A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange lends itself to an examination of morality and amorality. The protagonist and antihero, Alex, revels in his criminality and violence, and he appears incapable of empathy though he clearly understands that what he does is wrong in the eyes of civilized society. As he himself admits, “you can’t run a country with every chelloveck comporting himself in my manner of the night” (46). In Part 1, Alex operates with a jubilant amorality, gratifying his every violent impulse and sexual whim. Eventually, however, his arrogance—and, ironically, his fastidiousness about manners and music—leads to his downfall, and Parts 2 and 3 turn Alex into a victim. He is chemically forced and mentally conditioned to make moral choices, which are, of course, not moral choices at all. Ludovico’s Technique robs Alex of what one might call a soul: Alex cannot make true moral choices—or become a fully realized human being—without the ability to exercise his free will.

Alex’s amorality does not come out of nowhere. As suggested elsewhere in this guide, the roots of Alex’s violent behavior and desire for instant gratification are grown from the soil of modern society. So-called civilized society nearly destroyed itself through two world wars, the media glorifies violence and criminality, and the forces of capitalism encourage rampant consumption as the answer to any and all spiritual yearnings.