ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Form Videos 220 videos
Have you ever pretended to be super happy for your BFF when they win an award when, really, you just wanted to rip it out of their undeserving, ung...
In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, Death narrates the story of one girl who lived during the Holocaust. Not surprisingly, it's kind of a downer—bu...
Brave New World is supposed be an exciting book about a negative utopia and the corrupt powers of authority. So where’s the big car chase? What's...
A Clockwork Orange 11512 Views
Share It!
Description:
Why did the editor give Chapter 21 of A Clockwork Orange the axe? Was it because he wanted to leave the reader hanging? Or did he realize Americans hate sappy love story endings?
Transcript
- 00:07
A Clockwork Orange, a la Shmoop: Brainwash with Like Colors Only.
- 00:14
You may have noticed that Americans love to shorten things.
- 00:17
From hemlines. . .
- 00:20
. . .to work days. . .
- 00:24
. . .to conversations. Just take a look at A Clockwork Orange.
Full Transcript
- 00:36
When Anthony Burgess wrote it. . .
- 00:43
. . .there were 21 chapters. . .
- 00:47
. . .arranged in three equal parts.
- 00:52
Then an American editor got a hold of it. . .
- 00:55
. . . and decided the 21st chapter had to go.
- 00:59
So, why did that last chapter get the ax? Could it be that our humble editor thought
- 01:10
the 21st chapter. . .
- 01:12
. . .with Alex seeing the light and changing his evil ways . . .
- 01:15
. . . wasn’t believable? Burgess argued otherwise; that “21”. . .
- 01:17
. . .was a symbol of Alex’s growth from boy to man.
- 01:19
But he lost the battle. . .
- 01:20
. . .and had to wait 24 years to get that last chapter back in the book.
- 01:22
Wonder how he celebrated. . . Anyway, maybe that cut had nothing to do with
- 01:24
an unbelievable ending. Maybe the editor just wanted a more powerful
- 01:30
ending. . .
- 01:31
. . .with an unreformed hero still obsessed with violence.
- 01:39
Maybe he thought it would pack a bigger punch. . .
- 01:41
. . .than any “happy” ending ever could.
- 01:45
We already have stories where the good guy triumphs…
- 01:53
Why not let the bad guy win this time? However, our humble editor might have liked
- 02:03
the idea of leaving the reader hanging. If he wanted to get people talking. . .
- 02:13
. . .and sell more books. . .
- 02:16
. . .leaving Alex’s future up in the air. . .
- 02:19
. . .might have been a pretty good way to do it.
- 02:24
So, why did the American version ditch that last chapter?
- 02:30
Was it because the editor thought Alex would never change. . .
- 02:33
. . .or because Americans hate tidy, happy endings. . .
- 02:37
. . .or because it was more fun to leave the reader hanging?
- 02:42
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
Related Videos
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...
Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.
Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...
