Which Book are You, Revisited

The last time I did a quiz like this, I was told that I was George Orwell's 1984. And in another of those book quizzes I took, I was told I was Watership Down. Interesting, but...not really my cup of tea, for either choices, in the long run. So I was rather pleased that with this quiz, the answer was:

A Clockwork Orange

You are 57% Great Book

A Clockwork Orange is perhaps one of the most bold works of literature ever penned. It charts a lengthy although ultimately circular change of character, concerned with a protagonist who is truly 'fucked up'. Despite the best attempts at the outside world to change him, he remains as he is. Chaotic, passionate, vivid and robust - you are the proud and destructive Clockwork Orange. You are a wild person, often driven by impulse and prone to ignore rationality over raw passion. You are intelligent, and well aware of the weaknesses of your personality, but you are also aware of the strengths. Where others are prone to indecision and a lack of originality, you are bold, imposing and often artistic. You can be violent, not neccessary physically, but certainly emotionally - imposing your will on others through aggressive dominance. Clockwork and Orange are not words which traditionally go together. Clockwork is a mechanical method of creating artificial movement, where an Orange is an organic creation. Trying to force one to work with the other will always be foolish. Alex, the main character, is something of an Orange. He is an organic person, growing and changing - even evolving - but ultimately sticking to his nature as an orange. The clockwork seems to represent the word around him, trying to change him and force him into a certain way of life - perhaps for his own good - but ultimately doomed to fail. The freedom of individuals to make choices becomes problematic when those choices undermine the safety and stability of society, and in A Clockwork Orange, the state is willing to protect society by taking away freedom of choice and replacing it with prescribed good behavior. In Alex's world, both the unfettered power of the individual and the unfettered power of the state prove dangerous. Alex steals, rapes, and murders merely because it feels good, but when his violent impulses are taken away, the result is equally as dangerous, simply because freedom of choice, a fundamental element of humanity, has been taken away.

Interesting...though I thought  Anthony Burgess used the phrase 'A Clockwork Orange' based on the old London expression . And what the heck does 57% Great Book mean? I'm bloody well 100% Great Book, thankyouverymuch!

Of course I don't want to be compared to the character Alex in any way, but it is one of my favourite books, and definitely one of my most favourite movies ever. Right horrorshow, in fact.

Take the Which Book Are You? quiz. Hat tip to That Shakespeherian Rag (a great blog!) for the quiz.

Comments

[Ess]

I'm Watership Down, and so is the wife! That probably explains why we live in a burrow.

[Steven W. Beattie]

I'm 1984, although I'd rather be A Clockwork Orange. *Sigh.*

Thanks for the plug, Patricia.

[patricia]

I actually made a mistake; in that other book quiz I believe I was 1984, too. And in an even earlier quiz I was (shudder) Watershp Down. I much prefer Clockwork Orange.

[Beth]

Why do I do these things? (Would I follow you off a cliff?)
I'm The Count of Monte C. (66% Great Book - huh?)
And of course, in the description I read some lovely things about me - and some not-so-lovely. Just like in real life...

[DJ Cayenne]

I'm 63% Great Book - Moby Dick. Not sure what to make of that - my secret shame: I haven't read the book.

(a side note: just saw your "Currently Reading" - I loved The Book Thief and On Beauty. I hope you're enjoying them.)

[Isabella]

I'm Moby Dick -- the description fits me pretty well, but I haven't read the book, nor do I have any desire to.

[patricia]

DJ, I'm enjoying both books very much, thank you, and I must say, that Smith's 'On Beauty' is bloody fantastic. Gawd that girl can write!!