Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2017, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (4): 71-79.

• English Literature Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Anti-Utopian Thoughts in The Clockwork Orange and The Wanting Seed

Wang Yiping   

  • Online:2017-08-25 Published:2022-06-15
  • About author:Wang Yiping, Ph.D in Literature, is associate research fellow at Sichuan University (Chengdu 610065, China), mainly engaged in the study of contemporary English literature. Email: yipingwang@scu.edu.cn

Abstract: The Clockwork Orange and The Wanting Seed are anti-utopian novels written by the renowned British writer Anthony Burgess, aiming at criticizing the controversial utopian plan. The phenomena of violent crime and population boom are discussed in the novels respectively, and both novels deal with the issue of original sin as well as the argument between advocators of free will and determinism, which is the principal of utopian thoughts. To realize utopia, should the individuals be disabled from committing crime and forced to devote themselves to the utopian social construction? In the two novels, the social cycle which works from Pelagian Phase, Intermediate Phase to Augustinian Phase in human history undermines the foundation of utopian thoughts.

Key words: The Clockwork Orange, The Wanting Seed, Anthony Burgess, free will, “second-order volitions”, original sin

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