Clockwork Orange Essay: Free Will Outweighs Determinism

Not everyone agrees with the way any society is governed. Some people believe that the government should control our every move, and shape the society in a vision of perfection. Others believe that people should be given to the free will to make decisions, and in the end be punished for it. They believe life should be a learning experience. So did Anthony Burgess, the author of A Clockwork Orange. A Clockwork Orange argues that free will outweighs determinism as the ethical way to govern a society.

“In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology.”
(GoodReads) Alex travels with his gang, who steal, damage property, rape and eventually murder. Alex is then arrested and brought to prison. Wishing to be let out of jail quickly, he signs up for the Ludovico Technique. This technique was input by the government to rehabilitate criminals, and control their decision making, rendering them unable to act out violently or even think of causing violence, by showing them terrible images and playing classical music.

Anthony Burgess, the author of the novel the movie was based on, discussed his intention when writing the novel.
After being put through the rehabilitation, Alex has become “A Clockwork Orange.” "By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange--meaning he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or (since this is increasingly replacing both) the Almighty State,” (Anthony Burgess, 1986). Burgess is giving an explanation as to why Alex is considered A Clockwork Orange, and the meaning behind the title. It is further explaining the true idea of his novel, and hinting at the basis being the argument for free will. Burgess continues to prove this by comparing Alex to Adam and Eve. “But he’s young and has not yet learned the true importance of the free will he so violently delights in. In a sense he’s in Eden, and only when he falls (as he does: from a window) does he become capable of being a full human being." Free will is something the human race is born with, but it is also something that must be understood and learnt. It is like having a superpower, and as the saying goes “With great power comes great
responsibility.”

Alex is sent back out into the world once he has been fully rehabilitated. This is again when the viewer sees free will at play. Alex has no ability to act in a violent manner. Yet, when coming across a victim on the street, the victim attacks him. Alex has no way to defend himself, as again, the rehabilitation means that he cannot act aggressively. “Freedom of human action does require the randomness of absolute unpredictability, but if our actions are the direct consequence of a random event, we cannot feel responsible.
” The government has gone out of the way to change their criminals, to make them better people. Yet, what is really happening is the people who still have the free will to make decisions are acting out, basically showing that the opposite is occurring. Ethically, everyone should be treated equally, and only taking the free will of those who have committed crimes is unjust. Yet, if Alex had his free will, he’d be able to defend himself, saving himself from being hurt.

This movie and novel both showed the downfall of a government who decided to rule in a deterministic and unequal way. Controlling the minds of only certain people caused many issues with the main character. Free will is a more ethical way of governing a society; A Clockwork Orange shows how deterministic governments will eventually fall to pieces.