Examples Of Status Hierarchy In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Hospitals are meant to help some people heal physically and others mentally. In the novel One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey published in 1962, readers are introduced to a mental hospital that has goals that do not align with helping people. Within the hospital, characters with varied personalities and opinions are intermixed with three main characters playing specific roles with supporting characters close by. With the characters’ motivations, themes develop such as the emasculation of the men in the hospital by an oppressive nurse. Symbols, such as laughter and the “combine”, are also pertinent to themes as the readers watch the men transitioning from being oppressed to being able to stand up for themselves causing change in hospital policy.

The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is about the power structure of a mental ward from the perspective of a patient, Bromden. The story takes place during the 1950's in Oregon. Many of the patients on the ward are not necessarily insane however do not fit in with pre established societal norms and have chosen a life away from these norms. The men who are voluntary have given in to the staff and follow them like sheep, however, the men who are committed need controlling according to society so they were sent to the ward. The head nurse, Nurse Rached, of the ward keeps control using her staff that has been picked out over years of meticulous selection. The staff under Rached's orders keep control of the patients

“We are victims of a matriarchy here my friends…” (Harding). A matriarchy is a social order where women have power. In the novel One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest the women are portrayed as the power figures and have the power manipulate, or control the men in the ward, as shown by the characters of Nurse Ratched, Mrs. Bibbit, and Vera Harding.

Depersonalization is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5) as “experiences of unreality, detachment, or being an outside observer with respect to one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, body, or actions” (DSM-5, 2013, p. 302). According to Mayo Clinic, a symptom could be that a person feels like

Nurse Ratched, the ward supervisor, personifies the forces that seek to control the individual by subduing their right to think and act for themselves. She acts as a dictator who is constantly manipulating her patients to gain an advantage over them. Because Nurse Ratched supervises a mental hospital, she is expected to tell her patients what to do, but “the novel suggests that Nurse Ratched goes beyond mere supervision and instead seeks to rule all elements of the patients lives” (“Oppression in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”). Nurse Ratched and her staff dehumanize the patients, and this eventually causes the patients to become broken inside.

In Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, the nurse Miss Ratched is a fine example of a realistic fictional villain. Possession of three key components is essential in identifying what makes Miss Ratched a villian. Motive is what drives the villain to commit the very acts that allow them to be considered evil in the first place, and often drive their entire being as a character. While they must possess motive, they must also have a sense of morals that coincides with their motives (typically evil, or distorted) and follow their moral compass in a way that often causes trouble for those around them. Additionally, a villain is frequently associated with their opposite; the hero who combats them. Kesey’s character perfectly aligns with these three categories of what makes a villain, and it is unquestionable that she is the villain of the novel.

Right now, the society that we all live in secretly oppresses the people and is slowly taking away our freedoms, yet we do not notice it. In a controlled environment, the one who holds power is usually the most corrupt and conceitful one of the group. Power and authority may seem like an easy stick to wield, but unfortunately, that is not the case. With great power comes great responsibility is a quote that echoes this predicament. Though power and authority may seem like it is an almighty power to behold, only a minute amount of people carry it, while the majority live under it. If a majority gets upset or aggravated over the misuse of power and authority, a rebellion is bound to happen. Freedom is the sweet nectar that many throughout history

In this book written by Ken Kesey, the main character is a man named R.P. McMurphy who tricks people into thinking that he is a psychopath. To McMurphy, the asylum is a get out of jail free card, which quickly turns out to be something else entirely. However, one vital aspect of this book is the way in which it addresses and provides insight upon several contemporary issues relating to the American healthcare system, by illustrating the ways in which our modern healthcare system has improved and grown in the last five decades. This includes the following areas of healthcare: the need for a healthcare reform, the lack of healthy doctor-patient relationships, and the murky definition of mental illness.

was also the one who enabled the patients to use the tub room for card games,

The main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is brought to a state mental institution from a state prison to be studied to see if he has a mental illness. McMurphy has a history of serving time in prison for assault, and seems to take no responsibility for

Conformity has been the target of many works of literature even before Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye spewed angst about everyone around him being a “phony.” To many people, there are forces in the social order that shape others to fit a certain mold, and one who does not fit the mold will be considered an outcast by society. During the 1960’s, rebellion was a shared act among the majority, including authors and artists; this was due to the conflict in the East as well as the Civil Rights movement. To these people, the government was a criminal, even a machine perhaps, which threatened one’s individuality. This provides some historical context on the background of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ken Kesey, the author, worked in

“People don't want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fabric of the society we live in.” This quote by Ken Kesey embodies his view of society in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest. He depicts the modern society through Nurse Ratched, a strong authoritarian figure, that embellishes the nature of society. Nurse Ratched is notorious in her endeavors to control the men and uses her power to regulate the men. In this domain the beams of society cause the men to shrink from individual freedom that is reawakened with McMurphy, who teaches the men to be bold in the face of society. In Kesey’s work he highlights several major ideas about society. He illustrates the repressive nature of society that causes men to conform to boundaries. Further, he depicts how society rejects those who are deemed defective in the system. Lastly, he also illustrates how society is a major cause of shame and indignity. Thus, Kensey delineates the nature of society as being repressive, selective, and a cause of diffidence.

society, as well as sanity vs. insanity are greatly expressed through the characters actions and events in the novel, as seen from a patients eyes. Randle McMurphy, the main character of the novel portrays the theme of the individual against society through his dealings with Nurse Ratched and the hospital. “The main action of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest consists of McMurphy's struggles against Nurse Ratched. Her ward at the hospital is a society in itself. McMurphy challenges the rules from the beginning” (Malin 224). The effects of the battle between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is expressed in the reactions of both characters, as well as the changes brought to the ward. “But she stops. She was flustered for a second there. Some of the acutes hide grins, and McMurphy takes a huge stretch, yawns, winks at Harding” (Keasey 45). The individual vs. society theme is clearly displayed here though McMurphy's struggle against the rules of the asylum, and against the rule of Nurse Ratched. This represents a a man, or individual, fighting for his own rights when faced with the views and obstacles forced upon him by a tyrannical society with strict guidelines. The second major theme in this novel, tied to the individual vs. society, is the theme of insanity vs. sanity. “Sanity vs. insanity is a topic that is established by society itself, set by public values and rules on what normalcy should be and what insane should be qualified

Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a creation of the socio-cultural context of his time. Social and cultural values, attitudes and beliefs informed his invited reading of his text.

A total institution is defined as a place of work and residence where a great number of similarly situated people, cut off from the wider community for a considerable time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. In others words this means a group of people who have been separated from the rest of society and every decision in their life is made for them by people in charge. The end goal of total institutions is socialization which is taking away old norms, values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors from people. Total institutions destruct the old self concept of people. This whole process can be done in several ways/ Personal possessions are replaced with standard issued items that promote sameness.