Morality in a Clockwork Orange
In the novel A Clockwork Orange, the main character, Alex, is introduced as a fifteen year old with an uncanny vision for the life he so desires. As most teenagers do, Alex firmly believes that he knows all there is to know about the world, and believes that he and his "droogs" (Burgess, 5) have what it takes to wreak havoc on society. However for Alex, it is his actions that speak louder than his words, and it is his horrifying yet vivid criminal acts, that show that he is a soul without regard for morality. This lack of morality is even more evident, as he calmly justifies his actions as being the fault of society, and he is just playing his part; "You can viddy that everything in this wicked world counts. You can pony that one thing always leads to another. Right right right."(Burgess, 40). This uninhibited behavior by Alex is what leads to his eventual downfall. While living in a society where Alex was free to take things into his own hands, where he is able to rape, torture, and murder at his own discretion, he was experiencing a lifestyle free of oppression, moral, or immoral. However it is Alex's over-abuse of his free-will that causes him to be arrested and jailed. While in jail new character traits arise from a "conditioned" (Burgess, 80) Alex. It is evident that the rigorous conditioning and oppression against Alex, sensitized him against violence, thus curbing him towards a moral outlook on life. "But, sir, sirs, I see that it's wrong. It's wrong because it's against like society, it's wrong because every veck on earth has the right to live and be happy without being beaten and tolchocked and knifed." (Burgess, 92). However this plea was seen as a façade of the actuality the situation. Alex's harsh rebellion against society has shown the doctors that this subject is apparently incapable of outgrowing this natural process, and thus must not be released unto society, at least not yet. It is just, in saying that freedom of choice is an