A Clockwork Orange (novel) a slow-witted bruiser who is the gang's muscle; Georgie, an ambitious second-in-command; and Pete, who mostly plays along as the droogs indulge their taste for ultra-violence. Characterised as a sociopath and hardened juvenile delinquent, Alex also displays intelligence, quick wit, and a predilection for classical music; he is particularly fond of Beethoven, referred to as "Lovely Ludwig Van". The novella begins with the droogs sitting in their favourite hangout, the Korova Milk Bar, and drinking "milk-plus" — a beverage consisting of milk laced with the customer's drug of choice — to prepare for a night of mayhem. They assault a
A Clockwork Orange (novel) crude response to a woman's singing of an operatic passage, and strains within the gang become apparent. At home in his parents' futuristic flat, Alex plays classical music at top volume, which he describes as giving him orgasmic bliss before falling asleep. Alex coyly feigns illness to his parents to stay out of school the next day. Following an unexpected visit from P.R. Deltoid, his "post-corrective adviser", Alex visits a record store, where he meets two pre-teen girls. He invites them back to the flat, where he drugs and rapes them. The next morning, Alex finds his droogs in a