A Clockwork Orange or A Precocious One? A Quest for Alex's Disappearing Childhood
Abstract
Anthony Burgess'A Clockwork Orangeboth remains a work illustrating the effulgence of free will and is a masterpiece reflecting the malignant social environment that children face, which mainly results in the acceleration of the disappearance of their childhood. With the aid of George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory in the field of communication, the assertions inNeil Postman's The Disappearance of Childhood, some findings in music studies and the research in history background, and from the perspectives of the self-seeking government, Alex's "Childified" parents, the negligence of school and Alex's predicament, this thesis aims at revealing the vicious surroundings that children like Alex have long been immersed in, proffering the possibility of their coerced choice instead of choosing their fate out of free will, for under the influence of mass media and social misdeeds, children have no option but to resort to evil and violence to protect themselves. The conclusion of this thesis reveals the anxiety of the disappearance of childhood, illuminating the urgency of protecting childhood in our times.
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