One of the functions of violence in A Clockwork Orange can be see as an attempt by Anthony Burgess to foreshadow violence in the future. Alex, the protagonist of this novel, is used by Burgess to help depict this ultra-violence. Alex is far from the typical juvenile delinquent. With his band of "droogs," or friends, Alex goes on a rampage of sadistic rape and violence.

Another function of violence in this story is the idea of free will. Burgess exemplifies an existence of free choice by hammering in Alex's choice of violence over compassion. Alex has a good laugh, in one instance, over a newspaper article which blames juvenile crime on a lack of parental authority, knowing that his own is a product of free will. Likewise, the metamorphosis in chapter twenty-one adds fuel to the belief of free choice. Although aversion therapy did little to stifle his innate taste for "ultra violence," Alex reforms when left to his own devices. The dilemma over free will arises as Alex, who is incarcerated for the death of an old woman, becomes a guinea pig for criminal aversion therapy. The State gives him the option of launching the experimental "Ludovico's Technique," which is equivalent to time served, or festering in the State jail for fifteen years. He naturally opts for the former. As part of the procedure, a team of psychologists strap Alex to a chair, pry open his eyelids, and force him to watch violent scenes played out on a movie reel. A drug injected shortly before the production induces vomiting and dry retching, which he learns to associate with thoughts of violence. His only recourse is to perform acts of kindness and submission, and Alex morphs into a do-gooder. As the title suggests, he is transformed into "a clockwork orange," an organism, which, like a fruit, was capable of, and sweetness when mechanical laws are imposed. Therefore losing his ability of free will. In addition to stripping Alex of his humanity, the experiment has other adverse side effects. The former victimizer is transformed into a lame duck. The procedure leaves him defenseless against former victims and puts him at the mercy of

Some topics in this essay:
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