"In the edited US printing, the book [A Clockwork Orange] ends with Alex being "cured" of his cure and able once again to rape and murder freely. The final missing chapter, however, shows him matured and having outgrown his violent youth. Without this epilogue, the entire story has a very different meaning. I find it an interesting commentary on American society for the publishers to have rejected the original ending and opted instead for a bleak final outcome. As the story goes, the publisher felt that it was "a sell out" to have Alex change as a person and they were not interested in that. They felt that the American audience was more interested in reading about a character who was straight up evil with no possibility of growth or redemption."

-- David Palumbo