Alex example essay topic

A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess Essay, A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess The freedom of choice and the rehabilitating form of corrections encase the realm of A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. It produces the question about man's free will and the ability to choose one's destiny, good or evil. "If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange – meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or State"? Before Alex's character is? rehabilitated? he is one of the most amoral people in the book.

Most writers would only be able to express this violence in ways that most people would find sick and disgusting, Burgess however manages to express this violence in an almost comical way, he does this with nadsat. Nadsat mostly comes from Slavic, but other words were simply made up and are very rhythmic.? Burgess does not explain how or who made up nadsat but he implies that it was either made up by or increased by Alex. Burgess portrays Alex as no ordinary thug, he does what he does because he wants to do it, not because he doesn? t know any better.?

And is not our modern history, my brothers, the story of brave malenky selves fighting these big machines? I am serious with you, brother, over this, But what I do I do because I like to do? This is Burgess explaining to the reader Alex's motives for doing his crimes. Alex does not understand why people have a problem with him being bad.? When Alex is arrested he is shown that the government controls rebellion through the same way Alex has tried to initiate it, violence. When PR Deltoid (Alex's parole officer) spits at him his whole world caves in.

He is confused because of the double standards set by the state, the state is allowed to spit at him, but he isn't allowed to spit back.? When Alex is in Jail he is striped of even the most basic freedom, his identity is taken from him and replaced by the number 6655321. Naturally, he wants to get out as quickly as possible so that he can continue his old ways. He thinks that as long as he has the choice to be bad he will be. When Burgess introduces the Ludovico technique he gets Alex to jump at the chance of early leave from state jail.

Alex does not care wot the treatment is, all he wants os to be out of jail, ? I don't know what it's called, I said, All I know is that it gets you out quickly and makes sure you don't get in again.? What he does not realise is that this? treatment? strips him of the choice to be bad. He is forced to associate violence and crime with pain, removing the option to commit crime. This is unfair and immoral.

Burgess uses this to help the reader understand that goodness comes from within. Goodness is something chosen, when a person cannot choose he ceases to be a man.? The rehabilitating technique used on Alex is responsive conditioning with the use of drugs and visual aids.? Conditioning is either teaching or forcing one to feel or think a certain way when given a decision.? Alex is therefore forced to feel and think negative responses when shown evil sites or thoughts.?

Yet the an error had occurred when the state was conditioning? good? into him.? The use of classical music along with the treatment conditioned Alex to respond to that as well.? The readjustment into society's values seems to be? the main question.? Was the implementation of conditioning a person to strictly good morals proper and humane??

Burgess implies that one can not be purely good or evil to be a man.? One must have both in order to create humanistic choice.? If not, the creation would be that of a robot like person incapable of feeling or self awareness, this is what Burgess calls a Clockwork Orange.? As Alex is released into the world as the states' example of a "healthy" person, he is tested by all extremes.

One test was? the incapability to defend himself against the smallest attacks on his character.? Another error the state had provided is the use of music in the treatment of Alex.? Not only does he feel physically sick when he thinks or looks at violence but also when he hears classical music.? "It was that these doctors bratchnies had so fixed things that any music that was like for the emotions would make me just sick like vid dying or wanting to do violence". ? Within the conditioning techniques of repulsing him to violence, the state had also forced him to hate music.??

The use of this correctional treatment failed due to the implementations on morality of human choice.? Is it better to have a criminal make human choices, good or bad, or a purely good person not capable of making any choices.