Clockwork Orange Personal Free
In Anthony Burgess's shocking A Clockwork Orange, we are presented with a protagonist named Alex, who elects a course of violent conduct against the simplest and most vulnerable members of society. His victims included an elderly women, a middle-aged man, a shopkeeper, two young girls, and a married couple to name just a few. In a night of rampaging Alex beat, raped, robbed and killed his victims, committing the most heinous acts known to a civilized western society. The context within which these actions are performed however, is that of a free man, making free choices. It is the countervailing steps against the actions of the protagonist by society (the local police authorities) that the curtailment of personal freedom for the needs of society is presented. As a fifteen-year-old criminal, Alex and his "droogs" (friends) chose an anti-social path of behavior that not only to ruined their own lives, but destroyed the lives of those they came into contact with (i.e. F. Alexander). A typical night on the town consisted of a combination of beating "chellovecks" (men), the raping of a "devotchka" (woman), "ittying" (going) to the milk plus "vesto" (drug) bar and the robbery of a store i
After serving two years of his twelve-year sentence, the problem of overcrowding arose in the prison system. Alex was chosen as the first inmate to undergo the "reclamation treatment. After signing a number of waivers and agreements, he was transported to the clinic where he would remain for the next 2 weeks. Each day he received an injection, which would make him feel very ill. Yet, as inappropriate as the protagonist's behavior is presented in this novel, so to were the methods used by society in their "reclamation treatments. Alex's eyelids would then be taped open and his head stuck in such a position where he would be forced to watch whatever was played. As a reader of this novel, I was struck by the fear created in me in knowing that there are people like Alex who could one day live in my community. The tapes contained what Alex called "ultra-violence," the same acts of murder and rape he had previously committed Alex would scream, move restlessly and become ill from the injection while sitting in the chair and watching the movie. Without any authority or feelings of guilt Alex's immunity to a sense of remorse or punishment was never ending. But how far can a society go to limit an individuals freedom of choice? Could a society be as wrong in making choices to encourage proper social behavior as the wrongdoer is in committing his immoral acts? In The Clockwork Orange, Burgess answers in the affirmative. After his arrest, Alex was sent to a state penitentiary and was treated as a common "prestoopnick" (prisoner). In the scene, a large aggressive man, intent on hurting or robbing Alex, is portrayed as confronting him in the street. He was thrown in a cell on the fifth level of the prison with five other men. Yet, Alex needed to be taught the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil. It was against this background of behavior that society, through it's police force, reacted.
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