As the story begins, Alex is young - about 15. He lives in a futuristic version of England, where the streets are ruled at night by young criminals, and smart-minded individuals stay inside their homes with the doors tightly locked. Alex is one of the young criminals. He thrives on violence, and (strangely) the music of Beethoven. For him, Beethoven's music doesn't have a calming effect. It gets him fired up for some reason. He's a …showed first 75 words of 404 total…

…showed last 75 words of 404 total…they've been operating on his mind. After speaking with a few of the hospital personnel, Alex learns that they've "undone" his treatment. He finds that he no longer feels the sickness when he thinks about violence or listens to Beethoven's music. The end of the 20th chapter, and the end of the first American version of the book leaves us with "I was cured all right" - an eerie ending to an already frightening book.