It is inevitable to experience a series of conflicts throughout life. Anthony Burgess portrays different types of conflicts that Alex goes through in the novel “A Clockwork Orange”. Although the book depicts significantly horrific events, every human can relate to the overarching problems that Alex faces. The idea about being a good or bad person frequently arises throughout the novel. As Alex is out with his buddies causing chaos in the town, he starts to contemplate the choice of being a good person versus the choice of being a bad person. This is illustrated as an internal, social and physical conflict throughout the novel. Alex considers, “More badness is of the self, the one, the you or me on our oddy knockies, and that self is
…show more content…
Alex finds himself in jail with a fourteen year sentence for getting caught trespassing and violently harassing an older woman. Alex heard about receiving a treatment that could be his ticket out of the prison system. However, the man of God in the church prison believes that it will not be a good procedure to undergo. The man of God proceeds to tell Alex, “It may not be nice to be good, little 6655321. It may be horrible to be good. And when I say that to you I realize how self-contradictory that sounds…Does God want goodness or the choice or goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some ways better than a man who has the good imposed upon him” (95)? The word of God is to benefit from and participate in free will. On the other hand, the word of the government is to be a good person; there is no other choice. As Alex is deliberating about undergoing the Ludovico technique, he is experiencing an internal and social conflict. Earlier in the novel Alex thought about the power of free will and God’s intentions for his people to be given a choice between participating in good or bad actions. Those who have blindly followed government’s authority have become human machines since they only do what is good for others. Alex’s current thoughts about undergoing the technique and falling victim to the …show more content…
The conflicts Alex faces throughout the novel help build a larger theme that Burgess is attempting to construct his readers’ to ponder about. No matter where a person lives or during what era, the themes are still relevant. Conflict will always arise as an immature person tries to understand themselves as well as the world around them, it is only when a person makes mistakes and learns from them that they can reach
Alex finds himself in jail with a fourteen year sentence for getting caught trespassing and violently harassing an older woman. Alex heard about receiving a treatment that could be his ticket out of the prison system. However, the man of God in the church prison believes that it will not be a good procedure to undergo. The man of God proceeds to tell Alex, “It may not be nice to be good, little 6655321. It may be horrible to be good. And when I say that to you I realize how self-contradictory that sounds…Does God want goodness or the choice or goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some ways better than a man who has the good imposed upon him” (95)? The word of God is to benefit from and participate in free will. On the other hand, the word of the government is to be a good person; there is no other choice. As Alex is deliberating about undergoing the Ludovico technique, he is experiencing an internal and social conflict. Earlier in the novel Alex thought about the power of free will and God’s intentions for his people to be given a choice between participating in good or bad actions. Those who have blindly followed government’s authority have become human machines since they only do what is good for others. Alex’s current thoughts about undergoing the technique and falling victim to the …show more content…
The conflicts Alex faces throughout the novel help build a larger theme that Burgess is attempting to construct his readers’ to ponder about. No matter where a person lives or during what era, the themes are still relevant. Conflict will always arise as an immature person tries to understand themselves as well as the world around them, it is only when a person makes mistakes and learns from them that they can reach