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) scholar walking home from the public library; rob a store, leaving the owner and his wife bloodied and unconscious; beat up a beggar; then scuffle with a rival gang. Joyriding through the countryside in a stolen car, they break into an isolated cottage and terrorise the young couple living there, beating the husband and raping his wife. In a metafictional touch, the husband is a writer working on a manuscript called ""A Clockwork Orange"", and Alex contemptuously reads out a paragraph that states the novel's main theme before shredding the manuscript. Back at the Korova, Alex strikes Dim for his