A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 Stanley Kubrick film based on Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel, about a young man named Alex who leads a gang that engages in ultra-violent crimes. The film explores moral issues through Alex's experiences being subjected to a government rehabilitation program that aims to cure him of his violent behavior. It was controversial for its graphic depictions of violence and rape, but was praised for its filmmaking and examination of ethics.
1. A Clockwork Orange is a Stanley Kubrick film from 1971. Kubrick directed the film and wrote the
screen play based on the 1962 novel from author Anthony Burgess. A Clockwork Orange was
originally rated, "X" and nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best
Screenplay, but lost in each category to William Friedkin's The French Connection (filmsite.org).
The set design is by John Barry, costume design by Milena Canonero, music by Wendy Carlos and
cinematography by John Alcott. A Clockwork Orange was awarded the New York Film Critics
Awards for Best Film and Best Direction (FilmReference.com).
Distributed by Warner Brothers, the estimated budget was $2,200,000 with a Gross of $26,589,355
in the USA alone...show more content...
The theory being that distance does not shut off our moral issues and/or questions about the film,
but keeps us engrossed in the film while thinking about our own sense of morality. Kipp continues,
adding that "Kubrick's lenses are wide and slightly distorted; many of the costumes and sets are
painted in vivid, eye–catching primal colors; and half the dialogue is done in a slang mixture of
Slavic, Cockney, and Russian" (Kipp). Critic Roger Ebert states that Kubrick uses the wide angle
lenses on objects that are fairly close to the camera, so that the lens distorts the sides of the image.
"The objects in the center of the screen look normal, but those on the edges tend to slant upward and
outward, becoming bizarrely elongated. Kubrick uses the wide–angle lens almost all the time when
he is showing events from Alex's point of view; this encourages us to see the world as Alex does, as
a crazy–house of weird people out to get him.
When Kubrick shows us Alex, however, he either places him in the center of a wide–angle shot (so
Alex alone has normal human dimensions,) or uses a standard lens that does not distort. So, a visual
impression is built up during the movie that Alex, and only Alex, is normal (Rogerebert.com).
The story itself takes place in the future and is narrated by
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2. Theme Of Morality In 'A Clockwork Orange'
Morality in A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange, directed by American film director and producer Stanley Kubrick, is a film
adaptation of the book written by Anthony Burgess. This is a fictional dystopian film showing
people of today's society how the government can control people's actions, emotions, and ideas by
completely abolishing the sense of free–will. The film deals with many moral issues that are
developed through the actions of the main character, Alexander Delarge, and the trials and
tribulations that the government put him through in order to "civilize" him. A Clockwork Orange
expresses ideas that those who disagree with or rebel against societal norms should be controlled
and have their actions and ideas suppressed and undermined therefore destroying the concept of an
individual's sense of free–will. The film deals with the idea of freedom of choice, bringing to light
the concept that we will be losing our humanity if we aren't given the choice between good and evil.
Through A Clockwork Orange, Stanley Kubrick asks the viewer, "Without free–will are we really
human anymore?" The film is set in an undisclosed time and place, but the viewer can infer that it's
set sometime in a dystopian future. It can be presumed that the movie is set in the future due to the
decor of the interior of the houses, the fashion style of the characters in the film, and the year of the
car Alex and his gang drive. All of the homes depicted in this film are furnished having a bright,
colorful, modern look to them, yet they seem sterile and uncomfortable. The characters in the film
also seem to match this fashion style with many of the women having unnatural colored hair and
wearing bright, odd–looking clothes. The model of Alex's car also works to confirm the time period
as being sometime in the future. When Alex and his droogs are causing mayhem, driving on the
wrong side of the road towards Mr. Alexander's house, Alex narrates and states "The Durango–95
purred away real horrorshow Гі a nice, warm vibraty feeling all through your guttiwuts." (A
Clockwork Orange, Alex). The film was released to the public in 1971, so the fact that the model of
the car is a Durango–95 means that it must be set in the future. The
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3. Clockwork Orange Meaning
A Clockwork Orange
"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.
Notorious director, Stanley Kubrick, makes of Anthony Burgess' most celebrated novel an
uncivilized and corrosive morality play. Centering on Alex DeLarge, performed by Malcolm
McDowell, who plays a antisocial delinquent. He and his gang of thugs, of whom he calls his
"droogs", participate in acts of horrible violence, known as "ultraviolence". In this crime spree they
spar, forcibly assault women, heist, and viciously murder like conscienceless predators. Once
captured and imprisoned,
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4. A Clockwork Orange Essay
Anthony Burgess' novel, A Clockwork Orange has been called shocking, controversial, and
horrifying. A Clockwork Orange is controversial, but to focus merely on the physical aspects of
the work is time wasted. Burgess is concerned with the issue of ethics. He believes that goodness
comes directly from choice; it is better to choose the bad than to be forced into doing the good.
For taking away a person's free will is simply turning them into a piece of "clockwork"; a piece of
machine containing all the sweet juices of life, but incapable of being human.
Government, as it is simply named in the book, is portrayed as being the great oppressor. The novel
is based in a future where...show more content...
It is made quite clear throughout the novel that the police even consider such brutality to be fun.
When Alex is taken into custody, he refuses to speak until he has a lawyer. He knows the law, he
says. The head policeman replies, "...we know the law too, but that...isn't everything." He then
proceeds to punch Alex in the stomach as the other policemen "laugh their gullivers off." One
cannot help but to compare the brutality of Alex to that of the policemen. Alex is an adolescent, yet
the people put in place to control him exhibit the same behavior. Burgess uses the statement from the
officer to help explain the meaning of his novel. If the law is not everything, then breaking the law
is not everything. Rape and abuse are illegal, but being socially "wrong" is not the most important
thing to consider. The author wants the reader to ask, can goodness be achieved out of bad behavior?
Ludovico's technique is the main vehicle for Burgess' purpose. The technique attempts to turn Alex
onto the right path by taking away his ability to do wrong. In blunt terms, it obliterates his free will.
Alex is forced into exhibiting acceptable behavior, from fear of becoming physically ill at the
thought of wrongdoing. So now, in the eyes of society, he is an acceptable human being; human,
being the operative word. Is not the essence of humanity the
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5. Why Is A Clockwork Orange So Popular?
A Clockwork Orange is a film that will always be talked about as long as other films are being made
and produced. The reason this film is so popular is because it was one of the most exalted and
problematic motion pictures of all time. It was liked by many people because of film work and
intelligence that went on in the film. People also despised the film because of violence, murder, and
rape. One person in particular that did not enjoy the film was Ben Russell, a filmmaker who wrote a
review about this movie.
In the review, he states how he was part of the minority that did not enjoy the film. He says that
Kubrick could have used an easier way to get his message across than the ways he did. Although,
Russell likes the way Stanley Kubrick
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6. A Clockwork Orange Essay
A Clockwork Orange
Eat this sweetish segment or spit it out. You are free.&
–Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess has been heralded as one of the greatest literary geniuses of the twentieth century.
Although Burgess has over thirty works of published literature, his most famous is A Clockwork
Orange. Burgess's novel is a futuristic look at a Totalitarian government. Themain character, Alex, is
an "ultra–violent" thief who has no problem using force against innocent
citizens to get what he wants. The beginning of the story takes us through a night in the life of Alex
and his Droogs, and details their adventures that occupy their time throughout the night. At fifteen
years old, Alex is set up by his Droogs–Pete,...show more content...
He taught himself how to read music and how to play the piano. The inspiration for A Clockwork
Orange came while during World War II, when his wife was assaulted while he fought. She died
about a month after the incident from internal bleeding, along with their unborn child, who was
killed during the assault. He compensated by releasing his anger into A Clockwork Orange, in which
a scene takes place that mirrors the traumatic incident. Anthony Burgess died at seventy–six,
November 25, 1993 of cancer (Cohen).
The novel's main theme deals with free choice and spiritual freedom. Anthony Burgess expresses
his view that no matter how "good" one's actions are, unless one has free
moral choice, he is spiritually damned (Malafry). The novel revolves around one criminally minded
teen, Alex, whose world consists of rape, murder, and ruthless violence. Alex is eventually set up by
his "droogs" (friends) and is arrested and jailed. After some time in jail, Alex
is placed in a new rehabilitating program that uses electro–shock therapy, new medicines, and
exposure to violent film. The program breaks all that Alex holds dear and builds him up with a new
artificial conscience. This part of the novel presents the reader with a new, reformed Alex, an Alex
without free will or freedom of choice; and Alex that has become a victim. Burgess considers this
lack of freedom to be spiritually murderous and terribly
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7. A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess ' A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian novel set in an oppressive, futuristic state.
Published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is an extremely intense, graphic, and, at times, horrifying
novel. A reader begins to question their own values as they become numb and desensitized to the
violence at hand. Both behaviorism and free will is occurring throughout A Clockwork Orange. A
Clockwork Orange brings up a question, how much control of our own free will do we actually
have? Do we really control our own lives, or are they subject to the cards we are dealt? In A
Clockwork Orange, behavior analysis and free will are displayed. Human nature has long since been
in question. Alex is an extremely interesting character. He is a...show more content...
Alex had control over the things that he was doing, and then it was taken away from him. We
have very limited control over what we do because society takes our free will away. Behaviorism has
a relation to free will. Watson's view on behaviorism is "...psychology should embrace behavior as
its subject matter and rely on experimental observation of that subject matter as its method" (Moore
451). Also Watson published his paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It, and in this paper he
states: "Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural
science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential
part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which
they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness" (Harzem 6)
Watson set the stage for behaviorism, which soon rose to dominate psychology. Watson went a little
overboard in that paper. But on the good side, he attracted many enthusiastic followers, became the
national interest, made headlines in national newspapers, and was the subject of many articles in
popular periodicals. But then there were troubles that Watson's experiment wasn't considered
"Science" (Behaviorism For the New Psychology)
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8. Essay about clockwork orange
"A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man."–Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange is a novel about moral choice and free will. Alex's story shows what happens
when an individual's right to choose is robbed for the good of society. The first and last chapters
place Alex in more or less the same physical situation but his ability to exercise free will leads him
to diametrically opposite choices–good versus evil. The phrase, "what's it going to be then, eh?,"
echoes throughout the book; only at the end of the novel is the moral metamorphosis complete and
Alex is finally able to answer the question, and by doing so affirms his freedom of choice. The
capacity to choose freely is the attribute that distinguishes...show more content...
The technique is a scientific experiment designed to take away moral choice from criminals. The
technique conditions a person to feel intense pain and nausea whenever they have a violent
thought. The key moral theme of A Clockwork Orange is articulated during a chat between the
alcoholic prison chaplain and Alex two weeks before he enters treatment. He reflects on the
moral questions raised by the treatment that will force Alex to be good. "Does God want
goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way better
than a man who has the good imposed on him?" The government experiment fails to realize that
good and evil come from within the self. The Ludovico Technique messes with Alex's internal
clockwork. He transforms into a being that is unable to distinguish good from evil. The altering of
his personality makes him, "as decent a lad as you would meet on a May morning, unvicious,
unviolent...inclined to the kindly word and helpful act," but his actions are dictated only by
self–interest to avoid the horrible sickness that comes along with evil thoughts. He has no real
choice, "he ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature of moral choice." Being
stripped of his free will, Alex is no longer a human he is the government's toy. "Choosing to be
deprived of the ability to make an ethical choice [does not mean] you have in a sense really chosen
the good."
Alex
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9. Argumentative Essay On A Clockwork Orange
As well as, the reality that it may be the cause for children's speech problems and inability to
properly read although many people believe educational programs, such as Sesame Street, are
encouraging their children to count and learn words ("Impact of..."). The reason being that,
television does not give feedback to children, and instead are programmed to say, "That's correct",
or "Good job", when in reality, the child is just sitting their smiling at puppets. To add, it harms a
child's development issues because it gives off artificial encouragement to the senses. A child's
vision can be harmed because of the quick movement of the images, and hearing can be impaired
because of poor sound features. The overall aspect of it is, children learn better from interactive
learning and experiencing emotions, talking to loved ones, and making friends to play with. With
a television they get none of that, instead they develop short attention spans because of the various
thins they "learn" in one sitting ("Television..."). It shows roughly 12,000 acts of violence, murder
and rape being the most portrayed, and over 1,000 studies guarantee that too much screen time for
boys increases their aggressive behavior. Such as the numerous crimes inspired by Stanley
Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. If the various murders of teenage boys and the assault of a woman
by a man dressed as a droog were not disturbing enough, Kubrick indefinitely took it off the market
after a gang rape was conducted
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10. Essay on the Language of A Clockwork Orange
The Language of A Clockwork Orange
"Gooly into a world where by nochy prestoopniks rule and oobivat and by day all is well." This is
the nature of A Clockwork Orange, a novel by Anthony Burgess, where one enters the world of a
fifteen–year–old named Alex who speaks a vernacular language and does what he likes. This
molody nadsat, or young teen, leads a life where crime is real horrorshow as he dodges millicents,
or policemen, in order to live a life he wants in the merzky, grazzy city where he resides. Alex and
his shaika oobivat too many lewdies, though, and the millicents loveted him. He then becomes a
plenny in the StaJa, away from his moloko, snoutie or beloved classical music. As a plenny, he
undergoes tests...show more content...
Rather, it is something eye–popping, marked by sudden occurrences of agony and despair. Burgess
set up the storyline perfectly to allow for this, from the dank and depressive world Alex lives in to
the horrific events in that city. A prime example of this "horror" is when Alex is forced into viewing
the awful videos in his rehabilitation session. These videos contained incredibly graphic content,
from unimaginable depictions of human torture to films from the Holocaust and Nuclear Bomb
testings on humans. Burgess' description of the events – Alex's vomiting, how he was strapped into
immobility and forced to watch the movies, the ominous laughter of guards in the background – all
add to the twisted and sublime terror presented in AClockwork Orange.
Besides presenting utter terror and an extremely innovative approach to the use of language, A
Clockwork Orange manages to be extremely philosophical. As Alex encounters different people
throughout his process of becoming a better person through tests and manipulation, he encounters
the issue of whether or not it is better to live a life of crime than to be forced into not doing so.
The question presented by these various people, the main proponent of the belief being the jail
chaplain, is that if a man can no longer make that decision, one which could possibly be the most
colossal decision of Alex's life, can he be considered a man? Alex eventually answers
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11. Clockwork Orange Essay example
Clockwork Orange
In all of my reading, I have come to the conclusion that Anthony Burgess is one of the greatest
literary genius's of the twentieth century. His masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, is unrivaled in
obvious depth, insight, and innovation. The novel is a work of such quality, such perfection, that it
seems to be genuinely written by a literary demigod.
The novel's main theme deals with free choice and spiritual freedom. More specifically, "[The
ethical promise that 'A man who cannot choose ceases to be man'] can be taken as both the explicit
and implicit themes of the novel" (Morgan 104). Anthony Burgess expresses his view that no matter
how "good" one's actions are, unless one has free moral choice, he is...show more content...
While Alex is in the hospital following his suicide attempt, the tragedy of his oppression is highly
publicized, in an attempt to stop public criticism, the state "fixed Alex." He once again has freedom
of choice.
Through these series of events, Burgess shows another conviction of his. "The 'spiritual death' can
also be seen in the wider context of a political or philosophical sterility which afflicts whole
countries given over to the totalitarian view of life". Burgess believes that totalitarian governments
take away one's individual choice and therefore suffocate his soul. The state in "A Clockwork Orange
" is a general parallel to any overly oppressive or totalitarian government.
Alex is a representative of the common man. "Burgess' attack on behaviorists and on totalitarian
states is obvious". By showing what torment Alex went through when rehabilitated by the state,
Burgess shows his strong sentiment against governments taking away the choice of individuals, and
therefore condemning the individual's spirit. Burgess's strong convictions on the subject of
individual moral freedom seems odd and even backwards to some. But it is incredibly right when
one grasps its full meaning. "Burgess replies...No matter how awful Alex's actions become, he
should be allowed to choose them".
To be forced to do good is truly wrong. If one is forced to do right, and he does what is right, it
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12. Clockwork Orange Reflection
In the movie A Clockwork Orange one of the gang members "Dim" was as violent and cruel as the
leader of the gang "Alex." At the end of the story the gang had broken up and "Dim" had turned into
a cop. This goes to show that when Dim was in the gang he did horrible things, but once he left he
turned into a cop that helps protect the community from activities such as gang violence. He turns
into a cop and maybe something he was meant to be if the story line didn't happen? In the story
Sher makes it understandable that as a group they decided not to help the man and he was saying
that everyone else individually was for sure thinking on ways to help him. As a group they
decided together not to help. This goes to show how a group has an influence on what you do.
The movie and the story go hand in hand with individual versus group. Dim, in the movie was not
a completely changed person but was a better person when out of the group. The narrator in the
story, you can see when at home and his mother was sad about something all he could think about
was the man in the well. He was able to help and talk to the man in the well when in need but,
knowing his mother was also in need of her late night cries he would not help or do anything.
Before any decision is made they are scared by the man in the well and go to get help. "At first
afraid to disobey the voice from the man in the well, we turned around and actually began to walk
toward the nearest house, which was Arthur's. But along the way we slowed down, and then we
stopped, and after waiting what seemed like a good while, we quietly came back to the well"
They were scared to not listen to the man in the well and obey his orders. So they were going to
get help and go to Arthur's house. Something made them stop and turn around and go back to the
well. Not getting help for the man in the well. When my younger brother is his group of friends
they tend to as a group decide to do something but there is never one person to ever make the right
decision or be the one to say "no this isn't right we should do this instead." They all as a group
turned around. Not one person kept walking to Arthur's house to get any help. But instead in fact did
disobey the voice from the man in
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13. A Clockwork Orange Essay
A Clockwork Orange
Authors who write of other times and places help us to better understand our own lives. Discuss A
Clockwork Orange in terms of that statement.
A "clockwork orange" can be described as something that has a convincing outer appearance yet in
the inside is merely controlled by outer influences, such as a clock set in motion by its owner. In A
Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess takes us into the future where violent criminals are forced to
be "good," and introduces us to Alex, a young teen who engages in a life of rape, ultra–violence, and
Beethoven with his "droogs," or friends, and talks in the slang language of "nadsat." He goes
through various phases in his life, evolving into a more...show more content...
All humans are born with the desire to do evil, and thus we can justify Alex's violent actions.
Eventually, Alex's friends betray him and set him up to be imprisoned, where he is conditioned to
hate evil and to become sick at the mention or thought of evil, as well as the music he so used to
enjoy. Alex walks out as a new person: one who is totally "good," yet has no choice to be bad. He is
a walking robot conditioned by the government – a clockwork orange. After much turmoil and
anxiety, Alex is "fixed," and once more has free will. In the final chapter, we see how Alex finally
matures and frees himself from outside control. He decides to find a wife to take care of his son.
In doing so, he realizes how his youth was that of a clockwork orange and we see how this
realization breaks him from the control it had over him. This can be seen in our lives in that we
eventually become morally responsible and take steps toward fulfilling our obligations in life.
Burgess points out an interesting question in this novel. Would it be better to be forced to do
good or to choose evil with freedom of choice? Would it be right to live our lives "perfectly," on
the condition that we had no control over it? Burgess states his answer in the words spoken by the
prison chaplain, who says, "When a man ceases to choose, he ceases to be a
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14. Essay about Analysis of A Clockwork Orange
Analysis and Interpretation of A Clockwork Orange
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 AClockwork Orange are more philosophical than
social, and its message is far more urgent.
A Clockwork Orange is made up of three parts containing 21 chapters, 21 being the official age of
human maturity. It is a stream–of–consciousness novel...show more content...
In Nadsat, "orange" means "man" (which is derived from the Malay word "orang," meaning
"man"), so a clockwork orange would be a man moving without pause or thought, as a clockwork
(Lund). Burgess says of the title, "I mean it to stand for the application of a mechanistic morality to
a living organism oozing with juice and sweetness" ("Resucked" x). After the state reforms him, the
novel's hero and narrator Alex becomes a clockwork orange, a man working as a machine.
Nadsat is the primary language, although not the exclusive one, of A Clockwork Orange. Burgess
claims he uses it "to muffle the raw response we expect from pornography." But he also uses it to
create a "literary adventure" ("Resucked" x). The use of Nadsat emphasizes many of the struggles
involved with A Clockwork Orange's purpose. The struggle between the old and the young––the
conservative and the progressive––is made more sensational by the separation of language. Alex is
misunderstood by his parents, the police, and the government philosophically, but also literally,
widening the gap between him and the "sane" world.
Burgess also manipulates language in A Clockwork Orange in more traditional ways, in the form of
literary and linguistic devices. The novel is saturated with irony and dark humor, dotted with
repetition, and laced with word play.
Irony is used extensively A Clockwork Orange. One of the most repeated and significant examples
of irony is in Alex's description
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15. A Clockwork Orange Essay
A Clockwork Orange
We are first introduced to Alex (Malcolm McDowell) in the company of his posse, strangely sipping
drugged milk in a freakish bar with anatomically indiscrete manikins serving as tittie–taps and tables.
The ensuing scenes flash from Alex and his three droogs brutally beating an old man to a violent
rape scene to a semi–chaotic gang–brawl. The story is of Alex and his love of the old ultra–violence,
his act of murder, his betrayal and imprisonment, and his cure (twice).
Adapted from Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel, A Clockwork Orange is in part a response to
psychological behaviorism and the age of classical conditioning. While in prison, Alex is selected
for a special treatment that will cure him of his impulses to...show more content...
The juxtaposition of classical cultural icons including Beethoven's symphonies and Pomp and
Circumstance with sexual violence and crime creates a grating tension between conventionality,
conformity, and chaos. Another advantage of the visual/audio media to Burgess' work is the fluidity
afforded his unique Russo–anglican dialect.
For all its artistry, however, the sad truth is that Kubrick's adaptation of A Clockwork Orange to the
big screen is painful to watch from beginning to end. Ultimately, I believe it fails as a film. The
unfortunate consequence of Kubrick's constant barrage of horrific scenes is that the most thoughtful,
psychological, philosophical components of Burgess' novel (that made it important enough a work
to put on the big screen in the first place) are muddied and masked behind the very distracting
shock value of the violence, which is, quite simply, too "in your face". Let's face it, the pornography
is distracting. The important thematic questions having to do with free will and ethics in the age of
psychological behaviorism, are present but unclear. Following his release from treatment, Alex,
deprived of his ability to fight, is repeatedly victimized and beaten, and eventually driven to an
attempted suicide by Beethoven's 9th. If the film's intent is to provoke its audiences
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16. A Clockwork Orange Social Commentary Essay
Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange focuses on the violent and destructive tendencies of the
narrator, a fifteen year old boy named Alex. By enlisting Alex as the narrator of his own story,
Burgess gives the reader a firsthand account of everything leading up to Alex being captured and
imprisoned, first in a jail and then in an institution for the mentally unsound. By including his
accounts of what life was like before and after his incarceration, Alex's character makes social
commentary on several issues that were relevant at the time of the novel's publication, 1963, and
remain relevant even in the present, such as rehabilitation in prisons and the treatment of patients in
psychiatric institutions. When Alex details his assault on an older, professor–type man, "The old
veck began to make sort of chumbling shooms– 'wuf waf wof'– so Georgie let go of holding his
goobers apart and just let him have...show more content...
While some can argue that Alex shows no remorse for what he's done and should be punished,
others argue that he is a young man who has a definite mental disorder and becomes a victim of a
system that focuses more on its own image than the welfare of its charges. When Alex speaks of
his realization that Beethoven is being played over the films he is forced to watch, "Then I noticed,
in all my pain and sickness, what music it was that like crackled and boomed on the sound–track,
and it was Ludwig van, the last movement of the Fifth Symphony...," it is clear that he is in pain
and distress, as the doctors pervert the one thing that brings him actual joy (Burgess 113). The
readers are given a glimpse of a vulnerable Alex, and it is up to the reader's discretion to decide
whether or not they feel that he or any other criminal, regardless of crimes committed, deserves to be
in that
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17. Clockwork Orange Questions
General Questions 1.) My first impression on Clockwork orange was that book was very hard to
focus and weird, it took a lot of effort to keep reading. It was probably to due the language and the
introduction of the characters wasn't really readers attention catcher, however after the first
chapter it got interesting and you had no idea what would happen next or even a basic concept of
the plot. 2.) The third part of text is where the character Alex was the most compelling due to fact
he went under the experiment and how he wasn't able to withstand violence made him understand
how criminals made people feel the helplessness and vulnerable.Then the misery he felt when he
couldn't do anything like he was grown up to do. It brought out a whole new dimension of Alex
because now he would have to beg to give kindness to his prosecutors. 3.)The most challenging
element of the text was the language because it was something I wasn't used like old English. When
was reading the story it was hard to tell what it was trying to say, sometimes I couldn't use context
clues...show more content...
Every class has their own unique type of language that depicts them as a group. For example the
government had a more sophisticated and proper language then Alex and his droogs. The different
types of language helped set Alex and his droogs apart from the rest of the society. It gave them a
identity and purpose to use the language differently than the adults. 2.Language is a marker of status
in the text both within the criminal class because the language they is not proper and broken. It
shows the rebellion and youthness in the use, however their language sounds much harsher in the
way they pronounce it. However if a government official or and adult uses it will sound much more
normal and static
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18. Essay on A Clockwork Orange
I think that A Clockwork Orange is a book worth reading because it is relatable, makes you think,
and is interesting. The author, Anthony Burgess, was born February 25, 1917. At the young age of
two his mother passed away. He was brought up by his aunt and later his stepmother. Even with such
an unstable childhood Burgess continued on to enroll in college and major in English. He had a
passion for music, which he expressed in the main character of A Clockwork Orange. Burgess wrote
several accomplished symphonies in his day, as well as over fifty books. He was diagnoses with a
brain tumor at about age 40 but well outlived his doctor's expectations continuing his artistic output
until his death from lung cancer at age 76....show more content...
He fails to complete the job, wakes up in a hospital, and finds the mental barriers gone and a pity
dream job is handed to him to compensate for the emotional damage.
A Clockwork Orange had a loose theme of the necessity of not only good, but also evil in human
nature. Alex may have been selfish and deviant but his character and the characters like him did
seem to have a strong grasp on the concept that life was for living. Without the ability of choice to
commit evil acts which was an impulse inside of him, his ability to act human was affected. The
freedom of making these choices seems to be what makes us human. Hence without this freedom he
is driven to attempt suicide.
The major theme of the novel was a battle of the greater importance of a safe stable society or
greater importance of free–will. The main character had been conditioned to feel ill at the thought of
bad acts, he had not however been conditioned to not wish to commit these acts. After viewing the
presentation of the "successful" conversion from evil to "good," where rather than
fight Alex licked the man's shoe, the prison Chaplin stated, "Self interest, the fear of physical
pain drove him to do that grotesque act of self–abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He
ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice." So, is it better to
be morally right without free–will or
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19. Theme Of A Clockwork Orange
t was a hot summer day in the year 2011. Everyone is walkin' around with popsicles, ice cream,
and cold refreshments. Then, there is me, with a warm bottle of water and a bag of hot Cheetos I
dreadfully regretted buying. I thought, this must be how my story ends, but just as I had given
up hope, my younger brother walks by with a cold Sprite! The moment he leaves it, I dash over
faster than you could say the word pop, and snatched up the can. Just as I took my first couple
sips, i seemed to have been caught in a daze. Because after what seemed like the shortest 20
seconds ever before, i drop the can. Yes. Drop. The Sprite splashes all over the sidewalk and
makes a big crash. My little brother yells at me for spilling his soda, but i ignore him, staring in
astonishment at what was supposed to be my big break. You know what they say, " What goes
around comes around" or maybe you know it as "You get what you deserve" and for you really
frisky people, you can probably identify it as "Karma's a *****". Either way, i think the main theme
that plays out in the story A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess is that karma always gets you.
A Clockwork Orange is about a man named Alex Delarge, who is a teen (around sixteen or
seventeen) that is the head of a four man gang in a future England setting. Due to his lack of
leadership skills, his buddies turn on him and abandon him as he is apprehended by authorities.
While in prison, he is put into a prototype hypnosis program called the
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20. A Clockwork Orange. Essay
Manny Lian A Clockwork Orange Page 1
Within futuristic London, many sexual and heinous crimes are committed by a group of young men
and the retaliation of their victims seeking vengeance, often acting as vigilantes. The domino effect
of the crimes ends up with offenders turning into victims and vice versa. A group of young men, self
proclaimed as a gang of "droogs" dress up during the night in white outfits, hats and masks and go
around the city committing street crimes, assaulting random innocent people, raping some and
ultimately killing two. Within the gang of "droogs" there is a ringleader named Alex who dominates
and intimidates the rest of the group, Dim, Georgie, and Pete. They all...show more content...
Weathers and eventually hits her with a blunt object in the room, a large expensive penis statue,
killing her. Hearing the police sirens, he attempts to flea and is stopped by his own gang at the
front of the door where they smash Alex's head with a glass of milk plus. This is an act of
retaliation from when Alex had earlier intimidated and assaulted his fellow gang members. Although
they are all offenders, they victimize Alex by setting him up for a crime that involved shared
responsibility. While Alex is in interrogation, he is not given his due process to a fair and speedy
trial. The cops assault him, allow Mr. Deltoid to spit in his face, and beat him. They cops do not
remain objective which shows that the system is failing to properly conduct itself. After Alex is
incarcerated, he shows no remorse for his acts. Instead, he manipulates the people around him
while fantasizing about the violence within the bible. He hears about an aversion program funded
by the government and acts accordingly to be picked for this type of plea bargain. Instead of
spending the fourteen years in jail he is repeatedly shown acts of violence accompanied by his
favorite piece of music, Beethoven's Ninth. Instead of addressing his issues and mental state, the
government attempts to alter his biological disposition to want to commit crime. Rather than
enforcing that crime is wrong, they drug him to feel as if he would vomit when he is
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