Note: Read Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:Existentialism and A Clockwork Orange fror more information before reading this post.
For the first time, not so long ago, I read The Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. I had orginally entended to use it for my book review, but somehow I decided on Island by Aldous Huxley instead. Not wanting my effort to go to waste, although reading a novel such as A Clockwork Orange could never be constituted as a waste, I thought I would write about it on my blog. Then in class, Israel presented his book report on The Stranger, and all I could think about was existentialism and how it related to A Clockwork Orange.
A Clockwork Orange is based on existentialistic theory. The main character, Alex, commits crimes for no other reason then for the thrills. He is a lunatic who only enjoys life when he is destroying the lives of others. Unlike most psychopaths, Alex did not grow up in troubling circumstances nor did he have a lifechanging experience whcih made him become such a monster. Instead, the only reason for his cruelty comes from the rush of excitement he receives when he is hurting other human beings.
For Alex, nothing matters in life except his constant need to get a "fix" of violence. He has plenty of opportunities to change his way of thinking and reform his actions, but instead, at the end of the novel, he remains the same individual.
The question raised in the novel is whether society or Alex himself is to blame for his actions. Alex has pulled away from society and rejected its norms. Yet, society still tries to help Alex and turn him into a model citizen. As a consequence, however, society ends up making more monsters like Alex. In the end, society has to stop treating Alex and allow him to regress to his former self in order for the rest of society to remain sane.
Q: What is Anthony Burgess saying about societial reform in A Clockwork Orange?
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