Clockwork Orange review

Warning this review will have spoilers, so proceed at your own risk if you care.


Clockwork Orange stands as one of the more fascinating Works of fiction I have ever seen. It is known as one of the four most influential dystopic books of the 20th century, but the futuristic aspects of the society are weirdly underplayed. This narrative could occur on the London of the time the book was written without much difference. The book presents an extensive social commentary on a plethora of topics, and has a really unique and well-handled character arc for its protagonist, but those will be not the focus of this analysis. That will be, what I believe to be the main theme a central idea which all events and characters conform and help to inform about, a study on power, its several forms of manifestations and what is has to say on the subject.



A person lying naked on a floor, prostate in complete submission. His will as an individual, dignity and the value of his existence as a human, none of it matters in this state I am suggesting. He exists as an object for others to exercise their will. Perhaps this condition stands as an underlying ideal the book is trying to represent, a unique and absolute form of control. Our protagonist struggles to achieve this constantly, the ultra-violent acts he enacts are never senseless, or just to shock the audience (despite the first half being kind of overlong in displaying them but ok). They mark the way the character sees the world, in a way trying to submit it, with everyone to his will. Displaying physical strength are just the means to that, his crimes are not for money or luxury (although he takes those as well) but the main aspect of it is the joy humiliating, submitting others to him completely. There is an underlying despise with those who do not do the same , his school and parents are actually worth of scorn for trusting him, by simply believing and letting him do as he pleases. The idea of leaving matters to the choice of others of whom you cannot control is ludicrous here. The group surrounding him is also far from what I would describe as friends, what is ever present and evident in their interactions, is their power dynamics. Alex as the leader, Tosko as an oppressed subject, Georgie trying to subvert the chain of command.


Those Unilateral showings of strength are far from the ideal way to exert power though. When trying to control his “drugis” through that as well, Alex ends up quickly betrayed and arrested by the police forces. Usually restrictions on will, on the individual liberties need some form of justification to be followed. Government authority is not only guaranteed because the government has the monopoly on the usage of force, and can apply penalties to the citizens, but because in some way people do internalize its rule, see the authority as justified in doing such. There is no way to build an everlasting meaningful control by these methods, you can come up with the most gruesome violence you can think of, those can only grant you something as long as the threat persists. How valid those justification are is kind of irrelevant though, as long as they ease your control on the subject, are something that in some way shape or form he believes (and when he stops doing so just throw him to the pits with lots of violence).


The prison section is perhaps unique for presenting a directly different method for the same objective. The ways are more indirect, manipulation is the game he is playing. To deceive, to try and get others to do as he pleases almost unconsciously, always hiding the true intentions and goals. His relations are marked for this disingenuous tone, a false adulation and subservience motivated by self-interest. Although more nuanced and not allowing for the same kind of grandiose form of controls, those were useful as ways to gather information, and trust from others.


In no place are those concerns and topics more evident, or better portrayed than in the “treatment” our protagonist went through. This consisting of the ultimate attempt of coercion, to turn a human into a being completely incapable of disobeying. To teach through assimilation not morals, but the entire pattern of conducts which are socially and morally acceptable. By basically making the person own body into the judge, jury and executioner, it analyses each decision the individual even thinks of taking, and generates strong negative physical reactions to those deemed wrong. If you could even concede of a perfect citizen, one that not by reason or morals, but by its own nature is incapable of disobedience, this would be it. The degree of annihilation of the individual and the mere possibility of choice, is not in so far from the scenario I pictured on my second paragraph. And not surprising, the whole thing fails, even when submitted to the more imposing method imaginable, when subdued by the most horrible and generalized punition possible, there is a degree of humanity, a desire for something which never abandons the characters of this book. This is what leads Alex to attempt suicide, even act itself was strictly against his programming. By looking for the only escape possible, through death, ironically our protagonists achieves salvation, having the humanity and the capacity of choice restituted, because of the shocking experience.


Clockwork has an impressive method of exploring the political through the personal, and just in general making both one and the same. The macro and micro spheres of actions are really similar in this narrative. In both you can find the same things, groups of individuals struggling for power. The government is never worried with idealism, ensuring the best for the citizens, but in ways to enact better social enforcement, to in effect monopolize the violence, act so all the ways power can occur in society could be controlled, legalized by the state. The opposition is no difference, despite clowning themselves on masks of altruism, all they want is the position of those in charge, taking control on their hands. To that end, they never shy away from using those, like what they did with Alex. The book has a delightful cynicism towards those individuals, with its best display being on the uncertain and not important political results of their actions. Taking joy in tearing apart their hypocrisy, fake idealism, and justifications, just to show they all have the same feeling behind them. This desire to impose their will, get others to do as they wish, to truly see the world submitting to them. Really what is the difference between said institutions doing this, and Alex back in the alley beating up people?


The ending is marked for a twist, a new development in all I said above, which ties perfectly with the growth our protagonist underwent. The main lesson Alex takes from everything is to try to interact with others, get to know them and create relations, but ones not based on domination. In attempting to control everyone around him, all he ever achieved was being betrayed, by his drugies, prison mates, even his parents. Now he desires to try something different, to create a form of love as the basis to his bonds, by constructing a family. One where no matter how damaging and ludicrous can be the actions and choices of the people you love, you have to respect them all the same, and the best you can do is to advise, and still accept them despite their flaws. In hopes they will do the best, because there is no way to force them to. On this hopeful tone, the book makes its ending remark.


You know, Clockwork Orange is a hard work for me to review. The appeal and state it revels in, is something completely alien to me. Being frank, I am closer to the state of self-deprecation that marks a really unhealthy individual, which is portrayed when Alex is drugged by the government, than our horny, angry, hyper violent teen. The act of imposing my will on the world is something I rarely attempt. Nevertheless, the focus and resourcefulness in its exploration stands as remarkable. There are some minor things it gets wrong, like this degree of violence could only get the (supposed) expected effect of being shocking 50 years ago (blame our culture, that overexposes people to this shit) and the beginning being twice longer than it needed to. If fixed such simple issues would make this a masterpiece, so I am not mad at all this book get so much things right, but falters on the details. Concluding, my drugies, if you are not interested, or do not want to read this book, you can go suck a dick and watch crap like Texhnolyze or Akira.