Clockwork Oranges

The most prominent and most obvious theme within A Clockwork Orange is the idea of morality and clockwork oranges. Which is better: to choose to be bad or to be forced to be good?

As I read the book, the question was always floating around in my mind. I still don’t necessarily know how I feel about it. As I said in one of my earlier blog entries, I don’t really like Alex before or after the Ludovico treatment. As what I would consider a good citizen, I have trouble liking how terrible Alex is at heart. At the same time, I live in America where free choice and democracy are constantly preached.

Now that I mention America, I begin to wonder if everyone is a clockwork orange. Are we all just a product of our society? Nothing more than a representation of the ideas and beliefs of people so high up on the social ladder that we can’t even see them anymore? Then what is morality? Am I justified in believing that Alex shouldn’t be hurting people, or is that a moral value that has been imposed on me? It is so difficult to tell, today, what thoughts are truly ours.

Another matter is the idea of the individual versus society. Even though I dislike who Alex became after the Ludovico treatment, it was benefiting the rest of society. Is it fair to say that his suffering is worth the salvation of many? I would agree that it probably is, but, in the end, everyone is a pawn to the system. Some people allow themselves to conform, and others don’t. Alex is one of he ones who doesn’t. The people he terrorizes are the ones who do conform. Are these people any better or worse than Alex? It is hard to tell. And what about the people at the top of the social ladder? Are they the only ones with actual free thought, or are they something else all together?

The idea of free choice is probably the most discussion-worthy idea within the book.