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A Clockwork Orange, a la Shmoop: Brainwash with Like Colors Only.

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You may have noticed that Americans love to shorten things.

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From hemlines. . .

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. . .to work days. . .

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. . .to conversations. Just take a look at A Clockwork Orange.

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When Anthony Burgess wrote it. . .

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. . .there were 21 chapters. . .

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. . .arranged in three equal parts.

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Then an American editor got a hold of it. . .

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. . . and decided the 21st chapter had to go.

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So, why did that last chapter get the ax? Could it be that our humble editor thought

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the 21st chapter. . .

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. . .with Alex seeing the light and changing his evil ways . . .

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. . . wasn’t believable? Burgess argued otherwise; that “21”. . .

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. . .was a symbol of Alex’s growth from boy to man.

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But he lost the battle. . .

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. . .and had to wait 24 years to get that last chapter back in the book.

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Wonder how he celebrated. . . Anyway, maybe that cut had nothing to do with

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an unbelievable ending. Maybe the editor just wanted a more powerful

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ending. . .

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. . .with an unreformed hero still obsessed with violence.

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Maybe he thought it would pack a bigger punch. . .

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. . .than any “happy” ending ever could.

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We already have stories where the good guy triumphs…

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Why not let the bad guy win this time? However, our humble editor might have liked

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the idea of leaving the reader hanging. If he wanted to get people talking. . .

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. . .and sell more books. . .

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. . .leaving Alex’s future up in the air. . .

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. . .might have been a pretty good way to do it.

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So, why did the American version ditch that last chapter?

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Was it because the editor thought Alex would never change. . .

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. . .or because Americans hate tidy, happy endings. . .

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. . .or because it was more fun to leave the reader hanging?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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