Rebellious Youthful Characters in British Fiction
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Writers often present characters who are out of step with their society, and often this occurs because the values of that society are seen as warped or misguided. Three British novelists have created youthful characters who show a strong reaction against society and authority. Viewed objectively, the youthful characters in Graham Greene's Brighton Rock, Alan Sillitoe's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, and Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange might be considered evil or psychologically troubled, but they must also be seen as products of their society, as personalities shaped by the problems of that society and by the warped values the society has come to represent. An analysis of the two novels and one short story shows how the authors address the limitations of their society and the culpability society has in the crimes committed by their youthful characters.The nature of the anti-social behavior of the young protagonists in these novels covers a wide range, from the outright criminal activity of the gangster in Brighton Rock and the urban marauder of A Clockwork Orange to the evidence of a troubled mind in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. The manner in which these characters perceive their own condition and what they do about it also differs from one book to the next, and for that matter the attitude assumed by the respective authors as to what can be done or should be done about these troubled young people also differs. What seems quite similar i
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655321. It may be horrible to be good. and when I say that to you I realize how self-contradictory that sounds. What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way better than the man who has the good imposed upon him? (Burgess 104).
The freedom to choose good over evil is given great importance in this novel, and Alex has made that choice when we first meet him. Yet, in another sense he has had that choice made for him in a way quite different from the Ludovico treatment, for society has shaped him and made the choice for him:
Alex's only salvation is music. . . But, ironically, the music fails to raise the spirit; for Alex can react only in a physical way to the sounds of the orchestra. For Alex, a creation of the society in which he lives, there are no such things as love, affection, or duty; for only mechanical sex, compliance with the strong, and a display of power mean anything (De Vitis, Anthony Burgess 106-107).
It is not surprising that such a society chooses a method like the Ludovico treatment to impose control, for it is unable to effect change through the missing love, duty, and affection that would be expected to have results in a sane society
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2723
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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