“Throughout the Novel the Boundaries Between Good and Evil Are Continuously Blurred, Leaving the Reader with Moral Uncertainty

Totalitarianism involves the state commanding total authority over a society and seeking to control all aspects of public and private life. TBT is set in Nazi Germany where every part of society is tightly controlled and is about how the characters deal with the oppressive nature of Adolf Hitler’s regime. On the other hand in ACO a dystopian novel set in a futuristic world, the totalitarian government is in its embryonic stage, as democracy still exists at the start of the text.   However, the government is becoming more repressive and absolute through the course of the novella.   On the other hand, we might argue that the draw of anarchy and the portrayal of human evil within ACO is a more oppressive force than totalitarianism just as the best of humanity shown through kindness and compassion is seen to triumph despite despotism in TBT.   Arguably, these two these two themes succeed in thwarting the oppressive nature of the government.
ACO is a dystopian novel set in an unspecified future and "shows a seriously malfunctioning society" . In part one it is harder to see the oppressive government controlling the society that Alex lives in, it is focussed on Alex and his three “droogs” exercising their free will by committing acts of “ultra violence” and stealing as they please. On top of this the reader does not have a clear view of the story line as Burgess’ first person narrator; Alex is an ‘average teenager on the street’ who provides us with an unreliable and blinkered viewpoint. He does not care enough about his education "I thought I would not go to school" So is unable to give an objective overview of the entire political situation within the society they live in. Therefore, the reader has no choice but to rely on clues that Burgess has weaved into the narrative to understand the subtle gaining of oppressive power by the corrupt government. Burgess might have used this technique in order to warn readers of the danger that can come to those who are complacent to...