A Clockwork Orange is a novel by writer Antony Bruges, it is the tale of a young boy named Alex and the events of his youth. At the beginning of the the novel Alex is a destructive, violent, and tyrannical character, he is the leader of small gang of friends or “drogs” in the teenage slang that called “nadsat” which is used throughout the narrative of the novel. After being tricked by his friends, Alex is arrested for the murder of an old women and is sent to prison. While in prison, he is entered for an experimental treatment where he is conditioned against violence and antisocial behaviour. This experiment allows his prison sentence to be reduced, however, once out of prison he finds that the world has changed while he has been away and though he has been rehabilitated and suffered for his crimes, society has still not forgiven him.
“A Clockwork Orange” is a clear example of a dystopia style novel, similar to others such as “1984” and “Brave New World”, in the way in which it presents a pessimistic, oppressive and destructive view of the future of the human race. Burgess creates this theme of dystopia through the presentation of a lawless state where street violence is common and the old are overruled by the young. Through the events of the novel Burgess questions the structure of this society in the sense that “they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they cannot allow the self.” This explores the importance of personal freedom within a tyrannical society, that antisocial behaviour, and more importantly, antiestablishment actions are deemed wrong due to the way in which they underline the strength of individual freedoms. Although, the novel also shows how repression and the manipulation of the repressed can be used by not only the government but also by those wishing to create political change. This is shown in the later events of the novel when Alex is used as a figured head for political agendas that he has no understanding of but which make him realise his own powerlessness due to his understanding that “If I had died it would have been even better for you political bratchnies”. This forms the question of whether either side is really better if the both use the same means to achieve different ends.
The novel also explores issues of morality, specifically the question of whether “Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”. This point is made through Alex’s conditional therapy where he is forced to be good rather than willingly chosen to be. By taking away his choice to be good it restricts his freedom of choice making him less human, in the sense that “When a man cannot chose, he ceases to be a man.” This raises the point of whether it is truly beneficial for humans to have a choice in their own behaviour or would it be better if in fact were all “clockwork oranges” who are formed of autonomous decisions that are made for them. In the end, this questing is never really answered in the book, however, it can be seen that when Alex has his freedom he is a happier and more functioning character but after the treatment he is far more apathetic and powerless.
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