Society and Morality Good vs. Evil Essays - Fiction, Literature

Society and Morality : Good vs. Evil A Clockwork Orange, a novel written by Anthony Burgess in the 1960's takes place in dystopian future in London, England. The novel is about a fifteen-year-old nadsat (teenager) named Alex who along with his droogs (friends) commit violent acts of crime and opts to be bad over good. In time, Alex finds himself to be in an experiment by the government, making him unable to choose between good and evil, thus losing his ability of free will, and being a mere clockwork orange. A "clockwork orange" is a metaphor for Alex being controlled by the government, which makes him artificial because he is unable to make the decision of good verses evil for himself and is a subject to what others believe is right. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess utilizes contrast, symbolism, and the first person narrative point of view to illustrate and enhance the theme of free will, because a person who lack's the ability to choose between good and evil, is not really a human being. Therefore, for the duration of Part One, Alex possesses the ability of free will yet decides to be evil by committing violent crimes in society. Further on in Part Two of the play, Alex is imprisoned for his crimes and is forced to go through the Ludovico Treatment where he loses his free will. Finally, at the end of the novel in Part Three, Alex is "cured" and has reverted back to his previous state of having a choice between being good or evil, thus acquiring that sense of free will once mor e. In part one of the novel, we witness the ability of free will that Alex possesses and his ability to choose between good and evil through contrast presented by darkness of night and lightness of day. At the beginning of the novel, Alex and his droogs (friends), Pete, Georgie, and Dim are at the Kovova Milkbar, roaming the streets and committing violent acts during night. Alex and his droogs encounter an old man who is drunk and is singing a sentimental song. Alex instantly chooses the path of evil with the free will that he encompasses, and along with his droogs they beat the old man while laughing at his misery. The old man complains about the "stinking world" and says, "It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law nor order no more." (Part 2, Chapter 2, Page 12) At night, Alex uses violence and chooses to beat, rape, and murder innocent people because it shows that he has freedom of choice and has authority and power in society . Alex's interpretation of darkness and night is, "The night belonged to me and my droogs and all the rest of the nadsats (teenagers), and the starry bourgeois lurked indoors" (Part 1, Chapter 4, Page 33). In contrast, during the day, Alex's power of freedom is partly taken away from him as it signifies danger and fear. He is unable to choose the path of good or evil during the daytime because the day is not controlled by the youth. Alex notices that the day belongs to middle-aged "bourgeois" and he is unable to commit as many crimes in the day without repercussions due to the police patrolling areas more during the day. Alex's interpretation of the day, in contrast to night is, "The day was very different from the night the day was for the starry ones, and there always seemed to be more rozzes or millicents (policemen) about during the day, too." The quotation interpreted by Alex is that the day is for the old, while the night is for youth. In addition, this quotation also explains the contrast between night and day, and shows who is in authority and how society works during different times of day. Therefore, the contrast shown by Burgess between night and day enhances the theme of free will and good verses evil, because it shows how one has the power to act more freely at a certain time in the day, choosing to be bad instead of good and having no ramifications for crimes