A Clockwork Orange Thematic Research Essay
Anthony Burgess’ dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange, takes on the theme of free will and why it 's highly crucial to people in society. In his novel, Anthony Burgess explores the absence of free will from a government project leading the main character, Alex, to become sick whenever he thinks of violence, leaving him defenseless, and having suicidal tendencies. After the undergoing the experiment, Alex finds the violent acts that he once loved are now unenjoyable and sickening whenever they are upon his mind. After his release from prison, Alex is left alone in the streets where he is unable to fight back without getting sick. Lastly, realizing the effects of the experiment on his body, Alex concludes
…show more content…
In Anthony Burgess’ novel, A Clockwork Orange, Alex volunteers for an experiment in return for an early release from prison. Alex becomes a victim of this experiment after unknowingly losing his freedom of choice. He becomes sick whenever he thinks of violence or wants to commit a violent act. Many times in history, people have seen countries that harshly limit the citizens’ rights; one prime example is China’s harsh violations to human rights. Since Alex becomes sick and disgusted whenever he thinks or wants to commit an act of brutality, he decides to try to live a violence-free life. China has dealt with the same issue. In 1989, Chinese scholars he;d a peaceful protest against their government for change. They were met with the army, which fired upon the protest. This event, know as the Tiananmen Protest, killed many citizens. From this experience, the citizens restrain themselves from protesting to prevent an incident analogous to the Tiananmen Protest from occurring. Because Alex undergoes the experiment, fighting and causing injury to somebody will make him sick. This is has a disadvantage on him because he cannot fight back against the people he harmed before he was imprisoned. The citizens of China comprehend with incidents similar to this when they are pawns of forced evictions. They just have to deal with it like Alex had to deal with his