Review of A Clockwork Orange
As an avid reader of political fiction, I found A Clockwork Orange to be one of the best books of that genre I have read. It is well written with a fast-paced, engaging plot and complex character development. Not only did this book hold my interest it also had an import social message to deliver.
This novel is a futuristic story about what could happen in a society where people rebel against a totalitarian government in anarchist ways. It also has a sub-theme that questions whether people can truly be considered moral if they are brainwashed or forced to behave as if they are, rather than doing so by choice.
In this story the government tries to reform Alex, the main character, by compelling him to follow society's rules against his will. He is a fifteen year old boy whose main interests in the beginning of the book are committing acts of violence, such as rape and robbery, and listening to classical music, such as Beethoven and Mozart.
English: A production photo from Brad Mays' multi-...
One of the locations for Kubrick's A Clockwork Ora...
A Clockwork OrangeLater the book makes the point that in order to have a truly moral society, people need to have choice.
As the novel begins, Alex lives in a society that is leaning towards anarchy. He attempts to rob an old woman's house and is caught by the police. Alex is then put in jail where he becomes the test subject for a new kind of cure for criminal behavior. He is brainwashed so that even though he would like to commit acts of violence, he can no longer do so. At the same time he begins to realize that he has a positive side to his nature. The rest of the book deals with Alex's internal struggle between his violent side and his moral side,