Article Analysis #2 - 0 views
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A Clockwork Orange registers Burgess's deeply felt conflict about the need to control violence while at the same time respecting the freedom of the individual to choose goodness over evil.
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Argument: In her article, "Anthony Burgess: An Overview," Mary Lowe-Evans asserts that in A Clockwork Orange Burgess displayed his deep concern for the epidemic of violence and freedom to choose between write and wrong. She forms her argument by mentioning unethical studies that influenced Burgess' writing in A Clockwork Orange. She also refers to the Nadsat language in the novel, stating that Burgess revealed his feelings towards free-will, good and evil through the main character, Alex.Evidence: "More troubling for Burgess was the failure of Skinner's behavior modification strategies to recognize the importance of free will (a primary tenet of Catholic theology) in a properly functioning human being." "Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings and divided by four, nor to do the ultra violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in a shop and go smecking off with the till's guts," (Burgess).Thoughts: The citations Mary Lowe-Evans uses further support her assertions; by demonstrating concerns the time period she adds another dimension towards Burgess' motive in writing. Her argument is coherent and organized, maintaining a logical explanation of Anthony Burgess' beliefs shown throughout his work.