A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
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A Clockwork Orange is Anthony Burgess's controversial novel about Alex, a violent teenager in a dystopian future society, and his violent crimes and subsequent attempted rehabilitation. The novel explores themes of violence, free will, morality and the nature of good and evil.
- 1Alex is a violent teenager who leads a gang committing brutal crimes.
- 2The novel portrays Alex's violent crimes in graphic detail and from his perspective.
- 3Alex is captured and subjected to a controversial behavioural modification technique.
- 4The modification attempts to make violence psychologically repellent to him.
- 5Alex is released into the world stripped of his ability to commit violence or defend himself.
- 6The novel raises questions about free will, rehabilitation and punishment.
Key ideas
Free will and choice
Burgess explores whether forced goodness through modification is morally acceptable.
Violence and society
The novel portrays violence as endemic to society and to human nature.
Rehabilitation and punishment
Burgess questions whether punishment should aim at rehabilitation or retribution.
Individual versus society
Alex's desires for freedom conflict with society's need for safety and order.
The nature of evil
Burgess portrays evil not as simple wickedness but as complex and ingrained.
Morality and immorality
The novel raises questions about what makes an act moral or immoral.
Who is it for?
Readers interested in philosophical science fiction and in controversial literature will find this essential. It suits anyone interested in ethics and morality as explored through fiction. Readers should be aware of the graphic violence.
Full summary
Alex is a fifteen-year-old who leads a gang committing violent crimes including murder and assault.
The novel portrays Alex's crimes in graphic detail and from his perspective, which is amoral.
Alex is eventually captured and imprisoned for his crimes.
In prison, Alex volunteers for an experimental rehabilitation programme.
The programme uses conditioning techniques to attempt to make violence repellent to him.
Alex is successfully modified: violence now causes him physical and psychological distress.
Alex is released into society as a supposedly reformed person.
The novel traces what happens when a violent person is stripped of the ability to be violent.
