A Clockwork Orange (Themes)

Themes

Free Will

A Clockwork Orange explores the ideas of good and evil by asking what it means to be human. Burgess asks and answers the question, "Is a man who has been forced to be good better than a man who chooses evil?" Alex chooses evil because it is in his nature to do so. His impulse towards good is artificial because it comes from outside of him, instilled by a government bent on controlling the populace by controlling their desires. By eliminating all of the bad in Alex through the Ludovico Technique, the government also eliminates that very thing that constitutes his humanity: his freedom to choose. They treat the symptom, not the cause of Alex's evil, oblivious of their own complicity in his behavior. For Burgess, an evil Alex is a human Alex and, hence, preferable to an Alex who has been programmed to deny his own nature. F. Alexander, the writer Alex and his droogs beat up, is one of the mouthpieces for this idea. At one point he says to Alex, "They have turned you into something other than a human being. You have no power of choice any longer. You are committed to socially acceptable acts, a little machine capable only of good." Later, he adds, "The essential intention [of the Ludovico Technique] is the real sin. A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man." The repetition of Alex's phrase "What's it going to be then, eh?" throughout the novel also underscores the theme of free will and individual choice.

Power

A Clockwork Orange pits the intrusive powers of the state against the liberties of the individual. Burgess looks at the relationship between the state and the individual in a society that has deteriorated and is on the brink of anarchy. Left to its own devices, the state will attempt to control the individual through regulation, law, and brute force. This is evident in the manner in which Alex is used by the state as an example of its power to "rehabilitate" criminals. Rather than rehabilitate them, they reprogram them, brainwashing them. The cynical power-mongering of the state is embodied in the character of the Minister of the Interior, who manipulates Alex first into "volunteering" for the Ludovico Technique, and then into siding with the government after Alex's suicide attempt and return to his evil nature. A society in which the state has so much power, Burgess suggests, is one in which individual liberties such as freedom of speech and expression are crushed.

Selfhood

To fully grasp the human condition, Burgess implies in A Clockwork Orange, individuals must both recognize and accept their evil nature and recognize how society attempts to stifle it. Although Alex does not seem to understand the implications of the Ludovico Technique when it is initially explained to him, he does have an understanding of his own nature and how society has helped to form it. At one point he waxes philosophical, expressing an understanding of his "essential" self:

More, badness is of the self, the one, the you or me on our oddy knockies [lonesome], and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radosty [joy]. But the not-self cannot have the bad, meaning they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they allow the self.

Alex knows he is evil, telling readers, "What I do I do because I like to do." The novel implies his degree of insight is greater than most people's insight. He accepts himself for who he is, rather than hiding behind illusions of what he should be according to others and the government. He experiences no guilt for his actions but embraces and revels in his evil side.

Morality

Burgess's moral universe in A Clockwork Orange, as in his other novels, can be described as a conflict between Augustinianism and Pelagianism. Augustinianism is derived from St. Augustine (354 – 430), who believed in humankind's innate depravity. Pelagianism is derived from Pelagius (c. 355 – c. 425), whose doctrine held roughly that human beings were perfectible, and that evil was the result of superstition, social forces, the environment, and the like. In Burgess's novel, the government adhered to Pelagius-like thinking in that it tried to change human beings, to turn them away from their evil behavior through whatever means necessary. In Alex's case, it is the Ludovico Technique. Alex, who embraces his evil nature as if it were a second skin, chooses to be that way, but shows promise of choosing a different way in the book's final chapter, demonstrating that Burgess is not the consummate Augustinian that some critics have made him out to be. The tug between Augustinianism and Pelagianism creates the moral tension that sustains Alex's story, but it is a tension that remains largely unresolved.

Dystopia and Dystopian Ideas

A Clockwork Orange describes a dystopian society. The opposite of utopias, or ideal societies, dystopias are severely malfunctioning societies. Dystopian novels such as George Orwell's 1984 portray bleak landscapes, corrupt social institutions, and characters among whom trust or authentic communication is impossible. The Korova Milkbar, where fifteen-year-olds can drink druglaced milk, symbolizes the decadence of the novel's setting, as does the fact that Alex — a charming rapist, killer, and thief — is the most appealing character in the story. Dystopian novels have a rich history and include works such as Jonathan Swift's eighteenth-century classic, Gulliver's Travels. However, they became especially prevalent and popular after World War II, as people increasingly took a dim view of human nature and the possibility for social change. Twentieth-century dystopian works include Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

Topics for Further Study

• The setting for Burgess's novel is a dystopian society. What are some of its dystopic elements? Does the United States share any of these elements? Are there ways in which the United States can be described as a dystopia? Provide examples.
• Burgess claimed that A Clockwork Orange emphasizes the idea that free will is a central ingredient of what it means to be human. Write an essay agreeing or disagreeing with this notion and provide support for your argument from the novel.
• With your classmates, make a list of all the crimes that Alex and his droogs commit, then assign appropriate punishment for each crime. Be as specific as possible. On which items do you disagree with others in your group? What does this say about your own ideas of justice and the role of society in punishing criminals?
• With members of your class, draw up a list of slang terms or other words you use that older generations would not recognize. To what degree does using these words define your interaction with friends?
• Research the punishment for first-degree murder in your state. If possible, would you recommend that convicted murderers be given the opportunity to undergo the Ludovico Technique in lieu of the state sentence for murder? Why or why not? Explain if there are certain conditions you would attach.
• Research cases of political scandal in your own city or state and describe how that scandal is represented in newspaper or television accounts. How did the accused characterize their situation or their attackers? What does this tell you about the role of media in shaping public opinion?
• The Korova Milkbar symbolizes the decadence of Burgess's society in the novel. Name an analogous institution that symbolizes twenty-first-century American values and support your claim.