CO, Christianna Marie Antoinette M. Ms.
Angela Nicole Hurtado
BS Psychology
“A Clockwork Orange”
(Critique and Analysis Paper)
First, why does the title ‘A Clockwork Orange’ mean? Based on my research the author
of this novel only wrote this story for only 3 weeks because of his weird stint imagination, so he
created this novel, so he is not sure or clear what is the meaning of his novel (Elizabeth Marling,
2017). But for me this is my understanding of the meaning of his novel. For me the clockwork
word means in the story Alex is still a teenager or a youth that means he is a clock who always
clocks means Alex is like a clock that never stops because youth is energetic, teenagers like Alex
have a lot of energy in his system so that’s the meaning of the clockwork word for me and the
orange means how color full his life can be. Due to his acts of being energetic and violent on
things it made him color full his mind or desires becomes color full. In short the meaning of the
title is just because someone is really active like a clock he or she doesn’t know how to control
it how to obey the rules of the society.
What is the central moral dilemma of the story? I have only seen the film A Clockwork
Orange ones but it gave me so much lessons to learn, about how to control your Id your desires
and how ego decide or balance what is right from wrong. Like the central moral dilemma of the
story Alex cannot control himself from his desires. He always let the bad ideas or bad doings
affect his life. He always chose the wrong way to rape and make violence to other innocent
people. The part of the film when he loves to listened Beethoven songs triggered his self to do
such things like sex and violence just because his stimulus reacted from the song, next he
imagines and end up pleasuring his desires. And for me the Ludovico Technique is also the
moral dilemma of the story because that is immoral that is really inhumane method. Alex’ sinful
ways like sex and violence uses it to watched him how violent it can be to rape and kill other
innocent people and while he is watching that things they also uses his favorite song of
Beethoven for background purposes in that way when he is tested in front of many people and
then he can control his wrong doings.
What happens when there is too much freedom and the lack of it? This is what happens
when there is too much freedom we don’t have discipline to do the right things, we only do
whatever we wanted to do. We people are afraid of when we caught we get imprisoned but
why do we need to do such wrong doings if we all know how to do it right. When we got
imprisoned that is only the time when we will stop and realize that it is your fault for making
your life wrong then you wanted to change it be a good citizen. But when there is a lack of it,
we will demand also for freedom and many people would go violently just to have freedom, like
in our society today freedom is a huge matter. It should be balance as a citizen of our country
we should know the right things from wrong things. Just like in the movie in the end he is cure
because he can control his self now, he is still imagining things but he can control in now. It is a
matter of controlling things, there are so many ways to pleasure your desires by doing things
right.
Is freedom still considered as a freedom if it is programmed to a person? For me no, it is
not considered as a freedom because freedom is a choice, we have a freedom to choose. We
cannot force something to a person because it is not they want. And for me we cannot control
other people to do right things, we can, but just like in the film you will force that person and
do inhumane method just to have freedom. In that way Alex didn’t have the rights to choose
for himself. It is not his choice to the Ludovico Technique. That technique is really not for me,
that technique gives someone a trauma and it can destroy the whole system or the function of
the body.
What kind of government would consider the Ludovico Technique? The kind of
government would consider the Ludovico Technique is immoral and don’t know the rights of a
person and don’t have the freedom to choose. Just like the film the minister is the government
there he is the one who chose to try the Ludovico Technique to Alex, the minister and the other
character didn’t gave a chance to ask Alex to choose what he wants. Yes it is hard to forgive
Alex but he is a human too. As a psychology major my understanding about Alex is within
himself he has a problem in controlling his desires to pleasure his desires it is not about just to
make fun he will kill somebody there is something within him that is fun for him to rape and
violently kill other people, there is something within him that he cannot control.
To end my paper, this story is really hard to analyze you have to know first the central
moral dilemma for you to understand more the story. It is hard as a psychology major I am
aware that Alex had that problem and that Ludovico Technique is not good for a person’s
system.
REFERENCES:
https://www.google.com.ph/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNQ-DmQe2JqY8NI3ypM2OR5F-
vbBVg%3A1569195565733&source=hp&ei=LQaIXZC3KqrxhwOA0pugBA&q=a+clockwork+orang
e&oq=a&gs_l=psy-
ab.3.2.35i39l2j0i67l6j0i131l2.1553.1553..4787...0.0..0.123.245.0j2......0....1..gws-
wiz.....10..35i362i39.3JrgkY-68bs
https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/08/01/the-disappearance-of-a-clockwork-orange
