

Shared Themes In A Clockwork Orange And Never Let Me Go

2295 words - 10 pages

A Clockwork Orange and Never Let Me go are both set in a dystopian future. They both deal with a young protagonist trying to accept their fate in their respective societies. However. They are very different people, Alex Delarge is very impulsive and quick to anger person, Kathy H. is very empathetic and mild-mannered person. But they can still both be considered an “anti-hero”, they have that in common. Therefore both of these books share many themes, but since they were written in two different time periods, and the societies of these dystopian futures are very different, they have different approaches/views as to how to deal with the problems present in the novels.
Both novels are written ...view middle of the document...

The writings of George Orwell, Meir Gillon, and Aldous Huxley were the writings he ones he cited as providing inspiration. The Russian inspired “slovos” comes from one of his short stay in Leningrad as well.
The governments in both novels are highly involved in the protagonists’ lives. They are both test subjects for experiments done by the government. In both cases the experiments are done so that the government can gain something. The government does not care what happens to either of them, they just want to get what they want done. The main goal of the government in both societies is to stay in power.
In A Clockwork Orange it is to find out if it is possible to stop criminals from behaving in their reckless and violent manner. Therefore Alex is experimented on; in the experiment he loses his ability to make his own conscience decisions as all human beings are capable to do. In Never Let Me Go it is to harvest organs so that the “human” society can benefit. They are “being stripped of their identity and labeled as mere copies” (Marcks). In both cases the protagonists are being made less than human. This then brings the question if what the government is and is capable of doing is morally correct and what makes an individual a human. In A Clockwork Orange it is said that a freedom of choice is what makes an individual human. In Never Let Me Go it is their ability to be artistic and creative makes them individual humans. In the process of trying to help their whole society they put more value on the whole society over the individual person.
When they find out what is being done to him, Alex tries to react in anger, but since he’s lost all human will to the governments experiment he can do anything. In the society he lives in he is no longer capable of defending himself in now, he’s brutally beat up multiple times, once by police men who used to be his old “droogs”. He just wants what was done to him reversed. But the government wants it to be believed that he is doing the “socially accepted course of action” because he now has a “truly Christian” person (Otilia 66). Now the questions arise; is this morally correct for a government to do and is Alex still human after their actions? Alex has no choice in his own destiny, he does not have a fundamental trait that all humans do, the ability to choose. "Very hard ethical questions are involved," he went on. "You are to be made into a good boy, 6655321. Never again will you have the desire to commit acts of violence or to offend in any way whatsoever against the State's Peace. I hope you take all that in. I hope you are absolutely clear in your own mind about that." (Burgess 106). This trait that may not seem like much, it might be taken for granted, but it is what separates us from tools, machines, robots, etc. none of these have ability to make their own conscience decisions. Even Alex took this for granted in the start, when he found out he was going to be the guinea pig for the governments...

Other Papers Like Shared Themes In A Clockwork Orange And Never Let Me Go

"A Clockwork Orange" By Anthony Burgess

1783 words - 8 pages "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess follows the life of a young juvenile delinquent by the name of Alex. Throughout the novel we learn in depth about the young protagonist, Alex, including his love for music and his apparent passion toward violence. Burgess uses bizarre, yet apt language choice in this novel which helps you relate to the main character in an easier manner, hence improving the appeal and success of this text. The novel deals

Let Me In Pls Essay

567 words - 3 pages Let me in pls Let me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me in plsLet me

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

1540 words - 7 pages A Clockwork Orange is a book written by Anthony Burgess. It takes place in a somewhat futuristic Britain. The book is written with the point of view of the anti-hero, Alex. Alex is a 16 year old criminal who is involved in rape, violence, murder and robbery throughout the book. The book is divided into three parts, each part with seven chapters (three times seven is twenty-one, the official age of adulthood in Britain, where the book takes place

1. Why Would Any Customer, Let Alone Large Advertising Agencies And Departmental Stores, Go To Colorscope Rather Than Go To The Large Printers Listed In Exhibit 3?

1649 words - 7 pages Seyhun Shikhaliyev CASE STUDY COLORSCOPE 1. Why would any customer, let alone large advertising agencies and departmental stores, go to Colorscope rather than go to the large printers listed in Exhibit 3? The main line from the colorscope inc background are the corporate was found in march 1976, the first target customers is local customers (small agencies), and after that colorscope growth significantly that thing can be proved in

Medicare and a Never-Event

1017 words - 5 pages Medicare and a Never-Event Factors that places a patient at risk for pressures ulcers With new policy set in place by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of no longer providing hospitals and health care organization with reimbursements for hospital acquired conditions such as bed sore or pressure ulcers, leaving the cost with the organization. The policy requires administrators and health care workers to take a closer look

Me In A Shell

746 words - 3 pages , satellites, and newspapers we can now communicate across the world to help spread news faster and even make purchases from countries on the other side of the planet. This makes for a more fast paced society, meaning we no longer have the patience for waiting for information or products to purchase. Many think that with these advances we have forgotten the simple pleasures in life and are more prone to health problems associated with higher demands

The Virtues Of Love In Shakespeare's "Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds"

1036 words - 5 pages true love is not; then, he moves on to tell what true love is and how it withstands the test of time. The first quatrain paints a picture of what love is not. "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments; love is not love" (lines 1-2). In these lines, the speaker is saying that he will not accept that problems can terminate the relationship between two people who are truly in love. The first line of this sonnet uses

Sports And Drugs Go Hand In Hand

1018 words - 5 pages Ben Johnson, a Canadian, gave a world record time for the 100 meter sprint at 9.79 seconds at the Seoul Olympics. He was given gold, and even sweeter, beat American rival Carl Lewis. In his moment of glory, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal, world record, and banned from competition for two years. Reason? He tested positive for anabolic steroid. Carl Lewis became the world's fastest man. Within 15 years, he was found to have tested positive

To Kill A Mockingbird-Themes And Techniques

1533 words - 7 pages There are various issues and themes presented in the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "The Rabbits" by John Marsden and illustrated by Shaun Tan. These themes are being smoothly conveyed through the use of different language techniques including complex metaphors, similes, hyperboles, imagery, personification and symbolism. Among the main themes used in the novels are courage, prejudice, hypocrisy, justice, education, social

Themes In Once And Future King

1845 words - 8 pages anachronism can be found during a discussion between Merlyn and Wart, when Merlyn exclaims "Castor and Pollux blow me to Bermuda!" (86). During the days of Arthur, Bermuda was an unknown place, and would not be discovered until the fifteenth century. Though these references have no true significance to the plot of the story, White uses anachronism as a device to aid the reader in association with the context. And, as in other of White's

In "Twenty-One Stories" Graham Greene Is Concerned With A Number Of Themes. Choose Any One Of These Themes And Discuss By Making Close Reference To His Collection

710 words - 3 pages Death is among the themes which are explored in Twenty-One Stories just like relationships, childhood, religion and others. "The Basement Room", "A Case for the Defence" and "A Drive in the Country" are stories related to the theme of death. However, there are others in which death is featured more prominently.Greene speaks about death in conjunction with fear. It is clearly seen in "The End of the Party" and "The Second Death". In the former

Related Essays

Moral Stagnation In Frankenstein And Never Let Me Go

1885 words - 8 pages Moral Stagnation in Frankenstein and Never Let me Go The two different science fictions; â€œFrankensteinâ€ and â€œNever let me goâ€ reflect similar kind of problems but in a different time and setup. Both of these works are about tampering the laws of natureLife and Death. Frankenstein is more of a science fairy tale that makes one skeptic about the possibilities mentioned in the story while never let me go seems realistic and happening

Identity In A Clockwork Orange Essay

871 words - 4 pages Identity: In A Clockwork Orange Identity is a common theme in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess; it also takes many forms both physical and mental. The main character, Alex, is subject to much change/adaptation to his identity. At the start of the book he is a young 15 year old youth who love nothing but as he describes it a night of â€˜ultra violenceâ€™ yet by the end of the novella after serious scrutiny and manipulation on behalf of

A Clockwork Orange Essay

3283 words - 14 pages major themes of good, referring to the fact that we are all given a choice in everything we do but what happens when someone’s choice is taken away and made for them, who’s making the decisions in that scenario? A Clockwork Orange was written to make us all think about the choices we do and do not make and never take for granted the fact we live in a society that allows us to at least think that we’re are free to make whatever choice we like and

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange Essay

959 words - 4 pages Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange What makes Alex build his pleasure on others’ pain? Is it immoral? -Alex’s background (material life of his family without spiritual education) -He cannot understand morality as he cannot experience in his life. The morality in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is difficult to be judged. Since the narrator and the protagonist is Alex, the audiences are led to the subjective world of him. The