PAGE 6 - N.C. ESSAY
Book Review
A Clockwork Orange - by An
thony Burgess. Ballantine Books.
191 pp. $.95.
“That was everything. I’d done
the lot, now. And me still only
fifteen.” - Alex
by mjf
This is a book of stunning
power. It is a brutal and vicious
tour de force, following the life
and times of a young British
hoodlum - gang leader in a
futuristic society where
criminals are reformed’ into
obiedient, subservient, choice-
less beings. Above all, A Clock
work Orange is, I think, one of the
very few truly exciting and
mesmerizing literary efforts
{ffoduced in recent years.
Anthony Burgess is a British
author, currently teaching
Creative Writing at Princton. His
most significiant ability (on the
basis of this book) is his control of
- and willingness to use - the
language in an inventive and bold
fashion. A Clockwork Orange
would be an interesting, but
unspectacular work, were it not
for the way in which Burgess tells
his tale.
Most so-called ‘contemporary’
authors (those who write about
the ‘real’ issues of the day) are
dreadfully pretentious when
they attempt to capture the sense
- the gut - of a particular life
style. Matters such as lan^age
turn from realism to contrived,
ludicrous garble, and we get a
caricature - a poor one at that -
of something once real and
honest and even vital. (For the
best example of what I mean, try
reading any one of the many
novels on the market today which
portend to deal with the ‘Now
Generation’).
Burgess has avoided this. He
places his characters in a
(somewhat) futuristic setting
and invents for them a slashing
vocabulary comprised of Russian
and English Cockney slang (and
the implications there should tell
you something about the political
nature of the book.) In doing so,
Burgess has created an at
mosphere that grasps - at least
symbolically - the sense of in
dependence and thirst for
revolution that seems to ac
company all youth, while still
remaining original and engaging.
Clockwork is not an easy book
to read. Until you become
familiar with the language
patterns it’s necessary to keep
checking the glossary at the
back. But understand, this isn’t a
contrivence, a gimmick, it’s an
intriguing and important aspect
of the book.
For example, here’s Alex (the
gang leader) telling of his plans
for the night:
And, viddying her lying there
with her goodies on show, I
wondered should I or not, but that
was for later on in the evening.
Then we cleaned the till, and
there was flip horror show
takings that nochy, and we had a
few packs of the very best can
cers apiece, then off we went, 0
my brothers.
Clockwork is narrated by
young Alex (Your 0 Humble
Narrator, 0 My Brothers), who
delights in smashing up people
for a lark. Alex and the boys get
behind violence for one simple
reason: they dig it, it turns them
on. It never really occurs to them
that they are hurting people.
They are motivated by pure
instinct - the thrill of it all.
This may be hard for some
readers to take. Parts of the book
are extremely ugly and perverse.
The beating scenes are described
in proud detail and Alex spares us
none of his enthusiasim. Still, the
words flow with a kind of lyric
poetry that locks you into the
book:
So we cracked into him lovely,
grinning all over our litsos, but
still he went on singing. Then we
tripped him so he laid down flat
and heavy and a bucketload of
beer-vomit came whooshing out.
That was disgusting so we gave
him the boot, one each go, and
then it was blood, not song or
vomit, that came out of his filthy
rot. Then we went our way.
Other scenes are striking in
their communication of passion,
however biz^irre the cir
cumstances may be. I doubt that
many readers could ever forget
the passages of Alex resting in his
bed at night, listening full blast to
Ludwig Van’s Ninth, conjuring
up incredible dreams of blood
and face-kicking, having un
controllable orgasims when the
music - and the fantasized
violence - climaxes. Burgess
really turns in some breathtaking
writing.
But A Clockwork Orange
doesn’t succeed on its stylistic
merits alone. The story is a
compelling one. We follow Alex
as he commits one atrocity after
another until he is finally caught
and sent to prison. There he is
‘rehabilitated’ with shock
treatments which alter him into a
passive, complying individual.
Released, he returns to the world
he knew and finds it drastically
changed and himself a betrayed
outcast. Finally, Alex encounters
one of his former victims and
learns in full what a clockwork
orange is (although Alex always
knew.) Beneath the sado-
violence, there runs a deep and
disturbing social and political
connotation.
This is a brilliant book,
savagely written and as terse as
anything I ’ve read in the last
decade. It is also a deadly
(blacky) humorous book, one
that at once satarizes and warns.
It is not totally flawless, but the
, failures are hardly noticeable in
the face of the total ac
complishment. I recommend that
you read A Clockwork Orange.
But be advised: it is a master
fully violent book. Be prepared
and pay attention.
Rocknroll
Randy Burns and Band have
been around, off and on, for
several years - a bunch of Yale
dropouts playing coffeehouses
and the whole folk circuit around
New Haven, trying to get an
album together. Now, finally,
Randy Burns and the Sky Dog
Band have an album (ttieir
second) out on Mercury.
The sound is elite country-
western, a little more
sophisticated than Nashville
music, though still clinging to the
simplicity of that style. The
music is very controlled, very
rehearsed, with polished har
monies and immaculate in
strumentation, but still manages
to sound relaxed and easy. Bums
is basically a solo musician,
relying on the strength of his
voice and acoustic guitar to get
his songs out; his band is merely
added support. The background
vocals (done chiefly by A.J.
Mulhern) stay well in the
background, enhancing rather
than contending with &e leads.
Piano reenforces lead guitar with
hammered out major chord
sequences, now and then in
dulging in a flashy
glissando. On one cut, “Blue
Line”, the piano gets into some
jumping ragtime bar music - this
credited to an anonymous entity
First Debate
As I glanced across the arena
toward our opponents, I thought,
“Gee, they look as nervous as I
hope we don’t!”
We were sitting in room 20 of
the Babcock Memorial Hall: By
we, I mean Margaret Harris,
Mrs. Corson, Mrs. Young, Mr.
Frohn and myself. Margaret and
I made up the affirmative team
of the newly formed NCSA debate
team. The others were our fan
club and moral support.
We were waiting for the three
judges to finish writing out the
preliminary information on their
ballots. Never being one to waste
time, I sat there trying my
hardest to psych out my op
ponents, while at the same time
reading through my speech.
Everyttme I looked at it, it ted
changed and this was the first
time I had read this version out
loud.
Finally the judges finished
writing down the team names
and other irrformation and we
were ready to start. One of the
judges looked in my direction and
nodded. How had she known I
was the first speaker? I was
nervous but I hoped it didn’t
show. I guess it did, because as I
started to go, Margaret
squeezed my arm and smiled....
something in her smile said
“Don’t worry.” (But I did
anyway.) I turned and nodded to
the others and started down the
three short steps into the well.
They say a man’s life passes
before his eyes as he is about to
by Tony Angevine
called Oz. The other keyboard
work is done by Matt Kastner,
who also does electric guitar,
dashing off tight rock ’n roll riffs,
or intricate fast-finger flamenco
plucking, or a shrill country
whine while Burns’ accoustic
guitar takes care of the rhythm
and introductory passages.
Bruce Samuels’ bass is
delightfully precocious, carrying
the melody line often, other times
getting down the beat with lithe
jumps and slides, especially in
“Waiting For An Old Friend” in
which drums are omitted
altogether. David Bromberg pops
up on two cuts with dobro and the
inevitable bottleneck guitar- a
competent musician. And
drunmier John O’Leary sounds
like he could back just about
anybody — maintaining the
country-folk feeling with a rock ’n
roll flair, similar to that of B.J.
Wilson of Procol Harum - ex
pressing the music more than
merely backing it up with a beat.
The songs themselves are
simple and uncluttered in the
country-western tradition. Burns
is a skillful songwriter, sticking
with melodic, singable times, and
lyrics that, for the most part,
reflect a good natured
disillusionment with the great
A Narrative
die. Well my whole life did not
pass before my eyes, but in those
few steps down to the non
existent podium, at least the two
weeks in which I had known
about this foolish venture did!
Let’s see, it was just about
three weeks ago when my mother
came popping through the front
door and said, “Guess what Gary
Burke is doing!” (I was talking
on the phone at the time.)
“What?” I said, as I hung up
the phone.
“He’s starting a debate team.”
I wandered into the living room
and began to read the Sunday
comics for about the third time.
“You see there is this program
that is being sponsored by the
Wake Forest debators.” (By now
she was in the kitchen opening a
can of cream of celery soup. I
turn another page of the comics.)
“All the area high schools are
invited to participate. They are
debating &e topic, Resolved:
There should be an all volunteer
army. Why don’t you join Gary’s
team?”
I put down the comics, because
it had caught my interest in spite
of myself. “How do you know?”
“Gary dropped by the Essay
office today and wanted to put a
notice in the paper.”
Well that was that until about a
week later when the paper came
out. I saw the notice and decided
to contact Gary Burke. When I
called, I found that I had missed
the first meeting. The others who
had signed up were Margaret
romantic myth. “August
Woman” begins: “Oh, I love my
August woman- Sometimes she
treats me well- She gives me lots
of lovin’- Times she even gives
me hell..” The there’s “To The
Women of My Life” where he
lays it on the line for the chicks
who have been a little too selfish
for his easy loving ways. And
“Seventeen Years on The River”
about the burden of maintaining
a relationship.
Probably the best cut on the
album is “Livin’ in the Country”,
one of two not written by Burns;
it’s fast-paced country music that
puts you in the sunshine away
from city gripes. Really en
thusiastic stulf..
The Sky Dog people make
refreshing music. In spite of the
control and obvious con
centration on the music as a
whole rather than individual
performances, it still sounds
loose and you can tell the band is
digging what it’s doing. But
because they are less outstanding
than simply very good, they are
likely to have a rough time
making an impression on the
rock world. They deserve at
tention. Give them a listen and
see what you think.
by Kevin Dreyer
Harris, John Sherrill, and
Carrie Jones.
That afternoon I called the
American Friends Service
Conmiittee and Wilmer Mizell’s
Winston-Salem office and asked
for any information they could
send on an all-volunteer army.
Four days later I received a copy
of the Presidential Commission
report and a book called, “Why
the Draft?”
That weekend we had another
meeting and divided ourselves
into affirmative and negative:
Margaret and I on the af
firmative and Carrie and John on
the negative.
I began a week of half-hearted
work. I only actually read the
first two chapters of the Gates
Commission report and didn’t
even begin to write my speech
until Friday night. So the
weekend before the debate was
really hectic.
Saturday afternoon I met with
one of our Wake Forest coaches
and found out that he wanted my
speech done on Sunday rather
than on Monday. I also found out
that I was to have a totally new
one ready for a rehearsal debate
to be held Sunday evening.
“But don’t worry,” he said,
“You can probably make it up.”
Sunday afternoon we had
another meeting and I finished
writing my speech just as Gary
walked through the door. We
went through my speech and
everyone agreed that there were
Continued On Page 8
(This isn’t exactly “literary”
in nature, folks, but we think
it’s important enought to
include here and now).
The events of the last
several days - the drugs
arrests, tales of informers,
and the ultimate accusations
from both sides of the spec
trum that students and-or
administrators are in some
sense “outlaws” or “villans” -
- has brought about the final
realization, at least on our
part, that some things should
be said.
The seven students involved
in the busts are not notorious
criminals, are not wayward
degenerates, and any notion
that they are should be and
must be immediately
dispelled. If anything, these
people were victims. What is
most important, however, is
that it seems that a great
lesson has been learned, a
truth recognized, not only by
some of the students involved,
but by this community at
large. That, we feel, is of the
utmost importance.
But there are other things
which must be made known.
A lot of people have been
condemning, both publicly
and privately, the President of
this institution, Robert Ward.
Since the special convocation
of Friday, April 23, many
people have expressed the
feeling that they think Robert
Ward was in some way
“responsible” for the drug
arrests. It was intimated that
he worked hand in hand with
the SBI, even that he in some
way assisted in the process of
busting. This has occurred
largely because of a statement
Ward made during that
convocation concerning a list
of names and room numbers
(and off-campus addresses) of
students at the school.
Since then. Ward has been
under extreme pressure from
the student body who feel that
they have been in some way
betrayed.
However, there is another
side to this story which should
be made public.
Ahnost simultaneously with
the drug arrests, three NCSA
high-school students “ran
away,” took off from school
without anyone knowing it.
Naturally, such an occurrence
has to cause concern. Ward
and the administration were
working with the police in this
matter. They were concerned.
And, officers from the local
Juvenile Dept, were on
campus during this time,
trying to find the whereabouts
of the missing persons. They
were having a great deal of
difficulty finding any in
formation. Because of this.
Ward was asked to furnish the
head of the Juvenile Dept,
with a list of names and room
numbers of students at NCSA.
Mr. Ward, did so, as I assume
most of us would have under
the circumstances. It would
thus seem that he did not know
that a bust was imminent and
that he gave names, etc. only
in the aftermath of the
problems finding the missing
students.
It may well be that the
Juvenile Division and the SBI
were working together and
that this was a device on their
part to get names, but ap
parently Ward did not
knowlingly assist in the
busting of students.
Why didn’t he say this at the
convocation?
This whole event has been a
harrowing one. It has caused a
lot of irrational thinking and
speaking, it has caused a lot of
people to lose their usual sense
of perspective. Busts can do
that to you, whoever you are.
But the point is that we, who
are so insistent that the axiom
of “innocent until proven
guilty” be upheld, have not
done so ourselves. We have
jumped at this chance and
criticize and condemn
someone who was apparently
innocent in what he was doing.
This is not to say that Ward
has acted with absolute clarity
in this situation or that his
actions have matched the
concern he expresses. We feel
that he has been at times
unreasonable and that his
whole stylistic approach to the
job of administrator has been
less than convincing.
However, it is wrong to con
demn him and fight him for
something he did not do, at
least not knowingly. A
reappraisal of the situation is
in order and perhaps a
reconsideration about what
we have felt and said about the
man. We do not agree with all
of his words and stands on the
matter, but we do strongly feel
that he should not be blamed
for something he may have
had no part in.
At the very least, we think
we should all inspect this very
closely before making random
accusations. Just as other
people should think before
declaring the seven busted
students “villans.” Really
people, we’re never going to
get anywhere that way. - mjf