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
There is no question that Alex should not have been able to rampage through the streets each night. Alex thought the world was his playground and after committing so many crimes so often, he believed them to be socially acceptable. Clearly, Alex's description of when he beat an old "veck" in an alley as "we began to filly about with him" could not be deemed acceptable behavior. Alex did not comprehend the consequences of his actions, which was clear towards the end of the novel when he learned that F. Alexander's wife had died the night he raped her. Yet, Alex needed to be taught the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil. His freedom of choice needed to be limited because he was unable to make the "moral" choices made by most other members of society. 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). He was thrown in a cell on the fifth level of the prison with five other men. During this time, Alex became a more religious man, and had a strong relationship with the prison "Charlie" (priest). After serving two years of his twelve-year sentence, the problem of overcrowding arose in the prison system. At the same time, the Minister of the Interior had helped develop a program to transform common street hood
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Approximate Word count = 1061
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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