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A Clockwork Orange Free Will Essay

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Title: The Inalienability of Free Will in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’
Name: Nicholas Pearson-Buffoni
Course: BAEN
Lecturer: Thomas Birkett
Date: 07 October 2017

In this Essay I will examine the theme of the inalienability of free will in Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’. This essay will argue that the above text stresses that free will is a necessity for all of humanity, whether that free will be used for benevolent or malevolent means. As free will is that which makes us as humans and separates humanity from simple inanimate objects or wild animals. This essay will demonstrate that even when an inherently evil character such as Alex who uses his free will to commit extremely vile …show more content…

Although warned by his post corrective advisor Mr. Deltoid that his actions will end with him being incarcerated, Alex continues to use his free will to perform these horrific acts, showing just how arrogant he truly is. Alex, in the beginning due to his actions is, to most of society find Alex completely unrelatable and is hated by the audience. However, this opinion becomes obscured when Alex is inevitably caught, incarcerated and unknowingly volunteers to have his free will stripped from him by the character of The Minister and his scientists. The audience sees him ‘Bound up in a straight-jacket and my gulliver was strapped to a headrest’ and sees that ‘They clamped like lidlocks on my eyes so I could not shut them no matter how hard I tried’. Seeing another human being treated in such a manner, worse than an animal in captivity, no matter how devious that person is, evokes a sympathy in some form for Alex from the …show more content…

Alexander puts it ‘A little machine’, for the person, whomever they are, in this case Alex, ceases to be human and has no autonomy, only capable of performing acts which others deem suitable. Alex’s response to having his free will taken from him speaks for itself, as the audience sees that Alex and most likely many others would rather be dead than have no control over their actions. Although Alex was an extremely evil character in the beginning of the film, he used his free will to be evil and that free will made him what he was. While some may argue that if someone uses their free will to be evil should not have it in the first place, but to take that free will away from someone dehumanises them and dehumanising someone is, in itself evil. The film shows that without free will humans are nothing and while that may be used for malevolent means, without it cannot be used for benevolent means either. Without free will humans are no different from things, simply being used for a

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