A Clockwork Orange - 1450 Words

Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian novel set in an oppressive, futuristic state. Published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is an extremely intense, graphic, and, at times, horrifying novel. A reader begins to question their own values as they become numb and desensitized to the violence at hand. Both behaviorism and free will is occurring throughout A Clockwork Orange. A Clockwork Orange brings up a question, how much control of our own free will do we actually have? Do we really control our own lives, or are they subject to the cards we are dealt? In A Clockwork Orange, behavior analysis and free will are displayed. Human nature has long since been in question. Alex is an extremely interesting character. He is a†¦show more content†¦Alex had control over the things that he was doing, and then it was taken away from him. We have very limited control over what we do because society takes our free will away. Behaviorism has a relation to free will. Watsonà ¢â‚¬â„¢s view on behaviorism is â€Å"...psychology should embrace behavior as its subject matter and rely on experimental observation of that subject matter as its method† (Moore 451). Also Watson published his paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It, and in this paper he states: â€Å"Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior. Introspection forms no essential part of its methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness† (Harzem 6) Watson set the stage for behaviorism, which soon rose to dominate psychology. Watson went a little overboard in that paper. But on the good side, he attracted many enthusiastic followers, became the national interest, made headlines in national newspapers, and was the subject of many articles in popular periodicals. But then there were troubles that Watson’s experiment wasn’t considered â€Å"Science† (Behaviorism For the New Psychology)Show MoreRelated A Clockwork Orange Essay: Blindness in A Clockwork Orange970 Words   |  4 PagesBlindness in A Clockwork Orange In the novel, A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess has tried to show the importance of individual freedom over doing the right thing. He has taken an extreme example of violence and perverse acts to accent his strong belief. It is my opinion that Burgess has been blinded to some essential truths in his quest to ensure personal freedom. Personal freedom can be described as acting upon your own accord and not becoming restricted by the social paradigm in which youRead More A Clockwork Orange Essay551 Words   |  3 Pages A Clockwork Orange Authors who write of other times and places help us to better understand our own lives. Discuss A Clockwork Orange in terms of that statement. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A â€Å"clockwork orange† can be described as something that has a convincing outer appearance yet in the inside is merely controlled by outer influences, such as a clock set in motion by its owner. In A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess takes us into the future where violent criminals are forced to be â€Å"goodRead MoreEssay on A Clockwork Orange916 Words   |  4 Pages I think that A Clockwork Orange is a book worth reading because it is relatable, makes you think, and is interesting. The author, Anthony Burgess, was born February 25, 1917. At the young age of two his mother passed away. He was brought up by his aunt and later his stepmother. Even with such an unstable childhood Burgess continued on to enroll in college and major in English. He had a passion for music, which he expressed in the main character of A Clockwork Orange. Burgess wrote several accomplishedRead More A Clockwork Orange Essay553 Words   |  3 PagesA Clockwork Orange We are first introduced to Alex (Malcolm McDowell) in the company of his posse, strangely sipping drugged milk in a freakish bar with anatomically indiscrete manikins serving as tittie-taps and tables. The ensuing scenes flash from Alex and his three droogs brutally beating an old man to a violent rape scene to a semi-chaotic gang-brawl. The story is of Alex and his love of the old ultra-violence, his act of murder, his betrayal and imprisonment, and his cure (twice). Read MoreAnthony Burgess and A Clockwork Orange987 Words   |  4 PagesImagine existing in a world run by sadistic and insane street gangs who reek havoc on innocent civilians, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Anthony Burgess created this world through his novel, A Clockwork Orange. Anthony Burgess was born in 1917 and died in 1963. A lot of social changes occurred during this period of time, such as: the roaring twenties, prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and many more. Burgess not only lived through thoseRead More A Clockwork Orange Essay612 Words   |  3 Pages A Clockwork Orange nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To leave out the final chapter of A Clockwork Orange is to change the entire meaning of the novel; as Burgess says in the introduction, his story is transformed into a fable. Without the last chapter the reader is left with a dark and pessimistic theme, that absolute good and evil exist in this world and it is possible for a man to be pure evil. Alex is conditioned and unconditioned, and in the end all indications point to a malicious life of crimeRead MorePleasantville And A Clockwork Orange Essay1335 Words   |  6 Pages Pleasantville and A Clockwork orange are both films that have certain things that are abnormal. 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More specifically, [The ethical promise that A manRead More A Clockwork Orange Essay2139 Words   |  9 PagesA Clockwork Orange Eat this sweetish segment or spit it out. You are free.amp -Anthony Burgess Anthony Burgess has been heralded as one of the greatest literary geniuses of the twentieth century. Although Burgess has over thirty works of published literature, his most famous is A Clockwork Orange. Burgess’s novel is a futuristic look at a Totalitarian government. The main character, Alex, is an amp;quot;ultra-violentamp;quot; thief who has no problem using force against innocent citizensRead MoreA Clockwork Orange, by Stanley Kubrick1139 Words   |  5 Pagesadaptation of Anthony Burgess’ 1963 novel, A Clockwork Orange has been used to explore contemporary anxieties. A Clockwork Orange takes place in an outlandish and dreary vision of future Britain governed by an oppressive, totalitarian super government. In this society, ordinary people have fallen into a dazed state of complacency, unaware of the sinister growth of a rampant, violent youth culture. Anthony Burgess wrote his short novel A Clockwork Orange in 1962 as a way of coming to terms with the