Philosophy and A Clockwork Orange

Solomon writes of freedom that it "has the most practical consequences . . . of all abstract problems of philosophy" (455). In other words, if a person is free, he is responsible for his actions, and if he is not free, then it would be irrational or even cruel to hold him responsible for what he does. The central issue in Burgess's novel is this question of freedom and responsibility. The novel champions freedom, even if the individual expresses his freedom in anti-social and destructive ways.

Such a vision reflects the thoughts of Dostoevsky, from Solomon:

There is one most advantageous advantage . . . which is more important and more advantageous than all other advantages. . . . One's own free unfettered choice, one's own fancy, however wild it may be, one's own fancy worked up at times to frenzy. That is the "most advantageous advantage," which is always overlooked (Solomon 509-510).

Burgess certainly does not overlook it in his novel. Such freedom to do what he pleases is the singular obsession of his protagonist Alex. The horrible break-in at the Alexanders by Alex and his cronies is perhaps the most terrible of the sins committed in the book (22-24). In retrospect, however, as despicable as it is, the reader must conclude that Burgess wo

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he goes along with it nonetheless, and in doing so exposes himself as a hypocrite: The question is whether such a technique can really make a man good. Goodness comes from within, 6655321. Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man. . . . We'll have a little chat about this some other time. Now you'd better start the voluntary (Burgess 83). Of course, there is nothing "voluntary" about any part of Alex's conditioning process, but that is exactly the point Burgess is making about the hypocrisy of the representative of Christianity in his dealings with Alex. Just as Nietzsche says, the Christian chaplain is shown by Burgess to be a weak man who wants to weaken the strong Alex, who wants to "ban" the "instincts" of the "reprobate." The chaplain knows what he is doing in dehumanizing Alex in the name of God (although he refers to the Warden as "Himself," as if the warden were his true god) is wrong, but he continues to do it: Were it expedient, I would protest, but it is not expedient. There is the question of my own career, there is the question of the weakness of my own voice when set against the shout of certain more powerful elements in the polity (Burgess 94-95). In other words, he
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Approximate Word count = 1582
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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