How Does Anthony Burgess Use Language And Vocabulary In A Clockwork Orange

Language, diction, and complex vocabulary can unknowingly help readers have a better understanding of a piece of literature. They can help readers have a better visual of character traits and different aspects that are presented throughout works of literature. The different uses of language, diction, and vocabulary are evident throughout Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange. Nadsat, which is “a hybrid of Russian and onomatopoetic words,” is an example of a distinctive use of language, diction, and vocabulary that Burgess uses to readers better understand character transformations and aspects that occur throughout the novel (Carson 200). The nadsat language effects the book a great deal, which is why it is difficult for most readers to read (Carson 201). The protagonist, Alex, uses nadsat continuously throughout the first section of the novel; for example, “Oh now, don’t, both of you malchicks Droogs, aren’t we” (Burgess 33). In other words, Alex is calling his droogs cowards. The nadsat vocabulary can also be challenging because the author creates another meaning for a word, such as: knives meaning alcohol, rot meaning mouth, cutter meaning money, and cancer meaning cigarette. The nadsat language and vocabulary can affect a reader’s perspective of A Clockwork Orange. The author, Anthony Burgess,

The effects that the nadsat language has on the vocabulary and the protagonist’s transformation are seen throughout the novel. Without the nadsat, readers would not be able to thoroughly understand the transformation that Alex undergoes throughout Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange. Language, diction, and complex vocabulary that is evident throughout Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange help readers have a better understand the message that is presented in the