The Importance of Free Will in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Choice, " rumbled a rich deep gloss. I divided it belonged to the prison charlie. "He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice. " "These are subtleties, " like smiled Dr. Brodsky. "We are not concerned with motive, with the higher ethics. We are concerned only with cutting down crime - " "And, " chipped in this bolshy well-dressed Minister, "with relieving the ghastly congestion in our prisons. " (Burgess, 1986, p. 72) Burgess portrays a dystopian future reality, emphasizing the important issues in contemporary modern English society in the 20th Century. These are similar to the themes addressed by George Orwell in 1984, fearing the mind-controlling aspects of totalitarian government as it developed from mass-media and popular democracy, but Burgess also highlights the way that style, fashion, advertising, and trends reinforce this in society. Both Alex and the prison chaplain in the novel are portrayed as uncritical and selfish, filled with different types of social programming - not as heroic figures and models of admiration, but as humans who have lost their own ability to think for themselves and to see what is really valuable and true in the society. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Free Will in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page I know. " "You've made others suffer, " said this Joe. "It's only right you should suffer proper. I've been told everything that you've done, sitting here at night around the family table, and pretty shocking it was to listen to. Made me really sick a lot of it did. " "I wish, " I said, "I was back in the prison. Dear old Staja as it was. I'm trying off now, " I said. "You won't ever viddy me no more. I'll make my own way, thank you very much. Let it lie heavy on your consciences. "