Moral Choices In The Film Adaptation Of A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess, born in a conservative Christian family, expresses his contradiction between the idea of “free will” and “destined to be saved by the God”, especially in his dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange.A Clockwork Orange is a classical scientific fiction. It is set in the near future England, and creates one of the most violent figures in contemporary literature, namely, the protagonist Alex, who seems to be evil with no morality. The novel satirizes and questions the autocratic government, which compels inhuman reformation on the people, thus leading human’s reflection on moral choice.This thesis consists of three chapters. Chapter One starts from the filmic narrative structure and plot, and discusses the multiple roles of the protagonist in both the novel and the film. This chapter can be divided into two parts. The first part develops from the angle of the offender’s role, and takes the story as a circle of violence. The offender in the novel jumps out of the circle for his introspection, which shows that one can get his redemption when he is truly repentant. But the film ends up with an open ending without giving clear implication, namely, the issue of repentance and redemption. The second part develops from the angle of the victim’s role. The novelist integrates the role of himself and the victim into the offender, and approves the punishment to the offender, but in the meantime he questions the punitive way that imposed on the offender. Burgess insists that the offender should have moral freedom, which also reflects his contradictory views on individual emotions and social moralities. While the film tries to gets rid of social morality, and describes the attitude of the victim as an ordinary person.Chapter Two mainly discusses the visual adaptation according to the spatial and composed principle in photography. This chapter can be divided into two parts. The first part describes the differences between the novel and the film in spatial settings. The sci-fictional setting in the novel is closer to classical style or the reality, and even filled with the religious moral elements such as the Crucifixion of Jesus. All these factors are raised to warn the offender and readers with the moral superiority. However in the film, the fictional background makes it possible for the binary space(reality &fantasy): the outside evil reality and the fantastic inner evil space, offers enough place for the struggle between inner evil and traditional morality, and reflects the universal evil is in fact rooted in human’s heart and make them identify with Alex. The second part focuses on the differences in composed scenes when describing the violence. The novel shows its partiality for the victim, and intends to highlight the brutality of the offenders and the weakness of the victims, while the film keeps its neutrality to record the story, and expects the evaluations from the audience without any moral superiority.Chapter Three discusses the adaptations in language and music. This chapter can be divided into two parts. The first part introduces the special Nadsat Language in the novel, and integrates the vulgar and obscene words into the scene, thus cause the aversion to violence. But the film chooses elegant and poetic language instead of the novel’s brutal language, and indicates that the moral evaluation has nothing to do with the educational background and external cultivation, even in the mask of poets and saints. In the second part, the discussion starts in taking the music as the moral choice that Alex chooses. In the novel, the preference of protagonist changes from fierce symphony into mild cantilena. This changing regards music as a metaphor of life stage: a rebellious teenager would change into a resigned adult, and then accepted and assimilated by the community. But the film deals with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which stands for freedom and anti-tradition throughout Alex’s various life stages. Alex’s choice in the film suggests that he pursues his freedom in moral and life choices.The conclusion summarizes the full text from the aspect of the different moral choices in the novel and its film adaptation. It analyzes the moral tendencies and artistic notions of both the author and the director. Burgess holds the view that people in their young ages would make mistakes because of their rebellious nature, and finally they would grow up and return to the society. And human’s life is also destined to like a clockwork orange in god’s hand and finally rescued by God. But Burgess is influenced by the doctrine of Pelagius’ s free will, which advocates human’s right to choose good or evil, and questions the imposed punishment on the offenders, which would break the moral nobility. Burgess gives his novel and protagonist this religious morality, and suggests the moral tendency and guidance that the novel should have. Kubrick’s film version removes the moralization of the novel: the moralization should not be necessary or even the standard for the film. In the art field of film, the artistic principle is prior to the moral principle. The film is trying to record the story in an amoral view through the adaptation in narrative structures and audio-visual effects. Kubrick emphasizes the ability to choose good or evil without any moral tendency, leaving the moral question to the audience and expecting their independent thinking and aesthetic awareness. And the film version states that we should set up the rational morality without personal desires and preferences, because morality can not be imposed on human or art, it is the inner conscience and restricted for cultivating ourselves.