Free Will And Determinism : A Clockwork Orange

Suppose that every event or action has a sufficient cause, which brings that event about. Today, in our scientific age, this sounds like a reasonable assumption. After all, can you imagine someone seriously claiming that when it rains, or when a plane crashes, or when a business succeeds, there might be no cause for it? Surely, human behavior is caused. It doesn't just happen for no reason at all. The types of human behavior for which people are held morally accountable are usually said to be caused by the people who engaged in that behavior. People typically cause their own behavior by making choices; thus, this type of behavior might be thought to be caused by your own choice-makings. This freedom to make

In both Nineteen Eighty-four and A Clockwork Orange, free will and the misuse of power are two intrinsically linked themes which are woven throughout and that govern everything that happens within both novels. The different reactions of different characters are an area that both George Orwell and Anthony Burgess focus on with interesting parallels between the two main protagonists, Alex and Winston.

In Anthony Burgess’ 1962 dystopian novella, A Clockwork Orange, teenage gangs and hoodlums run rampid in a futuristic society, inflicting mayhem and brutality among its totalitarian governed state. Alex, our protagonist/anti-hero, is among the most infamous in this violent youth culture. A psychotic, yet devilishly intelligent boy of fifteen, our “humble narrator” beats up on old folk, rapes underaged girls, pillages, and leads his group of “droogs” (friends) on a chaotic path of “ultra-violence.” With this society of citizens completely oblivious to the acts of such culture, the government offers to step in with a solution. After being jailed for the most heinous crime of murder, Alex volunteers for a procedure - offered by the government

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, develops a fictional account of a violent futuristic society, while integrating commentary on  current political and social issues.

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, is one of the most experimental, original, and controversial novels of the twentieth century. It is both a compelling work of literature and an in-depth study in linguistics. The novel is a satirical, frightening science fiction piece, not unlike others of this century such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. However, the conflicts and resolutions in A Clockwork Orange are more philosophical than social, and its message is far more urgent.

   Amidst a population composed of perfectly conditioned automatons, is a picture of a society that is slowly rotting from within. Alex, the Faustian protagonist of A Clockwork Orange, and a sadistic and depraved gang leader, preys on the weak and the innocent. Although perhaps misguided, his conscientiousness of his evil nature indicates his capacity to understand morality and deny its practice. When society attempts to force goodness upon Alex, he becomes the victim. Through his innovative style, manifested by both the use of original language and satirical structure, British author Anthony Burgess presents in his novella A Clockwork Orange, the moral triumph of free will within the

Rubin Rabinovitz, a literary expert at Bloom’s, analyzed the ethical values displayed by society in A Clockwork Orange and delved into what these values show about the citizens of England and their psychological states. Rabinovitz explains how there are two moral points of view that are utilized in A Clockwork Orange: Pelagianism and Augustinianism. He describes the two ideologies, stating how “with the Augustinians in power there is a period of social stability which comes as the result of a rigidly enforced authoritarian moral code” while the “libertarianism [of Pelagianism] gives way to permissiveness and then to an anarchic period of crime, strikes, and deteriorating public services”. As A Clockwork Orange goes through both ideologies in the form of two different government administrations, Rabinovitz explains how the “anarchic quality of the society portrayed early in the novel indicates that

‘Choice’ is a major aspect of the film because the male characters are seen to enforce this idea of masculinity, but Kubrick sees this as ambiguous. The psychiatrists in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ take away Alex’s freedom of choice through psychological manipulation, and therefore strip him of his own self worth. ‘Choice’ is a freedom Alex is born with, but by being brought up in this society he has been conditioned and nurtured to think only one way. By taking away his ability to choose, society is being institutionally condemned to decay.

The novel A Clockwork Orange is littered with ideologies regarding social and political messages and allegorical imagery supporting Anthony Burgess’ pessimistic approach to life during his later years. The coldness of reality, the societal ‘need’ for revenge and the importance of free will all play a large role in the philosophies given in the book. The

   Freedom and liberalism are catchwords that appear frequently in both philosophical and political rhetoric. A free man is able to choose his actions and his value system, to express his views and to develop his most authentic character. What this kind of idealistic liberalism seems to forget, however, is that liberty does not mean a better society, better life or humanistic values such as equality and justice. In his novel A Clockwork Orange (1962), Anthony Burgess portrays an ultimately free individual and shows how a society cannot cope with the freedom which it in rhetoric so eagerly seeks to promote.

Through processes of rehabilitation, hypnosis and propaganda the government creates a society conditioned for manipulation. In particular, both novels exist to manipulate information of their own people as an advantage to keep their citizens under their complete control. Prior to Alex’s attempt for suicide in A Clockwork Orange, the government composes an article addressing the prevailing success the Ludovico Technique has achieved. The government subsequently restores Alex back to his old self in order to protect itself from blame on his attempted suicide. Knowingly still a threat to the government, Alex is ultimately released back into a society once again as a consequence of the government's inaccuracy and guilt. In an attempt for innovation,

In today’s society, there is an evil that hides in the minds of rulers, governments-even everyday people. This evil lies in the crimes committed by thousands of people each year, the corruption of governments, and the suffering of innocent people. The laws and regulations that we live by today are put in place in order to prevent crime from encompassing everything people hold dear-to stop the bad people. In the story of A Clockwork Orange the narrator, Alex, gives us a criminal’s view of the world. Throughout the course of three years, Alex takes part in numerous robberies, murders and rapes people of all ages. In his mind, the disturbing acts he commits fill him with satisfaction and pleasure. When reading this novel through his eyes, the

In the novel A Clockwork Orange, the author Anthony Burgess tells a story about a young man name Alex and his friends, every night they go around and start committing violent acts. In the novel Alex expresses his freedom of choice between good and evil. The freedom of choice is a decision that every person must make throughout his life in order to guide his actions and to take control of his own future. This Freedom of Choice, no matter what the outcome is, displays person power as an individual, and any efforts to control or influence this choice between good and evil will take way the person free will and enslave him. In this novel the author uses this symbolism through imagery. He shows that through the character of

A Clockwork Orange, a novel written by Anthony Burgess in the 1960’s takes place in dystopian future in London, England. The novel is about a fifteen year old nadsat (teenager) named Alex who along with his droogs (friends) commit violent acts of crime and opts to be bad over good. In time, Alex finds himself to be in an experiment by the government, making him unable to choose between good and evil, thus losing his ability of free will, and being a mere clockwork orange. A “clockwork orange” is a metaphor for Alex being controlled by the government, which makes him artificial because he is unable to make the decision of good verses evil for himself and is a subject to what others believe is right. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

"A Clockwork Orange" is a film that focuses on reformation, nature, and control. These words mean nothing by themselves, but their meaning comes from many places and details in the work that need delving into in order to solve its true meaning.