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Government Control In Clockwork Orange

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Government has the authority to lead the people, but there is an extent of their control. The novel Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, depicts a dystopian world of extreme crime and violence. However, while the depicted society does condemn violence, it also facilitates the destruction of humanity and the autonomy of individuals. When a human is depersonalized and stripped of their free will, they are simply the “clockworks” under the control of their oppressors. They are no longer a person; rather, they are the robot that is programmed to give more power to the government. While the protagonist, Alex, may choose vicious acts, he chooses them with a clear ethical capacity. On the other hand, when being controlled by the government, he loses the part of him that makes him human. Individuals may not always make the best choice, but humanity comes from a human’s ability to choose between right and wrong. In this case, the destruction of Alex’s humanity proves that it is better to be bad by choice, than to be good by government coercion. In the novel, the government makes use of their absolute authority in order to dehumanize and …show more content…

Burgess is addressing the prevalent state of society as he sees the destructive behaviors around him: teen violence, authoritarian government, and corruption. Seeing this corruption around him, he believes that government should not have omnipotent authority over its people. Simply, each individual should be able to regulate their own growth. As they fall into states of aberration, it is their own job to find the path again. Being forced back onto another path is simply stopping their growth from becoming a mature adult, who is able to reasonably produce decisions on their own. Humanity needs to take action to become their own identities instead of becoming clockworks in the palms of someone else’s

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