A Clockwork Orange Fate and Free Will Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

And what, brothers, I had to escape into sleep from then was the horrible and wrong feeling that it was better to get the hit than give it. If that veck had stayed I might even have like presented the other cheek. (2.6.39)

To Alex, it is not natural for a person to do what Jesus Christ advises – to "turn the other cheek" when attacked. In this situation, Alex laments that he might have been conditioned (forced) to act upon this advice against his free will.

Quote #8

Dr. Brodsky said to the audience: "Our subject is, you see, impelled towards the good by, paradoxically, being impelled towards evil. The intention to act violently is accompanied by strong feelings of physical distress. To counter these the subject has to switch to a diametrically opposed attitude. Any questions?" (2.7.12)

How does Dr. Brodsky convince himself that it is natural for humans to choose to be nonviolent in order to avoid getting sick by thinking violent thoughts? How can it be natural if your acts are dictated by fear or avoidance behavior and not by free will?

Quote #9

"Choice," rumbled a rich deep goloss. I viddied it belonged to the prison charlie. "He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice." (2.7.13)

In other words, if Alex ceases to be a wrongdoer only because he is afraid of physical pain, he ceases to be human or, by extension, a creature capable of making moral choices or using his free will.