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Essay / ""A Clockwork Orange" and "Paradise Lost": Comparing the Representation of Chaos and Structure
The battle between the need for structure and the creative freedom of chaos is at the heart of much of the great literature discussed as harmonious or complementary; they must be in conflict and locked in eternal struggle Literature has always depicted this clash of ideologies, for example, in contrasting Apollonian and Dionysian styles which are indeed representative of chaotic ecstasy. and Burgess's powerful reason also adds his thoughts on this debate that runs through the heart of human existence with his novel "A Clockwork Orange". The accepted critical view of the novel is that it is about. 'an argument for free will, which is true, but I believe Burgess explores it even further by asking whether free will leads to chaos because of humans' innate attraction to it or. whether the positive aspects of the structure appeal to our rational self. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Milton, on the other hand, steps out of the already established debate and investigates, through "Paradise Lost", whether chaos and structure can be considered objectively and also presents them as having a kind of duality, as if l one was a dead ringer for the other to truly attack the reader's assumptions. What is certainly true of both of these literary works is that they are products of their environments while also being critiques of possible future environments. In the socio-political climate in which both were shaped and formed, there was extreme unrest as well as dedicated following of strict organization and restrictions. “Paradise Lost” was first published in 1667, just seven years after the monarchy was restored to England, following 18 years of civil war during which England had been thrown into chaos. Milton assesses, on the surface, which era was best for the country, but explores on a deeper level what happens when chaos and structure actually interact. Burgess's novel also emerged from a time of insecurity and complex change; the Berlin Wall had just been erected and the USSR had just detonated the biggest hydrogen bomb of all time and on British soil, Britain found itself in the uncertain world of the 1960s dominated by adolescent individualism. Burgess himself clearly struggled internally with what free will meant for security and ultimately happiness. This is why his novel goes from one extreme to the other; its reader can see how appealing chaos and structure are, and then evaluate each for themselves. Burgess's novel is not so much a plea for chaos or a plea for structure, but rather a plea for reflection on the subject. On the surface of "Paradise Lost", the reader is presented with a love for structure, form and structure of Milton are very typical. The literature is in the form of a classic epic poem, written in iambic pentameter, which most closely resembles ordinary speech. However, Milton often breaks it by using hyphenation to give Satan a more human voice. Milton deliberately chose these established and organized techniques to contrast with other poetic devices in the poem, such as the heavy use of punctuation and lack of a structured rhyme scheme, to develop his first point about chaos and structure ; that they are intrinsically linked and coexist. It is widely agreed that “Paradise Lost” is magnificent; it has wonderful archaic language and incredible imageswhile effortlessly moving around biblical references, making it an instantly recognizable work of art. Milton strived to make his epic poem beautiful in order to show that structure and chaos work in harmony to create something aesthetic. It is false, in Milton's view, for his readers to assume that chaos and structure are opposites and that therefore a person can only come to one point of view and believe it to be attractive. From the first page, Milton has already destroyed any stigma his readers had on the subject. A subject he will explore in more detail. The approach Burgess takes to form and structure is strikingly similar to Milton's. Burgess uses an established method to present his novel. It has clearly numbered chapters, a linear timeline, and a first-person narrator, which is very usual, and some would say conventional, but just like Milton with caesura and rhyme, Burgess puts the structured novel to the test by transforming the language of the novel so radically strange and foreign to its English audience. "Nadsat" is the type of slang that Alex the narrator uses and contains words that have roots in common English like "eggiwegg", but also confusing words such as "Kleb" and "lovet" which have roots in Slavic languages. Burgess's new language serves many purposes, but initially it is about placing the reader in a structure they recognize but confusing them with the chaotic nadsat. Burgess's reason for justifying this particular technique is different from Milton's; this is to point out that together structure and chaos make people uncomfortable, it would be much more usual to have equally strange form and structure but Burgess shows how initially both cannot not be accepted at the same time. Burgess also emphasizes this point by making his novel parallel to an opera aria that follows an A/B/A structure. Alex's story begins at home, then in prison, then back home. Alex rapes and beats people, but also loves beautiful structured music, Burgess's choice of tune structure complements this; inside the book is rape and violence, but it is created like an opera, something the reader associates with a calm and peaceful environment. Once again, structure and chaos coexist uncomfortably; Burgess did not believe they could be one and the same person, unlike Milton. For Burgess, only chaos could be attractive, or only structure could be attractive. Initially, this statement is not true for “A Clockwork Orange” because the reader craves language they can understand, they need structure to find meaning. However, this statement is actually true for Milton's structure in "Paradise Lost." Milton, by demolishing the reader's assumptions, through his dual use of chaos and structure, has metaphorically placed them in a desolate and chaotic world, one of their core beliefs has been lost, and they are effectively in hell with Satan while they are stripped of everything. everything they know. This is why Milton begins “Paradise Lost” with this section after the fall. This area of uncertainty reflects the uncertainty created when Charles returns from France. The ambiguity appeals to Milton because it is the beginning of a new life, but perhaps not for the reader. Both writers use difficult main characters to develop meaning. Satan in human literature and art is portrayed as simplistic and one-dimensional, but in "Paradise Lost", Milton depicts the idea of Satan as incredibly different; it added more depth to the character. Likewise, Burgess did notsimply designed a thug; with Alex, he created a complex human being who struggles to understand certain aspects of life. Alex likes Beethoven and Mozart; he even describes him to us as a preacher seized by a sudden surge of religious faith. Burgess uses language such as “O!” My brothers. to accentuate how strongly Alex feels about classical music, although Alex also associates it with the violent acts he commits. This is demonstrated by the phrase that he could hear music in his head when he describes "the blood came." Burgess, using Alex's technique, shows how structure and chaos can be appealing, but together they only create acts of horror; there can be no middle ground. Burgess actually stated that he believed in "duality as the ultimate reality", meaning that reality as we know it is composed of conflicts, like structure versus chaos. However, Alex is proof that little by little chaos becomes more attractive and stronger than structure. Alex's desire for violence is so strong that it goes against the behavioral conditioning he receives from the Ministry of the Interior. The society in "A Clockwork Orange" also reflects this desire for chaos, the police are corrupt, as evidenced by Dim becoming a policeman as well as the "old babushkas" of the pub who are willing to reject society to obtain alcohol which is a symbol of distorted reality and chaos. Satan's language appears to be very intelligent, insightful and persuasive. As a reader, we almost start to love it; his rousing speeches to his people and his apparent sacrifice in embarking alone on the “dangerous journey” to Eden are all virtuous. However, as Milton states: “Satan’s language is “ambiguous and deceptive in both senses.” His language is chaotic and erratic, it is never coherent and sincere unlike that of Christ later in the epic poem. However, Satan seems obsessed with order as much as chaos. Satan creates order out of chaos by creating a structured parliament. This desire for order also adds to the ambiguity of Satan as a character. Milton does this so that Satan becomes a piece of chaos in the sense that he is used by Milton to enlighten the reader about his own life. Literary critic Stanley Fish formulated a theory about “Paradise Lost” called “The Fish Trap.” "The Fish Trap" states that Milton initially makes Satan seem "good", where the common critical expression "Satan has all the best lines" comes from, and also why Shelley believed Satan to be the hero of the story. Milton then shows "infected readers" that Satan is actually evil and a deceiver through the initial description of Sin and Death which includes phrases such as "Thou art a traitor" and "fugitive." The technique to instill chaos in the reader's mind is to show that he has fallen from the moral heights of Adam and Eve. Despite my agreement with the theory, Fish seems overly obsessed with Milton's Christianity, when in fact he was a fairly unorthodox believer, which devalues the theory slightly. The archaic language, often Latin, is also intended to emphasize the extent to which readers, who find the language difficult, have fallen from Eden. This is where the title comes from, the company has lost “Paradise”. Critic Christopher Ricks agrees, stating that "(the words) take us back to a time when there were no infected words because there were no infected actions." Milton used the chaos of Satan's character to protect the reader from the chaos of losing paradise and falling from God, in this sense the statement is true when analyzing "Paradise Lost" because humans moved away of the structure of God and entered into the chaos of,.