind of youth culture that was bonded through their differences. It also created a sense of dysfunction between the generations, causing unrest to steadily grow. As a result, Burgess explores the role of language in his dystopian world and how one’s societal status could be perceived by how one communicates with others.

Burgess utilizes Nadsat, the slang he invented for the novel, to make the dystopian society more realistic. It is yet another reason why the story has remained so popular with youth. It is a timeless language that is utilized to brainwash the young into accepting violence as a part of evolving. He also employs it to comprehensively depict the struggles of growing into one’s skin. Alex and his gang represent the extreme of what societal pressures can do to a growing mind. However, their individuality, skepticism, confusion and humor also attract an audience that struggles with the ideals of their society. It is a form of slang, which is...