A Clockwork Orange, written by Anthony Burgess in 1963, is a depiction of the unsettling laws that Britain may enact in the future because it shows a world in which people are morally powerless. Since people don't have the freedom to choose their actions, Burgess introduces Alex, the protagonist, an adolescent who commits numerous crimes while trying to figure himself out. The rules in the dystopian society depicted in A Clockwork Orange are not only cruel, but they also prey on people who are trying to flee that society. There is the theme of absolute control and exploitation by the government, particularly where the corrupt state inducts Alex as the guinea pig where he undergoes the inhumane “Ludovico technique.”
Demonstration of Argument
There is an archetypal portrayal of a dystopia that is characterised by roboticism, bleakness, as well as a totalitarian government that frequently enforces upon the citizens a lifestyle that calms them into obedience.
As one closely reads and analyses the work by Burgess (2008), there is clarity of the status of law in a world of A Clockwork Orange, with the prime feature marking a society as ‘dystopian’ being lack of moral choices. The law in a dystopia depicts a nightmarish vision of the future Britain, with the projection that there will be prioritisation of efficiency and social control at the expense of human nature.
Alex is arrested after being set up by his friends, after which he spends an extensive time in an overcrowded prison. Later, he undergoes the "Ludovico technique," which is an innovative and outdated form of therapy, and according to prison officials, it “cures” wrongdoers.
Secondary Literature
Heller, J., & Kiraly, J. (1974). Behaviour Modification: A Classroom Clockwork Orange? The Elementary School Journal, 74, 196-202.
Heller and Kiraly’s article is significant to my discussion of the status of law as well as the form of justice subjected to Alex. The article by Heller and Kiraly (1974) sheds more insight to the issue of a dystopian world where the authors explain that A Clockwork Orange is a true depiction of a detached as well as uncaring society that its members only have violence as the only method to show that they exist. The description of Burgess’s novel by Heller and Kiraly (1974) is relevant to my argument since it offers great consideration of the reasons driving Alex to commit the horrendous actions. As an adolescent, Alex is in the process of finding himself, but in a world where individuals have no right to free will, it becomes considerably impossible for the protagonist to stand out without committing various crimes. There is also the concept of a ruthless state as the individuals who commit unspeakable crimes are the ones allowed, or else, made to feel human emotion, i.e., when Alex is offered a "cure."
References
Burgess, A. (2008). A Clockwork Orange. London, United Kingdom: Penguin Books.
Heller, J., & Kiraly, J. (1974). Behavior Modification: A Classroom Clockwork Orange? The Elementary School Journal, 74, 196-202.
