Free Essays - A Clockwork Orange is Not Obscene -- Clockwork Orange E

A Clockwork Orange is Not Obscene Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange describes a horrific world in an apathetic society has allowed its youth to run wild. The novel describes the senseless violence perpetrated by teens, who rape women and terrorize the elderly. The second part of the novel describes how the protagonist, Alex, is "cured" by being drugged and then forced to watch movies of atrocities. The novel warns against both senseless violence and senseless goodness - of the danger of not being allowed to choose between good and evil. Though attacked as obscene in Orem, Utah in 1973, the book does not meet the legal definition of obscenity. While it contains possibly offensive language and violent imagery, these are not all that make up the novel. It is a powerful social commentary; a warning against growing lazy and desiring a quick fix to the problems of society. To be legally defined as obscene, a work must be completely lacking in redeeming social value. However, A Clockwork Orange has both social and literary value. It is a shocking warning of what t...