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"A Clockwork Orange"


RUSHHEAD666
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I have read this classic book way back in college. I thought it was a great challenge since Anthony created his own language for the book.

 

Well, I am currently tackling the book again. It is easier to read a second time through no doubt about it but it sure is not a piece of cake.

 

I love this book. I love Stanley Kubrick's vision on the silver screen as well.

 

Cheers to you my Droogies!

 

trink39.gif

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Real horrorshow, droogie! I loved the book and film, too. Especially the book. Now let's get together at the Korova Milk Bar, have a glass of the moloko plus, and try to make up our rassodocks about what to do with the evening.
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QUOTE (RUSHHEAD666 @ Oct 26 2006, 02:13 PM)
I have read this classic book way back in college. I thought it was a great challenge since Anthony created his own language for the book.

Well, I am currently tackling the book again. It is easier to read a second time through no doubt about it but it sure is not a piece of cake.

I love this book. I love Stanley Kubrick's vision on the silver screen as well.

Cheers to you my Droogies!

trink39.gif

It's clever but the language seemed just too daft for me. Though maybe it's meant to be silly juxtaposed as it is with the violence and a serious message.

 

I visualise scenes from the famous Kubrick film now as well, inevitable really. It's similar to Silence of the Lambs, in terms of the film version's images swamping the original book. Luckily in the case of Silence I can still see my own imagined version of Lector and not Hopkins. I still see malcom Mcdowall in the case of Burgess' Orange though...

 

 

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the book was really good, my only gripes with it was...

they shoulda had the glossary ina separate book,

it sucked goin back & forth

from what ur readin to the back of the book to the glossary

it woulda been easier to have the glassary right next to u besides

the book as ur readin it yes.gif

but thats just me confused13.gif unsure.gif

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Hey JB! I agree that extra chapter is essential!!

 

Donna!

 

I also agree with you. It sucks going to the back everytime you need help to understand a word from the Nadsat language.

 

Oh well!

 

It still is one of my favorite books of all time!

 

"Fahrenheit 451" is another gem of a book, and again only Truffaunt could transform the book into a classic moving picture!!!

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Ray Bradbury

 

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An unusual story and odd analysis of how society is supposed to handle crime and punishment.

 

btw, the slang language is based on Russian. Droogie is based on the Russian word for friend and Malchick is the Russian word for boy.

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QUOTE (Arndrake @ Oct 27 2006, 05:43 AM)
btw, the slang language is based on Russian. Droogie is based on the Russian word for friend and Malchick is the Russian word for boy.

Yep. Some editions of the book have an introduction which explains the derivation of some of the words from Russian.

Here's something on the subject that I found on the Net:

 

The use of a completely new syntax is utterly magnificent - a stroke of genius. And it proves oncce again Anthony Burgess's remarkable ability and facility with languages of all kinds and with words in general. At a first glance the vocabulary of anti-hero Alex sounds incomprehensible: "You could peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom or one or two other veshches."

 

Or: "So I read all about the scourging and the crowning with thorns and then the cross veshch and all that cal, and I viddied better that there was something in it. While the stereo played bits of lovely Bach I closed my glazzies and viddied myself helping in and even taking charge of the tolchocking and the nailing in, being dressed in a like toga that was the heighth of Roman fashion."

 

Then the reader, even if he knows no Russian, get to grips with it, and it's a very expressive and colourful read. Some of the meaning becomes clear from the context: "We gave this devotchka a tolchock on the litso and the krovvy came out of her mouth", which approximately translated means, we gave this girl a blow on the face and blood came out of her mouth.

 

Anthony Burgess has not used Russian words 'literatim', but with deliberate abuse. Some expressions (grahzny bratchny = dirty bastard; lubbilubbing = making love) and single words (gullywuts = guts) sound more accomplished than in English language, and have a touch of magic spell. The light-handed transformation of golova (head) into gulliver - with its Swiftian associates - is only one of many brilliant inventions. Alex and his 'droogs' are addicted to drugs named drencom, synthemesc, vellocet... Other words of the Nadsat are roughly anglicized: khorosho (good or well) as horrowshow; iudi (people) as lewdies; militsia (militia or police) as millicents. Pooshka (cannon) indicates a pistol; rozha (grimace) turns into rozz - one of the words for policeman; samyi (the most) becomes sammy (generous); soomka (bag) is an ugly woman.

 

This Slav argot is seasoned with rhyming slang and gypsy's bolo. Alex' way of speaking includes the repeating phrase "O my brothers" and words like crark (to yowl), cutter (money), golly (unit of money), sharp (female), filly (to play or fool with), etc. The 'gypsy talk' interfuses with a rhyming slang, which contains expressions like pretty polly for money (rhyming with lolly or current slang).

 

Occasionally there are inevitable associations, such as cancer for cigarette, pan-handle for erection, mounch for snack and charlie for chaplain. Various neologisms are produced by simple schoolboy transformations: appy polly loggy (apology), baddiwad (bad), jammywam (jam), eggiweg (egg), skolliwoll (school), and so forth. Other words are amputations: guff (guffaw), pee and em (pop and mom), sarky (sarcastic), sinny (cinema).

 

"But most of the roots are Slav," explains a doctor in the novel. "Propaganda. Subliminal penetration."

 

http://it.geocities.com/marilyn_3d/ACO_PICA.JPG

 

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I'm about halfway through the book right now... I don't think my edition even has a glossary ohmy.gif

 

But learning to understand the language definitely adds a lot to the reading... besides, it only took me two or three chapters to get the hang of most of it.

 

A much better book than I first thought so far, I'll let you guys know when I finish it...

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Yeah, you definitely get the hang of the language after a couple chapters. At first, though, you find yourself flipping back-and-forth between the story and the glossary.
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yes good movie, great book.

This is so funny to me becuse I was at a wedding last night and this book came up. Maybe this is a sign to pick it up and read it again?

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Hey guys!

 

I am glad to see this thread still alive and well.

 

I have a quick question even though it does not pertain to the book.

 

 

Since we all live in the modern age of the constant "REMAKE" do you think Hollyweird will ever do a REMAKE of the original Kubrick flick???

 

I would hope not.

 

However, forgetting about the lame Hollywood notion for a moment, what if someone over in the UK decided to write a script going toe to toe with the book including that extra chapter??

 

Heck wouldn't it be cool to do the movie and have Malcolm McDowell do a role as say the politician feeding Alex in the hospital room at the end?

 

Nice homage before the old in out in out eh?

 

 

Earl

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slime,

go to a library if $ is tight.

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QUOTE (RUSHHEAD666 @ Dec 11 2006, 03:26 PM)
Hey guys!

I am glad to see this thread still alive and well.

I have a quick question even though it does not pertain to the book.


Since we all live in the modern age of the constant "REMAKE" do you think Hollyweird will ever do a REMAKE of the original Kubrick flick???

I would hope not.

However, forgetting about the lame Hollywood notion for a moment, what if someone over in the UK decided to write a script going toe to toe with the book including that extra chapter??

Heck wouldn't it be cool to do the movie and have Malcolm McDowell do a role as say the politician feeding Alex in the hospital room at the end?

Nice homage before the old in out in out eh?


Earl

Someone in Hollywood is just stupid enough to try and remake Kubrick's version. If anyone tried to do A Clockwork Orange again they should just do it in their own style. And "yes" that missing 21st chapter should be included.

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