Blindness in A Clockwork Orange In the novel A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess tried to show the importance of individual freedom over doing the right thing. He took an extreme example of violence and perverse acts to accentuate his strong belief. It is my opinion that Burgess was blind to some essential truths in his attempt to secure personal freedom. Personal freedom can be described as acting on your own initiative and not being limited by the social paradigm you live in. This is definitely a noble cause, all men should have the right to choose the path of their own life. You may have the right to choose your actions, but you are not allowed to impose your freedom on others. This is the point at which Burgess's supposed vision becomes hypocritical. Alex has imposed himself on the personal freedom of others and in doing so he is no better than the State that rehabilitated him. If one violently imposes itself on the personal freedom of another, a reaction will occur. If a rabid dog is roaming your neighborhood, do you allow it to continue doing so? The dog as you knew was once an affectionate creature who always played with children and never threatened the postman, but today it threatens the lives of everyone in your community. The dog's life is over and he is freed from his illness. Alex is sick just like a rabid dog, he is perverse and while it may not be his fault, just as it wasn't the dog's fault that he became rabid, his threat to others must be neutralized. I question the real freedom that Alex believes he has. He seems to be burdened by his emotional illness and perversity. Alex is a slave to his supposed freedom, dictated by the feelings of other people living... in the middle of paper... 40s. The fact that the book was interpreted from a youthful point of view, whether we like it or not is associated with naivety and innocence, also downplayed the acts of violence that were occurring. In the film it is not so easy to identify with Alex, since he is portrayed as an adult. I then noticed the parallel with the theme of the “power of propaganda”, illustrated in the second section. Alex is given the remediation treatment, the use of propaganda films and reflex conditioning drugs, which addresses the brainwashing fears evident in that era. For me this is a much stronger theme than that of freedom of choice, which I talked about earlier in the essay. I'm not sure exactly what Burgess was trying to show with this book, all I know is that it revealed to me what propaganda can achieve if done correctly.