Timeless Themes

Another defining characteristic of A Clockwork Orange's aesthetic architecture is that it grapples with age-old and continually relevant social issues. This novel was relatable when it came out 50 years ago, and it's continued to be sympathizable every day since. I've chosen just a few of the most profound and poignant themes to explore below. 

The Necessity of Free Will

"What's it going to be then, eh?" (85).

The freedom to choose is fundamental to mankind, right? Not so much. Alex's punishment for his crimes is to be "rehabilitated" using the Ludovico technique. This inhumane therapy consists of becoming forcefully repulsed through association by everything that once captivated him: violence, sex, drugs, music, you name it. However, one of the prison guards remarks, "choice... he has no real choice, has he? He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice" (141). The government is attempting to control the crime rate by stripping Alex of his right to choose. So even though the choices Alex was initially making were malicious, violent, and worthy of punishment; the "rehabilitation" has stripped him of his ability to make future decisions for himself; right or wrong. This ultimately backfires as the narrative cleverly comes full circle and we see Alex unable to defend himself against robbers and abusive police, unable to glance at a woman, and unable to even listen to his favorite music, the Ninth symphony, without feeling deathly ill. This torturous existence eventually drives him to attempt suicide, "I jumped, O my brothers," clearly critiquing the inhumanity of subjugating free will (189). 

 The government, in an attempt to maintain control and order, oppresses our basic human right of free will. Personally, this is the theme that resonates the most with me from this novel (I mean I got a freaking tattoo related to it) because time and time again throughout time this reigns true. I mean take right now for example, as the U.S. government is trying to control a woman's right to choice over her own body... 

Reform of the Rehabilitation and Punishment of Criminals

As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, their attempt at rehabilitation completely backfired. Not only that, but in previous sections of the book, the prison is described as overcrowded, rowdy, and "had real oozhassny animal type vecks among them", essentially reducing prisoners to a number, "665511" in Alex's case, and spitting them out the exact same as when they went in (78, 86). The Governor in the novel even ironically claims "the Government cannot be concerned any longer with the outmoded penological theories. Cram criminals together and see what happens. You get concentrated criminality, crime in the midst of punishment," then proceeds to offer the idea of their deranged "rehabilitation" (102). Burgess's call for prison reform is blatantly obvious. However, his call has yet to be answered as there is still a push for a decrease in overcrowding of prisons, better treatment of prisoners, and alternative methods of reform. 

Good vs Evil... or Evil vs Evil... 

If it wasn't obvious enough from the previous two themes, Anthony Burgess absolutely deplores the government. They treat Alex as the "bad" and boast themselves as "good," but here is a list of several offenses they commit against Alex throughout the novel:
  • Abused by a prison guard upon first being arrested (75)
  • Mistreated in prison (78)
  • Forcefully put through medical trials to be physically repulsed by the senses relating to violence, sex, and music (112)
  • Publicly shamed to prove the trials worked to the media (141)
  • Abused by more cops (who were also his old droogs that they hired out of necessity) (166)
  • Bribed by the government after an attempted suicide to come to help them to save their political face in the light of failure (197)
However, this isn't to say that the roles are reversed and Alex is "good" and the government is "bad." Here is a list of unlikeable actions Alex does throughout the novel:
  • Rob and beat up a homeless man (7)
  • Steal a car (8) 
  • Initiate a gang fight (18)
  • Break into a house, rape a woman, and forcefully make her husband watch (24)
  • Fight his own droog (33)
  • Skip school (39)
  • Lie to his parents (40)
  • Break into another woman's house and (accidentally) kill her (71)
  • Etc. 
Considering that Burgess himself favors the American cut-version where Alex is not justifiably moralized at the end, where he just returns to his delinquent ways, goes to demonstrate Anthony Burgess's extremely pessimistic look on society. He perceives everyone as evil, everyone as inherently "bad." This is an idea that sadly resonates with a bulk of society because time and time again, we feel hopelessly lost in a sea of chaos and evil. It is a concurrent sentiment that we're drowning in horrendous events that are out of our control, ranging from the government's decisions (or lack thereof) to everyday juvenile delinquents wreaking havoc. We cannot escape it.