Drug usage, which is frequent in the book, was also a developing problem in the 60's by "hippies.".
Many young people of the 1960's, who had come to reject the traditional, conservative values of their parents, looked for ways to express themselves and for new values to embrace. Many experimented with drugs, such as marijuana, believing that narcotics would free their minds and put them at peace with the world. (Feinstein, pg. 9).
This quote shows how many young people were rejecting the current values and clashing with societal values and beliefs. Since the book was written in the early 60's, the "hippie" force would not have been in full effect yet, but would have been developing in society. The book and the time period show a direct relation with this being a huge problem in the future. This is because the "hippie" problems were not a huge problem yet, but a developing problem that would happen in possibly the late 60's/early 70's, and the book itself is set in the early 70s. This shows that the potential crime predicted in the early 60s in demonstrated in the novel.
Secondly, the main character, Alex, is quite clearly a criminal himself, as he does drugs and commits many crimes with his friends throughout the beginning of the novel. This was also one of the aspiring qualities of some youth in the late 50's/early 60's that caught the attention of adults.
So we cracked into him lovely, grinning all over out litsos, but he still went on singing. Then we tripped him so he laid down flat and heavy and a bucket load of beer-vomit came whooshing out. That was disgusting so we gave him the boot, one go each, and then it was blood, not song nor vomit, that came out of his filthy old rot. Then we went on our way. (Burgess, pg. 13).
This quote demonstrates the violence that Alex and the characters in the book possess. Violence in youth was developing during the late 50's and early 60's, and was obviously an area of concern.
