Preview

A Clockwork Orange Essay Assignment The Ludovico Treatment

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2442 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Clockwork Orange Essay Assignment The Ludovico Treatment
Alexandra Martinez
EL3510 :Literature Across Cultures II: Theory
4/26/13
amarti67@oldwestbury.edu
A Clockwork Orange Essay Assignment
The Ludovico Treatment

The psychological conditioning treatment used in A Clockwork Orange , the Ludovico treatment , raises many moral issues. Is it justly to take a persons “free will” to make the world a safer place? In this paper I will discuss different perspectives from the novel, including my own reflection on the treatments moral effect on the novels protagonist, Alex. After spending two years in jail , Alex our youthful narrator sees an opportunity and is given a choice that can change his life forever. He can spend the rest of his life in jail or he can undergo the Ludovico treatment offered by the government. The Ludovico treatment is a psychological experiment designed to hopefully cure a criminals mind. That is to take away the hunger for any wrong doing towards anyone else or oneself. This treatment is a mind conditioning experiment designed to modify behavior . It consists of a type of injection that takes away a persons ability to harm. It also consists of viewing violent films that conditioned the mind to want to reject crime and violence. Given the horrid life Alex had chosen to live previously, with acts of violence and hatred , this contingency did not seem to be a bad idea for anyone who knew him. There are a few concepts that that can be viewed through different lenses to determine whether the Ludovico treatment is morally correct. When it comes to a psychological treatment such as the Ludovico treatment , is it morally acceptable to take away a persons ability of choice? Alex 's human rights are taken away from him to make him an acceptable person in society ,preventing Alex of making a decision that would be of a negative consequence. Another way to view this treatment is in a way of revenge or karma. Alex hurt many people in this novel. Should he be treated with pity after this Ludovico treatment,


Cited: Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York &London:W.W. Norton & Company , Inc, 1962 Print.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Beloning--Clockwork Orange and the Wrestler
    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Beloning--Clockwork Orange and the Wrestler

    This notion is elaborated within the novel, A Clockwork Orange, a dark testimony to the power of the individual and the malevolence in forced conformity. The protagonist, Alex, is a criminal who doesn’t belong anywhere within society. In the novel, the government attempts to suppress his criminality by physically preventing him from thinking of violence—thus making him conform to their standards. This is allegorical for how society attempts to make us conform to what is considered ‘normal’.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Clockwork Orange Comparison Essay
    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Clockwork Orange Comparison Essay

    Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess are two books with a similar environment. The books environments are influenced by a lack of humanity, lack of civility, and human spirit. Salman Rushdie quotes, “Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and the human spirit.” Salman Rushdie’s quote and the books that have been mentioned above share the idea that we can explore and learn from these fictional or nonfictional situational environments. Both of these books teach and portray the cruel parts of human society and also relates to the quote from Salman Rushdie.…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Stanford Prison Experiment
    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Stanford Prison Experiment

    (“On the Ethics of Intervention…” narration 1-3). More than seventy people signed up, but only a total of twenty four people were ‘clean’ from crimes or psychological problems (“On the Ethics of Intervention…” 1). “Virtually all had indicated a preference for being a prisoner because they could not imagine going to college and ending up as a prison guard. On the other hand, they could imagine being imprisoned for a driving violation or some act of civil disobedience” (“Reflection on the Stanford…” 5). Prisoners were arrested for either burglary or armed robbery (Lestik 1). The guards and convicts were destined to their roles by a flip of a coin to be fair (Lestik 1). College students who were selected to represent the role of prisoners were arrested by the Palo Alto police as if they actually committed action against the law (Lestik 1). Rights were read, fingerprints were stamped, and they were handcuffed into a police car (Lestik 1). The prisoners did not know what was going on even though they signed up for the experiment (Lestik 1). “We were studying both guard and prisoner behavior, so neither group was given any instruction on how to behave. The guards were merely told to maintain law and order, to use their billy clubs as only symbolic weapons and not actual ones, and to realize that if the prisoners escaped the study would be terminated”…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How Did The Stanford Prison Experiment Affect Zimbardo's Behavior
    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages

    How Did The Stanford Prison Experiment Affect Zimbardo's Behavior

    In discussions of the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by Philip G. Zimbardo in 1970, one controversial issue has been whether or not the experiment should have ever been attempted. On the one hand, Dr. Zimbardo and his colleagues argued that the experiment gave them a deeper understanding of human suffering and a greater empathy for their fellow man (Ratnesar 2011). On the other hand, one of the former guards contended that the experiment made him more hostile and less sympathetic during his time as a guard and that the circumstances significantly altered his perception of what was appropriate behavior. Others even maintain that the prison experiment degraded the prisoners so greatly, empowered the guards to such a great extent, and even affected Dr. Zimbardo’s behavior and mannerisms so dramatically that it thoroughly altered their sense of…

    • 1846 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of The Dystopian Novel 'A Clockwork Orange'
    • 1976 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Summary Of The Dystopian Novel 'A Clockwork Orange'

    Anthony Burgess’ dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange, takes on the theme of free will and why it's highly crucial to people in society. In his novel, Anthony Burgess explores the absence of free will from a government project leading the main character, Alex, to become sick whenever he thinks of violence, leaving him defenseless, and having suicidal tendencies. After the undergoing the experiment, Alex finds the violent acts that he once loved are now unenjoyable and sickening whenever they are upon his mind. After his release from prison, Alex is left alone in the streets unable to fight back without getting sick. Lastly, realizing the effects of the experiment on his body, Alex concludes the experiment…

    • 1976 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Maconochie's Gentlemen: Chapter 3 and 4 Review
    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Maconochie's Gentlemen: Chapter 3 and 4 Review

    Morris (2002, p.174) sighted notable philosophers, politicians and other prominent persons who believed the treatment of a prisoner is an instrumental indictor of a civilized society. Without difference, Morris (2002, p176) puts forward his ideas of improved educational, vocational training programs and psychological evaluation followed by treatment with the goal of reducing a relapse into criminal behavior.…

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Conflict Theory Of Private Prisons
    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Conflict Theory Of Private Prisons

    There are many different ethical issues in our society. One ethical issue that has been risen are if prisons are really being used as a deterrence for crime, or have the economic tags to the inmates overlooked that? The issue of whether the reasoning behind private prisons are ethical or not will be further addressed in the paper using two theoretical perspectives: the functionalism theory and the conflict theory. However, I will be arguing that private prisons plays a beneficial role in our everyday lives.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Kingdom of Matthias
    • 10960 Words
    • 44 Pages

    Kingdom of Matthias

    "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". ©…

    • 10960 Words
    • 44 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Obeying Authority
    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Essay On Obeying Authority

    When obeying authority one can often loose thought of morals and beliefs. In the experiments the men obey the authority figure by doing cruel things they would not usually do. These experiments turn mentally stable men into a person willing to inflict harsh punishments on innocent people while following orders. Night by Elie Wiesel, The Milgram Shock Experiment, and the stanford prison experiment shows how obedience to an authority can cause people to stray from their conscience.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Immanuel Kant On Guilt And Punishment
    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Immanuel Kant On Guilt And Punishment

    For Immanuel Kant, guilt is considered a necessary condition for punishment and judicial punishment can never be used merely as a means to promote some other good for the criminal himself or civil society. He argues that, an offender must first be found to be deserving of punishment before any consideration is given to the utility of punishment for himself or his fellow citizens. In this view, utilitarian concerns can never justify the punishment of an innocent person while guilt itself demands punishment even where punishment is entirely devoid of social utility. Therefore, again we observe that the best action is the one that maximizes utility and can be applied in various ways, but most commonly relates to the maintenance of healthy emotional…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Tim O'Brien Research Paper
    • 1720 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Tim O'Brien Research Paper

    Hacht, Anne, and Hayes D. Dwayne., ed. Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature. 4 vols. Detroit: Gale Press, 2009. Print.…

    • 1720 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy Of Sentencing
    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Philosophy Of Sentencing

    This paper is written in an attempt to comprehend the sentencing philosophy and purpose of criminal punishment through a review of the historical parameters concerning how sentencing and punishment serve society. Sentencing is the application of justice and the end result of a criminal conviction which is applied by the convening authority; followed by the sentence, or judgement of the court on a convicted offender. What makes punishment unique to our society is the application of our moral or ethical beliefs as a whole, and by the population at large. Throughout history, the sentencing and administration of punishments have been swift, brutal and often times ending with the death of the offender, but in our more civilized and modern society,…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Death Penalty Argumentative Analysis
    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Death Penalty Argumentative Analysis

    Today, the death penalty is an issue that has raised many questions in regards to its morality. Many people believe that the death penalty is immoral for a number of factors, some of which being the execution of innocents, the arbitrary application of the death penalty, and the racial and economic discrimination with the system. Many others believe that the death penalty is moral, for it gives people what they deserve, the criminals were fully aware of the consequences that may fall upon them, and that justice is being served for the victims and families of the victims still suffering from the actions of the criminal. In this paper I will argue that from a Deontological standpoint, the death penalty is morally just. To do this, I will first describe the basics of the theory of Deontology in general, so that you, the reader, can begin to understand some of the fundamental beliefs that Kant, the father of Deontology,…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Silko's Essay
    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Silko's Essay

    4 Does Silko acknowledge views about the subject that are different from her own? What is Silko’s attitude towards those who hold different views? Evaluate how well Silko includes and responds to an opposing point of view.…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Punishment In A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess
    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Punishment In A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess

    The question of what is right and what is wrong has been debated for a long time. It has evolved to what we see in today's morals and ethics. These can be enforced through laws, incentives, or other methods. Not everyone follows these morals and ethics, which leads to them being punished. Punishment is another area of controversy.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics