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. Winston and Alex, although very different, react in quite a similar fashion to events surrounding their circumstances. Their control over their own free will and use of power is evident from their actions. Within nineteen eighty-four, the limit of free will associated with each character is clearly evident. A character is bound only by the decisions of the state and has little or no influence upon his or her actions. Although characters are able to exercise what remains of their free will, it can be argued that this in itself is not completely free will, as they are working around the control of the state, this also makes it extremely visible that the state uses the power at their disposal almost as a means of instilling fear and making sure that the “outer party” do what they are told. “Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing.” Winston’s decision to exercise what little free will he has shows the supreme control that the government has, but at the same time also shows that the ‘minority classes’ still have slight control over certain actions. This can be paralleled with Alex in CWO. In CWO, Alex has a far greater range to the amount of free will he can exercise. The streets are full of anarchy and there is no definitive state control to keep them in line; qui... ... middle of paper ... ... with one another and could be seen as a metaphor for describing the moulding of societies within each novel. When Burgess wrote CWO, he was in Brunei. The language spoken in Brunei is Malay, and the Malay word for ‘person’ is ‘orang’. It could thus be argued that Burgess’ main intention was to comment on society as a whole and refer solely to the people within it, in order to highlight the lack of free will, and the corruptness of governments throughout the world at the time of writing the novel. It is clear from the outset that the misuse of power and the lack of free will are both integral themes interlinked within the novels. Both novels expand on these themes with forms of made up languages which serve to acerbically mock modern day society (as it once was) in an almost imperceptible manner; thus commenting and therefore shunning the status quo of the time.
Nineteen Eighty-Four written by George Orwell and Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol are prophetic social commentaries which explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government. Both texts depict a futuristic, dystopian society in which individuality is destroyed in favour of faceless conformity. Niccol and Orwell through the experiences of their protagonists reflect the impact isolation from society has on individuals. The authors of both texts also use their protagonists Winston, who cannot understand the rhetoric of the government party and Vincent, who is trapped, unable to achieve his dreams because of his imperfect genome, to demonstrate individual rebellion against society and explore the significant social injustices of a totalitarian state.
There have been many books published solely on philosophy, and many more than that solely written about human nature, but very infrequently will a book be published that weaves these fields together as well as A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. In this Book Burgess speculated on the fact “the significance of maturing by choice is to gain moral values and freedoms.” He achieved this task by pushing his angsty teenaged character, Alex, through situations that challenge the moral values of himself and his friends. In the novel, A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, Alex himself, must choose good over evil in order to gain moral values which will allow him to mature into a “man” in the latter of his two transformations.
There are many books that have been banned or challenged, but the one that is being presented in this paper is Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. The topic of this paper is to inform you of many things and when you have finished it will have you leaving asking yourself one question. First, a summary of A Clockwork Orange will be shared with you, so that you can have an insight as to how the rest of the paper relates to the book. Second, you will find out where, why and when the book was banned and/or challenged and you will discover what the book contains that would “offend” people. Finally, you will discover the literary merit of this book, which means you will discover if is a work of quality.
...rs and situations to help explain the societal issues surrounding the time period. The dreadfulness comes from the controversial issues and feelings these characters experience. These characters must overcome these dreadful experiences in order to change what society deems as acceptable in the future.
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
...ndicates a level of justification each felt in their actions. These actions, immortalized in two of the most widely read classics of all time, even today call into question the values each society held so dear, and led the modern reader to explore what honor and traditional gendered values mean both in these societies and our own.
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. The main 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, Dim, and Georgie—and is convicted of murder and sent to jail. At the Staja or state penitentiary, Alex becomes inmate number 6655321 and spends two years of a sentence of fourteen years there. Alex is then chosen by the government to undergo an experimental new "Ludovico’s Technique." In exchange for his freedom, Alex would partake in this experiment that was to cure him of all the evil inside of him and all that was bad. Alex is given injections and made to watch films of rape, violence, and war and the mixture of these images and the drugs cause him to associate feelings of panic and nausea with violence. He is released after two weeks of the treatment and after a few encounters with past victims finds himself at the home of a radical writer who is strongly opposed to the new treatment the government has subjected him to. Ironically, this writer was also a victim of Alex’s but does not recognize him. This writer believes that this method robs the recipient of freedom of choice and moral decision, therefore depriving him of being a human at all. These themes are played out and developed throughout the entire novel. Alex eventually tries to commit suicide and the State is forced to admit that the therapy was a mistake and they cure him again. The last chapter of the novel which was omitted from the American version and from Stanley Kubrick’s film shows Alex’s realization that he is growing up and out of his ultra-violent ways on his own. He realizes that he wants a wife and son of his own and that he must move up and on in the world.
Anthony Burgess integrates many social issues today between the Government and People into Clockwork Orange. Many of the issues that Alex faces along with the government are relatable in today’s society. Within the story Anthony Burgess teaches us how people act and how the government works in a more brutal way, The Clockwork Orange expresses this through free-will, maturity and karma, and treatment of people.
Simions, Minodora O. "FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND MORAL CONSEQUENCES IN ANTHONY BURGESS’ A CLOCKWORK ORANGE." (2013): 65-68. Web. 21 May 2013.
As teenagers deviate from the constraining grasp of their parents, they begin to establish their own identity through decisions; however, their development of self-identification is frequently hindered by manipulation of societal institutions such as: justice system, religion, and media. Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, establishes the idea of freewill and how it is suppressed when Alex, the main protagonist, undergoes the manipulative Ludovico's technique, religious lectures, and social norms influenced by media- used to instill pain when Alex's desires violence/music and finding salvation, which is similar to the treatment of criminals in our society; ultimately utilized to mitigate crime, but also suppresses freewill through repercussions, fear, police officials, indelible ads, and the law. Therefore, American citizens are not privileged with the power of choice because the hindering paradox that exists in society: possessing the ability to consciously establish identity is entwined with manipulation, subliminally.
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
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 controlling hands of a totalitarian society.
First of all, the book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity through the setting. In
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.
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 Alex, and the first person narrative point of view to prove that without the ability to choose between good and evil person becomes a slave.