Demo instance: a JournTech demo prepared by HB Tech for Hacettepe University, not an official university site. Records are samples from public sources; submissions and reviews are fictional.
TR
Article

Re-Visiting Madness: A Comparative Study of 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'The Power'

  1. ISTANBUL AYDIN UNIVERSITY

Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, Volume 0, Issue Advanced Online (2025) pp. 450–458

  • 2025
  • English
CiteAccess the publication on the external site

This record comes from the journal's DergiPark archive; original page: DergiPark

Abstract

Dystopian novels are known for presenting brutal and challenging circumstances that lead characters to adopt an anti-authoritarian stance in their quest for freedom. In Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962), Alex, a fifteen-year-old, engages in various violent acts, including physical assault and sexual violence. He is portrayed as a self-centred individual who seeks dominance and relishes being in the spotlight. His passion for music plays a significant role in his actions. Similarly, in Naomi Alderman’s novel, The Power (2016), sixteen-year-old Allie introduces herself as “Mother Eve,” acts under the guidance of an inner voice that pretends to be her mother, and is empowered by her innate ability to release lightning from her hands, ultimately harming both herself and those around her. For both characters, the drive for self-actualization, when challenged by totalitarian influences, culminates in a psychological explosion that jeopardizes their mental health and can lead to a loss of rationality and inhumane behaviours. This study argues that Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Naomi Alderman’s The Power use the psychological struggles of their protagonists to critique authoritarian control in dystopian settings, revealing its detrimental impact on individual mental health. By engaging with Foucault’s depiction of madness as a socially constructed concept in Madness and Civilisation (1961), the analysis demonstrates how both novels portray mental suffering as a direct response to oppressive power.

Abstract (Turkish, translation)

Deliliğe Yeniden Bakış: 'Otomatik Portakal' ve 'Güç' Romanlarının Karşılaştırmalı İncelemesi

Distopik romanlar, karakterlerin özgürlük arayışları sırasında otoriteye karşı bir tutum benimsemelerine yol açan acımasız ve zorlu koşulları betimlemeleriyle bilinir. Anthony Burgess’in Otomatik Portakal (1962) adlı romanında, on beş yaşındaki Alex; fiziksel saldırı ve cinsel şiddet gibi çeşitli şiddet eylemlerine karışır. Kendini beğenmiş, üstünlük kurma arzusuyla hareket eden ve ilgi odağı olmaktan hoşlanan bir birey olarak tasvir edilir. Müzik tutkusu, eylemlerinde belirleyici bir rol oynamaktadır. Naomi Alderman’ın Güç (2016) adlı romanında ise, kendisini “Havva Ana” olarak tanıtan on altı yaşındaki Allie, annesi gibi konuşan iç sesinin yönlendirmesiyle hareket eder ve doğuştan ellerinden şimşek çıkarma yeteneğine sahip olmasının etkisiyle hem kendisine hem de çevresindekilere zarar verir. Her iki karakter için de kendini gerçekleştirme arzusu, totaliter baskılarla karşılaştığında, zihinsel sağlıklarını tehlikeye atan bir ruhsal çöküntüyle sonuçlanır. Bu durum, mantığın yitirilmesine ve insanlık dışı davranışlara yol açabilir. Bu çalışma, Anthony Burgess’in A Clockwork Orange ve Naomi Alderman’ın The Power adlı eserlerinin, distopik bağlamlarda başkahramanlarının yaşadığı psikolojik mücadeleler aracılığıyla otoriter yönetimi eleştirdiğini ve bunun bireysel ruh sağlığı üzerindeki yıkıcı etkilerini ortaya koyduğunu savunmaktadır. Michel Foucault’nun Madness and Civilization (1961) adlı eserinde deliliği toplumsal olarak inşa edilmiş bir kavram olarak ele alışıyla ilişkilendirilen bu çözümleme, her iki romanda da ruhsal acının baskıcı iktidara doğrudan bir tepki olarak sunulduğunu göstermektedir.

Keywords

Files

Only the metadata of this record is published.

References

  1. Feder, L. (1980). Madness in Literature. Princeton University Press.
  2. Berthold-Bond, D. (1991). Hegel, Nietzsche, and Freud on madness and the unconscious. The Journal of Speculative Philosophy New Series, 5(3), 193-213.
  3. Porter, R. (2003). Madness: A Brief History. Oxford University Press.
  4. Garson, J. (2022). Madness: A Philosophical Exploration. Oxford University Press.
  5. Cornford, F. M. (1941). The Republic of Plato. Oxford University Press.
  6. Steingrager, J. (1969). Plato and More’s “Utopia”. Social Research, 36(3), 357-372.
  7. Vieira, F. (2010). The concept of utopia. In G. Claeys (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Utopian literature (pp. 3-27). Cambridge University Press.
  8. Moya, S. (2011). A Clockwork Orange: The intersection between a dystopia and human nature. Best Student Essays, 23(1). Retrieved from https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/best_student_essays/1
  9. Sumner, C. (2012). Humanist drama in A Clockwork Orange. The Yearbook of English Studies, 42, 49-63. https://doi.org/10.5699/yearenglstud.42.2012.0049
  10. Burgess, A. (2013). A Clockwork Orange: The restored edition. (A. Biswell, Ed.) Penguin.
  11. Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. Vintage Books.
  12. Edalat, A. (2017). Self-attachment: A holistic approach to computational psychiatry. In P. Érdi, B. Bhattacharya, & A. Cochran (Eds.), Computational neurology and psychiatry (Vol. 6) (pp. 273-314). Springer.
  13. Storr, A. (1992). Music and the mind. The Free Press.
  14. Nietzsche, F. W. (1999). The birth of tragedy and other writings. (R. Geuss, & R. Speirs, Eds.) Oxford University Press.
  15. Hamilton, J. T. (2008). Music, madness, and the unworking of language. Columbia University Press.
  16. Alderman, N. (2017). The Power. Penguin Books.
  17. McCarthy-Jones, S. (2012). Hearing voices: The histories, causes and meanings of auditory verbal hallucinations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  18. Piesse, E., Paulik, G., Mathersul, D., Valentine, L., Kamitsis, I., & Bendall, S. (2023). An exploration of the relationship between voices, dissociation, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 96(4), 1015-1028. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12493

Cite this publication

APA 7

Dinç Tosun, Ş. (2025). Re-Visiting Madness: A Comparative Study of 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'The Power'. Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters, 0(Advanced Online), 450–458. https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/re-visiting-madness-a-comparative-study-of-a-clockwork-orange-and-the-power

BibTeX

@article{dinctosun2025madness,
  author = {Din{\c{c}} Tosun, {\c{S}}eyma},
  title = {{Re-Visiting Madness: A Comparative Study of 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'The Power'}},
  journal = {Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters},
  volume = {0},
  number = {Advanced Online},
  pages = {450--458},
  publisher = {Hacettepe {\"U}niversitesi},
  year = {2025},
  month = {9},
  issn = {1301-5737},
  url = {https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/re-visiting-madness-a-comparative-study-of-a-clockwork-orange-and-the-power},
  language = {en},
  keywords = {{\.I}ngiliz ve {\.I}rlanda Dili, Edebiyat{\i} ve K{\"u}lt{\"u}r{\"u}},
  abstract = {Dystopian novels are known for presenting brutal and challenging circumstances that lead characters to adopt an anti-authoritarian stance in their quest for freedom. In Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange (1962), Alex, a fifteen-year-old, engages in various violent acts, including physical assault and sexual violence. He is portrayed as a self-centred individual who seeks dominance and relishes being in the spotlight. His passion for music plays a significant role in his actions. Similarly, in Naomi Alderman's novel, The Power (2016), sixteen-year-old Allie introduces herself as ``Mother Eve,'' acts under the guidance of an inner voice that pretends to be her mother, and is empowered by her innate ability to release lightning from her hands, ultimately harming both herself and those around her. For both characters, the drive for self-actualization, when challenged by totalitarian influences, culminates in a psychological explosion that jeopardizes their mental health and can lead to a loss of rationality and inhumane behaviours. This study argues that Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and Naomi Alderman's The Power use the psychological struggles of their protagonists to critique authoritarian control in dystopian settings, revealing its detrimental impact on individual mental health. By engaging with Foucault's depiction of madness as a socially constructed concept in Madness and Civilisation (1961), the analysis demonstrates how both novels portray mental suffering as a direct response to oppressive power.},
  affiliation = {ISTANBUL AYDIN UNIVERSITY}
}
.bib

RIS

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Dinç Tosun, Şeyma
TI  - Re-Visiting Madness: A Comparative Study of 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'The Power'
T2  - Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters
VL  - 0
IS  - Advanced Online
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/20/
SP  - 450
EP  - 458
PB  - Hacettepe Üniversitesi
SN  - 1301-5737
UR  - https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/re-visiting-madness-a-comparative-study-of-a-clockwork-orange-and-the-power
AB  - Dystopian novels are known for presenting brutal and challenging circumstances that lead characters to adopt an anti-authoritarian stance in their quest for freedom. In Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962), Alex, a fifteen-year-old, engages in various violent acts, including physical assault and sexual violence. He is portrayed as a self-centred individual who seeks dominance and relishes being in the spotlight. His passion for music plays a significant role in his actions. Similarly, in Naomi Alderman’s novel, The Power (2016), sixteen-year-old Allie introduces herself as “Mother Eve,” acts under the guidance of an inner voice that pretends to be her mother, and is empowered by her innate ability to release lightning from her hands, ultimately harming both herself and those around her. For both characters, the drive for self-actualization, when challenged by totalitarian influences, culminates in a psychological explosion that jeopardizes their mental health and can lead to a loss of rationality and inhumane behaviours. This study argues that Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange and Naomi Alderman’s The Power use the psychological struggles of their protagonists to critique authoritarian control in dystopian settings, revealing its detrimental impact on individual mental health. By engaging with Foucault’s depiction of madness as a socially constructed concept in Madness and Civilisation (1961), the analysis demonstrates how both novels portray mental suffering as a direct response to oppressive power.
KW  - İngiliz ve İrlanda Dili
KW  - Edebiyatı ve Kültürü
LA  - en
AD  - ISTANBUL AYDIN UNIVERSITY
ER  -
.ris