Each generation has a different set of moral values. The older generation often sees the younger generation as loose and depraved, while the younger ones see the crusty old folks as uptight and no fun.
However, it's often the older folks making the laws that the younger ones have to abide by. This creates a volatile imbalance in the system. In A Clockwork Orange, the morality of the young folks seems to have completely run dry, but how did it get to this point? The amoral gangs don't exist independently of society; they live in it and their behavior is a reaction to their surroundings and to their elders. Who will win the battle of the ethics?
Questions about Morality and Ethics
- Does Alex have his own version of morality, or is he completely unethical?
- Does Alex develop any sort of morals during the course of the movie?
- Why are there so many boys like Alex in this society? Did society's lack of morality lead to gang activity, or does gang activity cause society's lack of morality?
Chew on This
Ethics are very important to people. Society disapproves of the Ludovico technique, even if it is successful, because they consider it unethical.
Morality and ethics serve to keep humans' base emotions in check, but Alex acts almost entirely on his basic primal human instincts.