A Sharpened Blade

The violence used and the morality of the self
WITHIN 20th CENTURY DYSTOPIAN LITERATURE

By Kate Bethune

Dystopian literature is “written as a warning, using examples from our present state in order to show the possibilities of what could be” (Donahue, J 2007). Therefore, it seems that works that are Dystopian in theme are the ultimate tool used by authors in order to convey some message: the most emphatic manner by which a lesson can be taught. Dystopian authors, intentionally apocalyptic and bleak in their views of future society, create feasible, futuristic worlds that are morally corrupt or devoid of hope, in order to remind readers of the serious repercussions of their actions and practices, as well as their attitudes towards their own and others’ lives. With the identification of common themes that run throughout Dystopian literary works, it becomes particularly clear that those concepts based around individual and mass morality and ethics are of most importance to the author, and are seen as issues to be considered by current society.
Through the study of two particular Dystopian texts, A Clockwork Orange (Burgess 1962), and Blade Runner (Scott, 1982), both seen as seminal texts and “cult classics”, and recognized as having played pivotal roles in popular culture, it is possible to investigate the individual’s morality, namely the violence employed by them to achieve a particular goal. Both are incredibly complex texts; containing numerous sophisticated themes that not only cannot be analysed in isolation, but also themes that, when investigated in tandem with those contained within a related text, provide the reader with a series of proposed consequences.
Through analysis of the characters themselves, by means on an application of the psychoanalytic theories of Jung and Freud, as well as the views of morality that are proposed by Foucault in terms of the construction of the character’s construction and growth throughout the course of the texts- for although fictional, they are essentially projections of current human behaviour, and are all complex, all driven by purpose - the construction and reading of the moral compass of these individuals is possible. In tandem with Beach’s (1993) psychological lens, one is able to identify with the morality and the reasons behind their actions; specifically the way in which characters are seen to employ violence as a means for achieving personal justice and the subsequent acceptance or rejection of these violent actions by the reader. In Freudian terms, both texts are the tale of the characters and their progression in terms of personal, emotional and social growth. This growth is formatted in such a way that it can further be read alongside Jung’s concepts of the collective shadow, the collective consciousness, the idea of hegemony and most prominently, Foucault’s concepts of rationalised violence and the replacement of the human with the non-human.

Introduction to the texts
A Clockwork Orange, the controversial novel penned by author Anthony Burgess in 1962, follows Alex, the cultured and charismatic protagonist and narrator, through his tale of personal growth and eventual maturity. Accompanied by his gang of three fellow teenage boys (“droogs”) he is inclined to perform night time acts of sickening violence (such as rape, robbery, assault, murder and so forth) for his own enjoyment, with no apparent remorse. As a result, he is arrested and subjected to equally inhumane tests and experiments in a fictional form of reclamation treatment, named the “Ludovico’s Technique”; which causes the delinquent to feel sickened at the very thought of witnessing or taking part in such acts. However, to condition an individual to have adverse reactions towards violence does not mean they truly feel remorse. Though physical repulsion is a result, it is recognised that the treatment is not truly effective and is ethically unjust, and that it is much better for the subject to choose the opportunity to reform himself as opposed to being forced to do so. Thus, the treatments are reversed and Alex is set free, only to turn to violence again. After an epiphany caused by an encounter with several of his recovered victims and one of his now-upright fellow droogs, Alex concludes that his life would be much better spent creating rather than destroying. Therefore, the question that is ultimately posed to readers by A Clockwork Orange is; “Is it more morally acceptable for a man to choose to be wicked, or to be forced to be good?”

Blade Runner, the 1982 film adaptation by Ridley Scott of the 1968 science-fiction novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, is set in a now not far-off 2019, and shows a post-Apocalyptic Earth that has had its cultures amalgamated, its resources wasted and has consequently formed settlements throughout the galaxy so that the human race can continue to exist. The creation of a new generation of Nexus 6 Replicants- humanoid robots created in order to play the part of slaves on the off-World colonies- means that rather than having a group within the human population play the part of workers, a genetically engineered individual can instead undertake tasks. However, Replicants are created, enslaved, given few rights and then either naturally expire and die at the end of their four year lifespan, or are executed for non-compliance or trespassing on Earth. Police units consisting of effective bounty hunters- Blade Runners- are employed in order to identify (via means of the “Voight Kampff” test) and “retire” such criminals. One former member of the unit, Deckard, is forced to return to business and retire a group of Replicants that mutinied, murdered and fought their way back to Earth in order to confront their creator, one Dr. Tyrell, about their short lifespan.
Through killing the various Replicants (all individuals with their own will, their own mind and their own emotions) Deckard slowly feels his own sense of empathy being restored; “Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were blade runners. What the hell was happening to me?” In the last scenes of the film, the leader of the Replicant group, Roy shows Deckard mercy through pulling him to safety as opposed to allowing him to fall to his death, despite Roy’s urge to seek revenge upon Deckard. After Roy, the final Replicant’s life ends naturally a few moments later, Deckard reflects upon the action and seems to expand his own sense of humanity as a result.
Both movie and book pose to readers issues not far removed from those facing individuals in the 20th and 21st Centuries; particularly those themes dealing with individual morality. The concerns of ethics and morality have always been at the forefront of human thought; and indeed, form the central contention within both A Clockwork Orange and Blade Runner.

Textual Theory
Through investigating the text’s characters and characterisation- through the written portrayal of characters as well as their reception by the reader- a facet of focalisation becomes apparent. The way in which the viewer or reader is positioned to interpret particular aspects of the text, such as a focused voice or biased narration and thus opinions of the protagonist, is mainly achieved in both texts through the creation of the individual characters rather than by focalisation alone. With the characters within the texts fighting against the hegemony of the time in which they are living, the reader is either pre-disposed to abhor or condone the actions of the characters, due to the way in which the work provokes an emotional response and moral stimulation. Furthermore, the signification of the titles “droog” and “Replicant” carries negative connotations that are reinforced or challenged throughout the course of the texts, similarly inciting a reaction from the reader. Replicant Roy poses a particularly stark contrast between the perception of Replicants as simple “machines”, referred to as “skin jobs” and “it” on numerous occasions throughout the film (Blade Runner, 1982), and the fact that all Replicants are emotionally complex beings; similarly, Alex’s cultured nature is a disparity between his thuggish actions.
It is through specific characterisation and construction that the characters can be analysed alongside psychoanalytic theories: providing further evidence what the reader gains from the development and maturing of the character. However, due to characterisation, the link with focalisation thus becomes clear; in A Clockwork Orange, Alex is the only character suitable for investigation, whilst in Blade Runner, the two major protagonist groups, the human Deckard and the non-human Replicant’s can be analysed.

Foucauldian Theory
Foucault states that actions are rationalised for each individual: that every person has a purpose behind his or her actions (Horrocks, C 2004, p.29);

In even the most violent [actions] there is a rationality. What is most dangerous in violence is its rationality. Of course violence itself is terrible. But the deepest root of violence and its permanence come out of the form of the rationality we use. The idea had been that if we live in the world of reason, we can get rid of violence. This is quite wrong. Between violence and rationality there is no incompatibility.
(Foucault, M, 1980, p.299)

Foucault’s view on personal morality bears many parallels to the personal justice view of ethics; that “what is good for the masses may not always be good for the individual”, contrary to Utilitarian views of ethics that suggest that “the purpose of all action is for the welfare or happiness of the ‘greater good’” (Wright, A 2009). With this in mind, one can see that although the actions of the individual characters are conventionally unacceptable, they are written in such a way and from such a perspective that one is unable to deny that there is logic upon which their violence is based.
Through their employment of violence, both sets of characters are attempting to achieve a strictly self-serving goal. Alex does not seek to spread his so-called ultra violence, for he identifies himself as more a self-serving hedonist than an anarchist; “And is it not our modern history, my brothers, the story of brave malenky selves fighting these big machines?” Despite the fact that he recognises that the oppression of the individual is an issue, he is far from seeing his actions as revolutionary; “What I do I do because I like to do” (Burgess, A 1962, p.34), and thus is more preoccupied with gratifying himself than affecting society as a whole.
The Replicant group wants more life for themselves alone; not the entire robotic population, with Roy stating “I want more life, f***er”. Deckard is employed to kill and is given no decision in this; therefore, he wishes to execute the Replicants as quickly as possible, and move on.
With analysis, it is clear that Alex essentially argues Foucauldian theory himself; that “between violence and rationality there is no incompatibility” (Foucault, 1980, p.299), when he states that “badness is of the self” (Burgess, A 1962, p. 34), and is thus a conscious decision. Despite the essential wrongness of his actions, Alex further provokes the reader into questioning the accepted view on “badness”, in that it is wrong in all cases, with his recognition that the establishment doesn’t “…go into the cause of goodness, so why the other shop? If lewdies [people] are good that’s because they like it, and I wouldn’t interfere with their pleasures” (Burgess, A 1962, p. 34). In other words, if the establishment does not go into the cause of goodness, why is it that there is such a focus on the reasons behind badness? Furthermore, in Blade Runner, all acts of violence are seen as essentially justified- Deckard is sickened by the violence he is forced to perpetrate, and the Replicant group, though acting without guilt, are seen as forgivable in that they are an oppressed sect of society battling for basic human rights.
With the application of Foucault’s concepts, it is clear that the individually reasoned actions of the characters may be seen as justifiable: however, cannot truly be labelled amoral; indeed, it is more a case of “different” or “alien” morals.

Freudian Theory
In tandem with the progression of characters, the Freudian themes of growth and self-realisation can be detected within both texts. Freud proposed that humans are “driven by our basic drives towards survival and pleasure” (Where is Ideology Found?), and that these compulsions are “buried in our unconscious” (Hefner Media Group, 2004), “rather than [based] on our conscious choices” (QSA, 2003). Furthermore, Freud suggests that a human’s personality is made of three particular emotional levels. The first, the Id, is the basic “pleasure seeking” level where the individual has no consideration for others. The next, the Ego, “meet[s] the needs of the Id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation”, whilst the last level, the Super Ego, is “equate[d] with the conscience” and is the level at which true morality and ethics are developed (Hefner Media Group, 2004).
All characters in the texts are at first concerned only with themselves, for they maintain an adolescent approach to their involvement in the world. The pseudo-family systems; that is, the gang of adolescents in A Clockwork Orange and the group of Replicants in Blade Runner, are highly dysfunctional and unconventional (Davis & Womack, 2002, p.20). Therefore, the characters within the texts have had to learn to rely upon their own skills and aptitudes. Due to their social conditioning, or lack thereof, the characters are yet to fully grasp the concept of morality and altruism that comes with the arrival at the Ego and Superego. They have therefore not truly progressed beyond the juvenile Id state as conceived by Freud, and therefore maintain a self-serving manner and a habit of disregarding others’ needs in order to satisfy their own.
As previously stated, the two texts follow comparable storylines: the story of the characters and their subsequent emotional growth and realisations throughout the course of the text. The story of the self and the resulting personal growth of the individual goes hand in hand with the theory of Metanoia; the realisation by a person that everything that they previously believed is in fact false (Merriam-Webster Online, 2009). It is an epiphany of sorts; one which is featured in both the texts, and is experienced by various characters. It is through the individual instances of Metanoia, triggered by an encounter with the God-like scientist character or a brush with death, that the Superego stage is reached; and such fictional revelations are surely intended to be used as food for thought by the readers and viewers themselves.
In A Clockwork Orange, Pete, who was the least violent member of Alex’s gang, proceeds to reform after the group’s leader is jailed, and subsequently becomes an upright member of society. After his encounter with his former droog, Alex too decides to cast violence aside, realising that life is better served creating than destroying, and that it is his wish to start a family of his own;
“And now I felt this bolshy big hollow inside my plott, feeling very surprised too at myself. I knew what was happening, O my brothers. I was like growing up... Tomorrow is all like sweet flowers and the turning vonny earth and the stars and the old Luna up there and your old droog Alex all on his oddy knocky seeking like a mate”
(Burgess, A 1962, p.150)

Similarly, in Blade Runner, following his murder of Tyrell (after he is informed that there is no way to hold off his inevitable and impending death, Roy and Deckard pursue and evade each other simultaneously. However, despite his superior prowess and the vengeance he seeks for his fellow Replicant and lover’s brutal execution, Roy shows Deckard mercy and speaks briefly of the experience of his own life, an act that Deckard fails to fully comprehend;
“…I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die”.
(Blade Runner, 1982)

Despite his lack of understanding of such a display of humanity, it is apparent that Deckard has also experienced a revelation of sorts, completing his emotional growth or re-birth by the conclusion of the film.
As such, it is apparent that rather than maintaining their former adolescent immaturity and Id state, both narrator-protagonists (Alex and Deckard) grow throughout the course of the texts, perhaps even so much so that their essential personality imbalances are remedied. This is not by means of government governed force- as stated within A Clockwork Orange, the respective governments wish “to impose upon man … laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation” (Burgess, A 1962, p. 21)- but rather, through personal emotional flourishing and experience.

Jungian Theory & Hegemony
Historically, establishments within Dystopian fiction have conducted themselves in an authoritarian manner; that is, dictating how civilians must conduct themselves, whilst paradoxically promoting self-fulfilment and individuality (O'Shaughnessy, M 1999). In reading Dystopian literature, one finds that these constructed societies consist of essential insiders and outsiders; or those who are compliant and those who hold subversive and conflicting views. In such a polarized society, there is no room to live on the no-man’s land that is the middle ground; one either agrees or disagrees with the hegemonic views of the times. Williams (1977) defines “hegemony” as the “whole lived social process as practically organised by specific and dominant meanings, values and beliefs of a kind which can be abstracted as a “world –view” or “class-outlook”” (cited by Barry, P 1993, p.164).
Within the texts, those who are supposedly incompatible with the hegemonic views of the “upright” society are marginalized, punished and oppressed. However, it is the system that treats the minority as a threat, as the individuals are seen as superior or inferior in some sense, or are seen as a danger to the safety of society. It is the system that treats the minority unfairly; the rest of society is relatively uninvolved, in both the issues facing the protagonists and texts themselves. This separation from the masses may lead to further alienation within a mammoth machine, resulting in hopeless complacency or explosive rebellion, the latter path which is pursued by Alex, Deckard and the Replicants.
Indeed, Jung stated "the shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases" (Jung, C 1933, p.137)
In speaking of the psyche, Jung suggests that the human consciousness extends beyond the individual to “the collective psyche [that] forms the “Zeitgeist” or the spirit of the age” (Hyde, M 1992, p.90). This bears further links to the concept of hegemony, as well as Jung’s concept of the collective shadow. The concept is defined as both a collective mentality- such as that of a mob or “uncontrolled hooliganism”- and the repercussions of social and scientific advancements such as the creation of the atomic bomb.
Whilst one can only make assumptions about the nature of the events that preceded the time-periods in the texts, it is apparent that some apocalyptic war, societal reformation or emotional dark-age has taken place. The characters within the texts are thus forced to battle simultaneously against this hegemony and the collective shadow that has apparently been cast by whatever has come before their births; and as a result, they adopt a gang mentality, as in the case of Alex and his droogs and the Replicant group, demonstrating the theory of “United we stand, divided we fall” (Aesop, 1995, p.54).
In societies where one is punishable by violence, the tendency towards violence, be it in retaliation, defence or out of ingrained habit, is given as the result of aggression’s prevalent place in the psyche. As a result, pacifist measures are out of the question; violence inflicted upon others is turned towards for entertainment, or outright and violent subversion of the system that is in place is undertaken in order to achieve some personal goal.
With the traits of mercy, guilt and remorse, and the inclination to seek revenge for being wronged being seen as pivotal parts of human nature, the lack of these “typically human morals” is generally associated with barbarianism and seen to be an “animalistic” deficit of morals. The societies within the selected texts have reached the zenith of self-serving ultra-capitalism; thus, the characters living within them are simply a sinister product of the times, having had their emotional growth stunted by a combination of factors. The innate urges that lead humans towards “sex and destruction” (Wright, A 2009) thus surfaces. A further division becomes apparent; between those who are non-human, but who uphold human attributes, and those who are genetically human but who are driven by non-human desires due to sadism or desensitisation; a dichotomy of society that challenges the reader’s assumptions about those who should be considered good or evil, and an indication that human nature is not restricted to genetics alone.

Non-Human Humans- Alex & Deckard
Viewed conventionally, Alex is rightly prosecuted, for his actions are socially unacceptable; he perpetrates violence as a means of self-gratification, experiencing sadistic enjoyment through a form of inhumane hedonism and shows no real remorse for his crimes. However, Alex is aware that his actions are evil, and if he is caught, it is solely his problem; “If I get loveted (caught), well, too bad for me” (Burgess, A 1962, p.34). Though the apparently innate urges that he acts upon are non-hegemonic, they are still reasoned and justified by Foucault; thus contributing to the claim that as an individual, he is essentially removed from the classification of humanity due to his inability to feel true emotion.

Conversely, whilst Deckard may be seen as un-emotive and near-robotic when considered in today’s context, he is no un-emotional exception when viewed alongside the rest of his society. With his acts initially being limited to his occupation, his personal view of violence is particularly self-centred;“I'd quit because I'd had a belly full of killing. But then I'd rather be a killer than a victim”. Furthermore, his view that “Replicants are like any other machine. They're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem” (Blade Runner, 1982) is drastically altered throughout the course of the film, after he becomes infatuated with legal-Replicant prototype Rachael whilst simultaneously assassinating the various criminal Replicants; indicating that though at first devoid of emotion, he too can be affected.

Human Non-Humans- Replicants
Whilst Deckard is no longer able to feel much due to being desensitised, Replicants feel even more emotion than the average human; thus the claim that the manufactured beings are “more human than human” (Blade Runner, 1982). The self-reasoned, generally non-hegemonic sets of morals that govern these non-human individuals are still essentially human. Indeed, Replicants are essentially human, though are seen as the current day “niggers” (Blade Runner, 1982) and as such are an intensely marginalized group within society: a minority group located within a relatively monolithic, authoritarian and morally corrupt society, that has employed these artificial individuals as slaves. Thus, they are far from gaining acceptance, let alone citizenship. With their genetic design leaving them above and beyond the bounds of the human gene pool, the Replicant race is therefore not recognised as being part of the human race; although, for all appearances and desires, they essentially are. It is only others’ attitudes towards them as a social class that causes them to be seen as evil. It is the “collective shadow” that Jung speaks of that is cast by the system over society. Furthermore, Replicant individuals are prevented from reaching full emotional potential due to an effective used-by date; their early termination date that is encoded in them from their inception, and cannot be reversed.
Roy Batty, the intensely intelligent, charming but calculating Replicant leader, is able to feel empathy, and is clearly the most conventionally “human” of all the characters in either text. Despite the disturbing game of cat and mouse between the human and the non-human, in a scene in which the hunter and the hunted change roles due to technological and physical disparities between the two men, Roy’s display of mercy and humanity is a powerful juxtaposition to his depiction as an animal just prior to his act of saving Deckard.

Foucauldian Theory (part ii)
Foucault believed that “people do not have natural and unchangeable characteristics. Rather, we are produced out of a network of discourses, institutions and relations, and always liable to change according to the circumstances” (Danaher, G 2000, p. 123), and that in a sense, the “human” ideas of the times could become extinct and make way for new forms of morality and rationalism. Foucault’s predictions of the replacement of the pure “man” or human with a different type of reasoned individual has clearly been manifested within the texts;
Popular cultural forms such as films [and] novels… are full of examples about futuristic (and, in some cases, contemporary) societies dominated or populated by ‘cyborgs’- part human, part machine. Films such as Blade Runner… [and] the novels of Philip K. Dick… accept the extinction of the ‘pure human’- what Foucault calls ‘man’- and its replacement by something that is as much a walking, talking machine driven by contrary and contradictory personalities, urges and logics.
(Danaher, G 2000, p.123)

This “something” else should not be seen as being limited only to those individuals of a robotic nature; indeed, Alex’s incomprehensible morals and Deckard’s initial inability to feel are vastly distanced from that of those expected of humanity. On the other hand, the Replicant’s robotic structure is almost contradicted by their human drive; indicating that the fall of human morals within humans themselves is being balanced by the installation of a conscience within humanity’s creations, or the attempted reclamation of morals in humans by mechanical means. This intersection of technology with humanity is certainly a signal that the conception of the “human” is one that is changeable.

Conclusion

Certainly, although the actions of the individual characters may have little effect to the monolithic, emotionally distant society in which they live, their respective epiphanies and emotional changes are written in such a way that the reader cannot fail to identify, and perhaps experience growth themselves. Through investigating the individual morality of characters within A Clockwork Orange and Blade Runner, it is apparent that their construction was intended to reflect the attitudes and conscience of today’s society and cause readers to reconsider their own attitudes and conscience.
Whilst Dystopian literature is a depiction of the possible further descent of society towards its apparently inevitable downfall, the lessons gained from the texts may enable humanity to alter the never-concrete course of the future, with Foucault himself stating;
I think it is us who make the future. The future is the way we react to what is happening, it is the way we transform a movement, a doubt into truth. If we want to be masters of our future, we must fundamentally pose the question of what today is.
(Foucault, M 1994, p.434)

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