A Clockwork Orange: Part 3, Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Alex sits in the Korova Milkbar with his three new droogs: Len, Rick, and Bully. As the oldest member of the group and a minor celebrity, Alex gives the orders—though he suspects that Bully may desire more control. Alex now works in the music department of the National Gramodisc Archives, which provides him with a decent salary and free music discs. A drunk man babbles nearby. The droogs spot three attractive girls at the bar, and Bully tries to convince the others to leave Len behind, while Len advocates a one-for-all spirit.

A wave of restlessness comes over Alex; he claims he has recently felt “bored” and “hopeless.” He punches the nearby drunk in the gut and the droogs exit into the winter night. As they walk down the street, Bully, Len, and Rick assault and rob a passing man. The droogs then go to the Duke of New York for a drink, where they encounter the same old women Alex bribed at the beginning of the story. Alex is initially reluctant to buy the women drinks with his “hard-earned” cash, but he eventually relents. His droogs are puzzled by his behavior, and Alex says he has “some thinking to do.”

Alex pulls some money out of his pocket. In doing so, he accidentally pulls out a cute picture of a baby that he had been carrying around, which he had cut out of a magazine. His droogs notice the picture and tear it up derisively, while Alex struggles to recover it. After some contemplation and banter with his droogs, Alex decides that he doesn’t feel up to carrying out mischief that night. He tells the others to continue with their plans to rob a store and then leaves the bar.

Now walking alone, Alex reflects that the culture of “ultra-violence” is being diminished due to a heightened police presence. He also reveals that he has started to become “soft”—he has lost interest in violence, and even his musical preferences have acquired a romantic bent. He comes across a coffee shop filled with harmless, law-abiding citizens, and decides to enter. Inside, a wholesome-looking girl catches his eye, and he recognizes the boy with her as Pete, his former droog, who is now nineteen.

Alex and Pete converse, and Alex is aghast to learn that Pete’s female companion is his wife. Pete now speaks in a grown-up voice, and his wife giggles at Alex’s “funny” manner of speaking. After Pete briefly describes his tame, married life, he and his wife leave to go to a wine and word-game party at a friend’s house. Alone again, Alex wonders if he, too, is outgrowing his lifestyle.

After he leaves the café, Alex walks the winter streets and thinks about his future. He is struck by an appealing fantasy: he envisions himself at home, with a wife and infant child. “Youth must go,” he opines, and compares being young to being a mechanical wind-up toy. Alex reflects that he will likely be unable to prevent his own son from behaving like him. He then resolves to find himself a wife.

To conclude the story, Alex addresses the reader directly. He is not young anymore, he explains; he has grown up. Alex’s next journey is one he will take on his own. He mixes reverent appreciation for the world with brash nadsat put-downs, and implores readers—his “brothers”—to “remember sometimes thy little Alex that was.”