Essay about Insanity is Independence

The author, Logan Feys in his article, ¨The Sociology of Leopard Man¨, discusses the topic of society and being a nonconformist. He claims that people should be psychologically free and strong enough to live independently, leaving society and entering society on their own terms. He supports his claim by first comparing abnormal people and ¨normal¨ people. For example, in the article he states, “Plenty of weird people do have serious mental problems. But so do plenty of ¨normal¨ people.¨ (Feys 1). He then goes on to explain the dangers of conforming to society. ¨Conformity can be seen as the world's most common but dangerous psychological disorder. Living in society, we are under constant pressure to surrender our individuality to the will of

The purpose of the insanity defense is to protect the defendants that are found to be mentally ill. Although insanity may be difficult to prove, it gives the opportunity for others to prove that they are not mentally competent to understand the severe degree of their actions. An accused that is not mentally stable, is not able to stand trial like every other criminal. They have to find a different approach during their trial. They cannot think rationally, and they are not in contact with reality so therefore, they have the chance to use the plea. The defense is idea to those who actually have a mental disorder or have a history of dealing with a mental disorder.

Although Big Nurse turns McMurphy to a vegetable at the end of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey’s portrayal of McMurphy as a God-like symbol in the lives of the men on the ward helps criticize the diagnosing of “crazy” people in the mid 1900s. Specifically, Big Nurse subjects McMurphy and Chief Bromden to shock therapy after a fight with the black men who were cleansing the men. As they enter the chamber, McMurphy stops Bromden: “Take ‘er easy. I’ll go first” (237). McMurphy then “Climbs on the table” and “spreads his arms out to fit the shadow” (237).

Nurse Ratched (also known as Big Nurse) was used to being forceful to get what she wanted. She stopped at no end to have complete oversight over the men in the ward. When the men were in the nurse’s presence they were either saying what they knew she wanted to hear or cleaning something that she ordered them to clean. They knew not to speak out against her and to not say something that would make you stand out too much. Ratched’s tactics to get them to be fit for society were normally some kind of procedure on the man

The act of people conforming is seen every where. Any activity performed by someone that is “in the ordinary” is them conforming to the norm. In the crucible, all the girls conform to the norm, set by Abigail Williams. When Abigail faints, the girls faint, when Abigail screams, the girls scream. They mirror her in her every action due to their fear of what would occur if they did not. Same concept is seen today, for example, when you shower regularly you are conforming to the norm. You shower in fear of judgement if you were not to shower, and you shower in following the actions of others. This common action of following in others footsteps affects us by causing people to become identical and influencing people to ignore their personal morals and follow the mob of society blindly. People force physical change upon themselves due to fear of being that one

As a man who pretends to be deaf and mute, Bromden is considered to be a relatively unbiased character, yet he even displays strong feelings of hatred towards Nurse Ratched, proving just how evil she is. As Nurse Ratched enters the novel for the first time, she brings with her a noticeably ominous atmospheric change with, “A gust of cold,” (4) that represents her complete control over every aspect of the mental ward, even the weather. At the pinnacle of Kesey’s totalitarian society, Nurse Ratched represents the tendencies of an oppressive government or what Bromden calls, The Combine. For example, she suppresses the patients’ free will because regardless of the patients actual sanity, she is undeniably in control of their fates at the hospital. Besides McMurphy, the majority of the patients could leave on their own, but Nurse Ratched has been able to brainwash them into thinking that they are not suited to assimilate with others outside of the ward. Billy Bibbit says to McMurphy when he asks why they do not leave, “You think I wuh-wuh-wuh-want to stay in here? You think I wouldn’t like a con-convertible and a guh-guh-girl friend? But did you ever have people l-l-laughing at you? No, because you’re so b-big and so tough!” (162-163). Just like an oppressive government, Nurse Ratched convinces its people that they are worthless so they never feel powerful enough to retaliate. Like an alcoholic, Nurse Ratched needs her fix of power that makes her drunk and

Conformity, it’s something everyone deals with, even if they do not realize it. Although, what happens when conformity takes control over everything? What if the world was stripped of individuality, no citizen has any rights to hold on to, while not being able to think for one’s self. That is an image what it would be like if everyone in the world were to conform to a restricting society. Just think of all of the advances in technology the human race has come up with in the last ten years alone. None of that would have been possible in a society where no one can go above another person's IQ level. This is the world the characters in Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem live in. The reasons that total conformity is dangerous is because individuality is not possible, no family history, and advancement would not be possible.

Merriam Webster defines conformity as- “action in accordance with some specified standard or authority”. As it is a type of influence that involves change in belief or behavior in order to fit into a group. Where in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, conformity is a matter of life or death. In the novel and in life, conformity is viewed as an easy way to shape into society's mold. Societal expectations are shaped by the so called “Combine” a mysterious and in the dark figure that is view as the puppeteer of the way society functions. In the Novel, Chief Bromden a long time patient at a psychiatric ward is the first to recognize the Combine and its powers. At the same time that this novel was written, the society of the 1950s was being challenged by a group known as the beat generation who wanted to reject and challenge the stringent norms that the majority deemed as appropriate and necessary. While many members of society supported the beliefs of conformity, in many ways the need for “societal-misfits” was vital to secure a community where all people would have a voice. While many did their best to challenge the Combine, in the end the Combine would prevail, but the ideas of those who spoke out would resonate with others. The Combine is an unstoppable force fueled by conformity, but Ken Kesey explains that the only way for progress in the novel (and society) is for a McMurphy type of character to challenge the Combine.

Kesey uses Nurse Ratched to embody the emphasis American culture at the time put on conformity. When Nurse Ratched has the most control over the ward she concentrates on keeping the patients on a strict schedule and preparing them to go back into society. Chief Bromden claims Nurse Ratched dreams of a world of precision, efficiency and tidiness (Kesey 29). The Chief is convinced the mental ward is a factory for the Combine (Kesey 40). He believes the Combine is society as a whole and the ward is the place where people are sent if they are not fitting in to be fixed. Chief believes Nurse Ratched’s goal is to fix the mistakes made in the everyday lives of the patients and send them back out into the world better than they were before (Kesey 40). He

“Couch suffers from “affluenza,” according to his lawyer. Which means that his wealthy parents pretty much let him get away with everything,” explains the Time article (Grey). In 2013 Keller, Texas a sixteen year old teen Ethan Couch, was driving drunk, passed the speed limit and crashed, causing four innocent deaths. Judge Jean Boyd, was going to give him 20 years in states custody but Couch’s attorney told Judge Jean Boyd, Couch did not know the difference from right or wrong and was able to convince Judge Boyd to only give him 10 years in rehab; in which the parents were willing to pay 450,000 a year for treatment. The rehab center was like a spa or a 10 years vacation. Many people are angry because they are abusing insanity defense and

Ratched has never actually ameliorated the patients’ mental states or issues at hand; she merely speculates on their issues without suggesting helpful advice or solutions. After the group meeting where she forces the patients to bring their dark secrets to the surface, McMurphy speaks to Dale Harding, a local patient, on the demeanor of the group meeting as he refers to it as a, “Pecking Party”, since Nurse Ratched encourages harshful criticism upon the patients. The patients are overly oppressed to the point where Harding has to pretend to agree with the essence of the group meeting, in fear that the Black boys or personnel will hear his true opinion on the ward, as he supplicates McMurphy to save him and the other patients from Nurse Ratched’s intimidating control. Billy Bibbit, who was especially afraid of Ratched’s pressuring questions and expressions, had a mother that was a very good friend of Nurse Ratched’s; his mother had adored him and only wanted the best for her child-like son. Ratched would notify his mother of Billy’s behavior, making him feel immense guilt if he were to say something rash or unacceptable by Ratched’s view. Nurse Ratched, being the Ruler she is, was so obsessively controlling of Billy, that the guilt ensued by threatening to tell his mother of the woman he slept with in the ward, and forcing him to betray McMurphy by saying McMurphy made him sleep with the woman, had lead him to his suicide. There is a boundary within all of us, our conscience, that deems our actions and words appropriate for a given situation; but without a speck of remorse, Nurse Ratched is able to annihilate Billy’s morals and sense of self in front of his friends and the other patients in the ward. A powerful ruler’s greatest fear is being overthrown, and Nurse Ratched had demoralized Billy because of

Former U.S president Ronald Reagan was shot by a man named John Hinckley in the year 1981. The president along with many of his entourage survived the shooting despite the heavy infliction of internal and external injuries. The Hinckley case is a classic example of the 'not guilty by reason of insanity' case (NGRI). The criminal justice system under which all men and women are tried holds a concept called mens rea, a Latin phrase that means "state of mind". According to this concept, Hinckley committed his crime oblivious of the wrongfulness of his action. A mentally challenged person, including one with mental retardation, who cannot distinguish between right and wrong is protected and exempted by the court

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

"Insanity is defined as a mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or conforming to social standards." (Insanity, pg. 1) It is used in court to state that the defendant was not aware of what he/she was doing at the time of the crime, due to mental illnesses. But insanity is a legal, not a medical, definition. There is a difference between mental illness and going insane. Many problems are raised by the existence of the insanity defense. For example, determining the patient's true mental illness (whether they are faking or not), placement of the mentally ill after trial, the credibility of the psychological experts, the percentage of cases that are actually successful,

For some, conformity is an unthinkable evil in American society. All individuals living within a community conform in some way to social norms, yet to label someone a conformist is akin to labeling them ignorant and unoriginal. However, conformity - and its associated impacts - are as integral to the functioning of society as the principles of nonconformity. Conformity is often positively utilised to induce positive social change nationally and internationally. It prompts dissemination of workload, provides protection (‘strength in numbers’), and encourages strict rule enforcement. Although less appreciated than non conformists, conformists and their resulting principles play a vital role in the smooth conduction of society.