A Clockwork Orange- Last Chapter

Discussions lately in AP Lit class have reminded me lately of books that I’ve read before; in relation to the Invisible Man unit this semester, we have chosen books to read for new seminar groups. I had already read a couple of the books on the list (I chose to read Fight Club because it struck my fancy at the time), including A Clockwork Orange. It’s not my favorite book in the world, but somehow I have watched the movie, read the book, and listened to the audio book as read by the author (who is a rather surly man and seems to resent the success of A Clockwork Orange over his more “deserving” works).
I found the plot and events of A Clockwork Orange to leave a nasty taste in my mouth; Alex, an antisocial youth commits a number of vile acts with his gang sometime in the future before being arrested. His behavior continues on a more limited level as he pretends to find religious salvation. Eventually, he is one of a few prisoners chosen to be test subjects for the “Ludovico Technique,” which promises to change patients’ behavior and have them out of prison after just two weeks. Alex is exposed to horrible violent images coupled with beautiful classical music, which eventually causes him to be unable to listen to his favorite music. Alex is eventually released and unable to defend himself; his parents have replaced him and now some of his past victims are returning to seek revenge on him. He comes to live with Mr. Alexander, whose wife Alex killed; the man unknowingly takes him in to use as a tool against the government’s oppressive programs. The treatment is reversed and Alex returns to his former violent self.
After this point, there is a discrepancy. In Burgess’ original version of the novel, there is a final chapter (the 21st) in which Alex renounces his violence and begins a more productive life. In the American version of the novel, the editors removed the final chapter (why do American versions of British books always get drastically changed!?) which made Burgess extremely angry. I sympathize with him- editors should have the power to advise authors and make smaller changes, but they shouldn’t completely alter the message of the book. I loved the statement Burgess made in his novel about human morality, that for true morality to exist and society to function, people must have a choice. They shouldn’t be forced or brainwashed into certain behaviors, positive or negative. Alex is reformed twice- the first time is clearly against nature, as he is made nauseous at one of the most purely beautiful aspects of the world, music. He feels no differently about the people around him and is more like a grizzly bear in a straightjacket than a reformed prisoner. But after he reaches his 21st chapter, the age at which people traditionally mature, and he is able to make the decision for himself, he chooses to live without violence. His mind and body are one.
This ending to the novel, while maybe not as “controversial” as the altered ending, completely changes the novel from being an ode to violence and perhaps a criticism of violent tendencies to being a larger, more important statement about the nature of morality that happens to use violence to bring across important points. I can understand why Burgess was angry about the change to his book (that he rants about extensively in the introduction to the audiobook, if anyone is interested) and hope that, in the future, editors leave the writing to the authors.