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Early 20th-Century British Literature Videos 8 videos
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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...
A Clockwork Orange 11512 Views
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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.
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