Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Clockwork Orange Roman Catholic - 1,343 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

... e (Burgess, Clockwork 15). In the movie version of A Clockwork Orange, this scene shows the rape being committed on an actual stage. An example of a rather bizarre simile can also be found in chapter one with Alex's, .".. there I was dancing about with my briton like I might be a barber on board a ship on a very rough sea, trying to get in at him with a few fair slashes on his unclean oily list" The mechanics of A Clockwork Orange exist to emphasize its tone, which is one of informality, outrageousness, and pure bloody violence. This tone, combined with the beliefs of Anthony Burgess, creates an outlet for the philosophical discussion of many fundamental human questions. "What does God want?

Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?" (Burgess, Clockwork 95). The most principle theme of A Clockwork Orange involves the freedom of a man to choose between good and evil, or Pelagianism vs. Augustinianism. Pelagius denied that God predestined our lives; he believed humans had absolute power over their own salvation. In response to Pelagius, Augustine upheld the doctrine of original sin and defended the orthodox belief in predestination with the paradox of free choice for salvation.

The Catholic Church eventually took a position somewhere between these two extremes (Utting). In the history of the church the classic controversy concerning the nature of the Fall and its effects is that waged by Augustine at the beginning of the 5 th century against the advocates of the Pelagian heresy. The latter taught that Adam's sin affected only himself and not the human race as a whole, that every individual is born free from sin and capable in his own power of living a sinless life, and that there had even been persons who had succeeded in doing so. The controversy and its implications may be studied with profit in Augustine's anti-Pelagian writings. Pelagianism, with its affirmation of the total ability of man, came to the fore again in the Socinianism of the 16 th and 17 th centuries, and continues under the guise of A halfway position is taken by the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that what man lost through the Fall was a supernatural gift of original righteousness that did not belong properly to his being as man but was something extra added by God, with the consequence that the Fall left man in his natural state as created: he has suffered a negative rather than a positive evil; deprivation rather than deprivation. This teaching opens the door for the affirmation of the ability and indeed necessity of unregenerate man to contribute towards the achievement of his salvation (semi-Pelagianism, synergism), which is characteristic of the Roman Catholic theology of man and grace. (Hughes, The Fall) Burgess was raised in a Catholic household, and although his faith in Catholicism lapsed as an adult, his questions surrounding predestination surfaced in A Clockwork Orange.

In it, he "expresses his view that no matter how 'good' one's actions are, unless one has free moral choice, he is spiritually damned" (Bash). It would be better, then, for Alex to have remained bad than to have had goodness forced upon him. Choosing evil is better than not choosing at all. Burgess used Alex's accidental conditioning against classical music to further show that people must have power over their choices, for if the choice of bad is taken away from them, then some good, found in their humanness, must also be taken away: It was not the intention of his State manipulators to induce this bonus or malus: it is purely an accident that, from now on, [Alex] will automatically react to Mozart or Beethoven as he will to rape or murder. The State has succeeded in its primary aim: to deny Alex free moral choice, which, to the State, means choice of evil. But it has added an unforeseen punishment: the gates of heaven are closed to the boy, since music is a figure of celestial bliss.

The State has committed a double sin: it has destroyed a human being, since humanity is defined by freedom of moral choice; it has also destroyed Another very important theme in A Clockwork Orange is that of youth vs. old age. The novel shows lawless youngsters taking over society. In the first part of the book, Alex and his gang beat a drunken old man. As they are kicking him and cussing at him, they feel almost proud to be putting the poor old man out of his misery, as there is no place for the elderly in their new world. Meanwhile, the old man staggers out, "It's a stinking world because it lets the young get on to the old like you done, and there's no law or order no more" (Burgess, Clockwork 14).

However, after Alex receives his treatment things begin to change, and in the end, age does -- at least temporarily -- overcome youth. A large group of old men in a library attack Alex with their canes and wheelchairs and Alex is unable to defend himself (Burgess, Clockwork 144). Alex does not have freedom, and in taking it away, the older generation has seized back their nation. The illusion versus reality theme in A Clockwork Orange is not often spoken of, but is, nevertheless, one of the novel's more prevalent themes. One might say Alex's whole life is an illusion, or that the society exists only as an illusion, but A Clockwork Orange also reminds us that sometimes illusion is reality. Alex has vivid dreams throughout the book, and each one of them proves to be prophetic.

In the beginning of A Clockwork Orange, Alex dreams of J. S. Bach, and somehow connects it with Home. His dream then wanders to the book he had seen at Home -- the book which describes his own future hell -- the book entitled A Clock Work Orange (Burgess, Clockwork 33). Once in jail, Alex dreams of Beethoven's blessed Ninth, but just as he starts to enjoy it, the music begins to say nasty things to him, a vision of his later reaction to the music as a result of his treatment (Burgess, Clockwork 73). Alex has a similar dream after he finds out about the treatment and decides he wants to take part in it.

He is playing in Beethoven's orchestra, but his instrument is his own flesh. Whenever he hears the music, he feels mad and sick (Burgess, Clockwork 89). After Alex's treatment, he lives out his first day as a machine, goes to sleep, then wakes up the next morning and says, "I had a real horrors how night's sleep, brothers, with no dreams at all" (Burgess, Clockwork 158). Because Alex's reality as a human has ended, the illusions which have guided him through humanity have also ended. Alex has lost his visionary abilities to symbolize his loss of the part of him that was him.

After Alex is hypnotized out of treatment, he dreams again, this time of feeling clean, whole, hopeful A Clockwork Orange is one of the most complex books of our era. It is also one of the most studied, and one of the most misunderstood. Burgess used his abilities as a linguist to spin a futuristic tale of violence and reformation. Our subconscious mind wants to give Alex the freedom to kill and rape, while our conscious mind understands society's need for well-behaved citizens. A Clockwork Orange speaks to the philosopher, the theologian, and the psychologist in all of us, and its message becomes more Burgess, Anthony. 1985. London: Hutchinson & Co. , 1994 -- -.

A Clockwork Orange. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1962. -- -. Foreword: "A Clockwork Orange Reduced. " A Clockwork Orange. New York: Hughes P.

E. , The Fall, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, England: Utting, Bruce. "Common themes of A Clockwork Orange. " Bibliography:


Free research essays on topics related to: moral choice, clockwork orange, clockwork, catholic church, roman catholic

Research essay sample on Clockwork Orange Roman Catholic

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com