Best known as the source text for Kubrick's movie, this novel is set in a near-future where teen gangs are running wild and engaging in acts of brutal violence, until a revolutionary—and controversial—new form of treatment suggests a possible way of stopping crime for good by brainwashing criminals into feeling sickly at the mere thought of fisticuffs. The plot follows fifteen-year-old Alex as he goes from violent criminal to test subject before finally being released back into society, with Burgess posing a range of ethical questions along the way.
The book's title is an important metaphor—what might this mechanical fruit have to do with the themes tackled throughout the novel?
Burgess argues that morality should come from free will. How does the debate about whether the "Ludovico technique" is unethical or whether the results justify the process fit into the ethical concerns addressed in cultural studies more broadly?