Choice,' rumbled a rich deep goloss. I viddied it belonged to the prison charlie. 'He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice.
The quote reflects on the concept of choice in the context of a character in "A Clockwork Orange." It suggests that the individual's actions are driven not by genuine decision-making but by self-interest and the fear of consequences. This lack of true choice leads to a situation where the character cannot be seen as a moral agent, as they are acting out of coercion rather than free will.
The narrator critiques the idea of forced behavior, emphasizing that when a person is compelled to act against their will, they lose their moral agency. This raises profound questions about the nature of morality and the essence of being human, as real choices are integral to ethical considerations. Without real choices, actions become disingenuous, fundamentally altering one's identity as a moral being.
