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 (film) himself, "I was cured, all right!" The film's central moral question (as in many of Burgess' novels) is the definition of "goodness" and whether it makes sense to use aversion therapy to stop immoral behaviour. Stanley Kubrick, writing in "Saturday Review", described the film as: Similarly, on the film production's call sheet (cited at greater length above), Kubrick wrote: After aversion therapy, Alex behaves like a good member of society, though not through choice. His goodness is involuntary; he has become the titular clockwork orange — organic on the outside, mechanical on the inside. In the prison, after witnessing the