A Much Misunderstood Character: A Clockwork Orange
Antisocial Personality Disorder, often referred to as sociopathy, is a mental defect which involves the consistent neglection of common morals and the rights and well-being of others. Those who suffer from this disorder are likely to antagonize and treat others inhumanely or with cruel apathy while showing no remorse for their actions. “Individuals with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use” (Mayo Clinic). These traits are easily affiliated with Anthony Burgess’s character Alex in A Clockwork Orange. Though he was never diagnosed with ASPD, Alex objectively suffers from this disorder due to the way he expresses himself and treats others. Following his arrest for murder, Alex agrees to undergo a treatment in order to subtract time from his sentencing. The Ludovico Technique, a form of aversion therapy, is intended to cure Alex of his violent tendencies and rid him of his mental disorder.
After reading the novel A Clockwork Orange, it is suggested that Alex is the epitome of evil. However, the reader does not consider the environmental and psychological dispositions that have shaped him into the individual he became. In this essay, the assertion that Alex had an increased chance to contract Antisocial Personality Disorder than other members of his dystopia will be demonstrated. This information will allow the reader to see past the metaphors and melodrama and into a character who is not nefarious, but mentally unstable and misunderstood by the audience.
Alex is undoubtedly one of the most well known characters in the domain of literature, and is even considered to be one of the notable antagonists in cinema history. While deliberating about “little Alex,” the terms sociopath and psychopath are used conversely due to the lack of a diagnosis for his condition, but it is a certainty that Alex suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder. In order to be diagnosed with ASP
D it is required that the individual is at least 18 years old and must have experienced symptoms of disorderly conduct prior to 15 years of age (Mayo Clinic). Alex is presented as a fifteen year old, but by the end of the novel is eighteen, another factor that plays a role in confirming Alex’s condition. In the novel, Alex is depicted as a white male who lives in an impoverished near-future dystopian city with his parents in a graffiti covered building. Throughout the novel, Alex does not form any type of personal relationships with any of the characters that cross his path, including his “droogs”, the woman he rapes, the homeless man, or his parents. However, Alex expresses his appreciation and adoration for the music of Beethoven. Alex admiringly refers to the German composer as “Lovely Ludwig Van” (Burgess p. 44).
Alex is the leader among his droogs, and will willingly assert his dominance with violence when tested. He introduces his droogs with degrading nicknames and traits to make himself seem more likeable to the reader, as not only more knowledgeable but more capable. Being the narrator, Alex constantly refers to the audience as “brother” in an attempt to form a bond with his audience. During the entirety of narration, Alex alludes to himself with traits that demonstrate him as a good, trustworthy, and decent individual. Alex narration and self-depiction of himself are all attempts to subdue the severity of the destruction he really thinks and does. Alex and his peers enjoy to commit acts that they refer to as “ultraviolence” (p. 20), which involves rape, stealing, beating, and unfortunately murder.
“Manipulation and deceit are fundamental factors of antisocial personality disorder” (Mayo Clinic). Every character that Alex has encountered has been manipulated or deceived by him in some way. A perfect example is the prison priest that Alex is sent to after he was locked up for murder. Alex formed a superficial relationship with the priest, chatting about his newly found love for the Bible and religion in general. In reality, Alex was divulging in acts of violence, specifically the torture of Jesus Christ. Alex’s behavior in prison is different than his usual self, he created a personality for himself that would please the guards with the approach that he could use them for his own personal gain. Subsequently, Alex uses the priest in an attempt to get out of prison sooner.
To better understand what disorder Alex has, it is important that there is an understanding as to why he commits these acts of violence, what encourages Alex to reach the breaking point which results in such destruction. “The psychoanalytic theory suggests that personality is created by strifes and unconscious motivations. Accordingly, Freud who developed the psychodynamic perspective established the idea of an id, ego, and superego. These structures are held in different parts of our conscious” (Mcleod). Alex is identified as the physical embodiment of the Id, an arrangement in the unconscious that embodies our natural impulses and primal urges. This can be observed during his violent fits and rapes. No meditation occurs between his Id, the urges, the conscience, and the superego; an internal moral authority, which when granted a situation where one could choose to rape someone, not surrender to those emotions. Alex doesn’t describe an internal affair between what is morally right and his what he actually is feeling, even when exposed to the Ludovico Technique. The instinct to commit these ultra-violent acts are present, but only to be met with severe nausea, but not because it is morally wrong.
After further analysis of the book, it is clear that environmental, physiological, and socio-economic dispositions made Alex more vulnerable to develop antisocial personality disorder. As mentioned before, Alex came from an area of low income and high crime rate due to the government’s lack of addressing the destruction and the police neglecting crimes. As a form of self-defense, Alex developed violent behavior to defend himself. Alex has a hard time being diagnosed with ASPD due to his age. When the novel begins he is fifteen years old and it’s easy to assume that he has been committing these acts of violence long before the story begins. At the same time, it is demonstrated that he has many conduct disorders that can be useful in diagnosing him when he turns eighteen. In addition, Alex’s relationship with his parents is essentially tenuous. In conclusion, the neglect Alex experiences from his parents connect to his bitterness and lack of empathy for others.
