A Clockwork Orange: Part 3, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

After his onstage humiliation and a day full of media interviews, Alex is released from the treatment facility. He has a bag of his possessions and a pocketful of money from the authorities, but little else. Alex decides to get breakfast, and makes his way to a working-class café near the Staja. In the café, Alex buys a copy of the newspaper, and he finds a propaganda article, advertising him as the poster-child of successful Reclamation Treatment. He is disgusted by the government’s boastfulness and throws the paper onto the floor.

Alex catches a bus to his family’s apartment building. Once there, he is surprised by how well-kept the area appears. He opens the door to his apartment and discovers his parents eating breakfast with a bulky man. The unfamiliar man thinks Alex is an intruder and threatens to throw him out, while Alex’s parents sit in silence. His mother then laments that Alex must have escaped, and begins to cry. Alex’s father also voices distress at seeing Alex years before his prison sentence is set to finish.

Alex’s mother introduces the man as Joe, a lodger who has taken up residence in Alex’s old room. Joe lambasts Alex for his heartless treatment of his parents. Alex, offended that he has been replaced, opens the door to his old room and discovers that his possessions are gone—even his stereo. His father explains that per government policy, Alex’s belongings were sold in order to fund care for his elderly victim’s cats.

Alex asks his parents what they expect him to do if he cannot live at home, and they tell him that they have no choice but to keep Joe around. The lodger has already paid his rent. Joe adds that he owes it to Alex’s parents to keep them away from their abominable son. This rejection causes Alex to burst into tears. He tells his parents he wishes he were back in jail, and hopes his misfortune weighs upon their consciences. Joe comforts Alex’s crying mother while her son stumbles out of the apartment.