Fantaisie-Impromptu in a Minor Key

“Now what I fancied first tonight was this new violin concerto by the American Geoffrey Platus, played by Odysseus Choerilos with the Macon (Georgia) Philharmonic, so I slid it in and waited. Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven… Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gullivers the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers.” - Alex

Alex’s ecstasy while listening to music is very obvious in this passage. This is really a quite beautifully written passage, with a lot of striking imagery. Most readers cannot help being entranced by the sheer lyrical quality of Alex’s description of the concerto. I think Anthony Burgess intentionally wanted his readers to admire and connect with Alex in this passage. The novel has just described a night of gruesome violence, bringing out the most repulsive aspects of Alex. Ending the night by displaying Alex’s love for classical music, especially such an appealing quote, reveals a very admirable side of his character instead. Burgess leads his readers to feel more sympathetic towards Alex, and makes him look like more of a human being and less of a monster. Readers will generally associate a love for classical music with refined and elegant tastes and a keen intellect. This passage lets us appreciate that Alex is no crass common thug, but actually a quite intelligent and exceptional young person. He already has the maturity and keen attention necessary for really enjoying classical compositions. We cannot help but be touched by his pure rapture when listening to his favourite music. This connection is important, as it helps the reader develop empathy for Alex’s treatment later in the novel. Even the reader feels outraged when the government psychologist, himself uninterested in music, quite callously twists the conditioning such that Alex can never hear his beloved music again without feeling sick. The music serves to contrast his own good taste and humanity with his heartless enemies’ lack of it, and his despair allows us to feel more sympathy for the creature that they turn him into. Coming at this point in the novel, this passage persuades the readers to see Alex as a human being rather than the brutal monster that they just witnessed. Music may not have civilized Alex, but we can see that it still stirs up passions and emotions within him as strongly as it does for us readers.