Abuse of Power within A Clockwork Orange
by Christopher Borycheski
The choice between good and evil is a decision every man must make
throughout his life in order to guide his actions and control his future. This
element of choice, no matter what the outcome, displays man's power as an
individual. Any efforts to control or influence this choice between good and
evil will in turn govern man's free will and enslave him. In the novel A
Clockwork Orange, the author uses symbolism through imagery, the
characterization of Alex, and the first person narrative point of view to prove
that without the ability to choose between good and evil, Man becomes powerless
as an individual.
The symbolism through imagery proves how Alex's ability to choose
between good and evil is his ascendancy over the innocent and the weak. The
first symbol is the music to which he listens and loves. It is the only thing
in Alex's life that he truly cares for. This music represents the element of
his choice and free will. When his ability of choice is robbed in an attempt
to better him, he loses his love for music in which he exclaims, "And all the
time the music got more and more gromky, like it was all a deliberate torture, O
my brothers . . . then I jumped"(131). The music that represents his freedom
to choose is now gone. He is left without any reason to live. When he realizes
that he is no longer a man because of his absence of choice, Alex decides to end
his life. The author illustrates through Alex's violent actions, how they
represent his abuse of power through his freedom of choice. Alex consistently
chooses evil as a means to display his power over the innocent and the g ...