Choose one of the following topics: A. To what extent might fear dictate whom we are, both as individuals and as society? B. Investigate the idea that although Alex “ceases to be a wrongdoer. He
ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice” (82): does this invalidate him as a person? Is personhood connected to choice? C. In what ways and for what reasons might Burgess exploit
Russian and the nasdat language? What is the effect on the reader? D. What happens to our understanding of evil if we grant that evil people can experience aesthetic pleasure? To flip this over, is
it evil to harness aesthetic pleasure as part of aversion therapy? E. Consider what is normal or “healthy” in the novel from a variety of perspectives, including the final chapter: what claim do
you think Burgess is making about “health” both of the individual and the society? F. Examine the competing visions of masculinity throughout the novel. Which version do you think Burgess finally
endorses and what are the consequences of that position? G. How does irony help define this dystopia? H. Examine the debates among the various authorities as Alex is being treated: what, for these
authorities, are the key issues? And how do these issues result in social policy? I. Look carefully at the consequences of Alex’s treatment during Part Three, when he re-enters society, paying
particular attention to Alex as “a victim of the modern age” (100). Examine the idea of victimhood and humanity.