s the clear confusion and despondency Francie constantly holds in his mind about his position and worth in life, stemming from the fact that he is essentially living life in a dystopic bubble, in which the rest of society seem to be oblivious to it and only Francie is experiencing any repercussions. A constant theme in Naked Lunch is the thrill of being in situations of utmost chaos and absurdity. Burrough depicts one of many scenes of mayhem in the ninth chapter ‘Hassan’s Rumpus Room’, where we are introduced to a sexual free-for-all event (as such) in which spectators watch young boys contorted in erotic performances, before interacting with the boys themselves and consequently killing them. The idea of spectatorship here is fascinating, because the spectating is done in an unusual form; the bystanders are simply watching and accepting these terrible and tumultuous events unfold without any motive to stop these circumstances. Even the beginning of the chapter outlines the vile spectacle as entertainment for “men and women in evening dress [sipping] pousse-cafés”, implying that the audience attend fashionably dressed and consider the free-for-all event as somewhat holding high status and prestige. It is also worth noting that one very rarely spectates something in unsafe territories; a feeling of security and protection – safety in numbers, perhaps – is necessary for one to feel comfortable in spectating something, yet ironically, the Rumpus Room chapter shows just how the idea of spectatorship is twisted, as everything happening in the scene has opposite connotations to comfort and order. One could create a clear correlation with A Clockwork Orange in which the psychologists are supposedly spectating Alex undergo the ‘Ludivico Technique’ and somewhat thrive off of watching him endure the pain of the treatment inflicted upon him; “”You felt ill this afternoon,” he said, “because you’re getting better. When we’re healthy we respond to the presence of the hateful with fear and nausea”” illustrates this paradoxical, perverse view of medicine and thus their irrational treatment of Alex whilst they “introduce the subject himself” in front of the assembly of “gentlemen” and tell them to “observe, all”. The contradictory circumstances that Alex faces, as well as the same circumstances shown in the Rumpus Room, are clear uses of the absurd that all the mo>