Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey

In the 1960s the views of women were not as they are today. For centuries women have been objectified and not treated as equals, only being viewed as property or looked at for their physical features. Ken Kesey the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with the character McMurphy, learned towards the superiority of the male sexuality over female authority (123 Helpme). The women in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are portrayed as weak, sex objects, and domineering.

From the moment that the apple touched Eve’s lips, women have been seen as an embodiment of all that is evil. This reflects misogynistic societal beliefs that women are below men. While many of the prejudices towards women are hidden in modern American society, some misogynistic stereotypes are still present. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one can see many misogynistic and sexist undertones. Big Nurse Ratched is in a position of authority over a large group of men and is seen as a tyrannical and unjust ruler. Although most of her methods would have been seen as awful when used by any person, the saturation of bad women in the novel creates an unfavorable picture of women in general. The balance of power in the ward is

Miloš Forman and John Steinbeck in their texts One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and Of Mice and Men (1937) heavily use and explore the key ideas of ambition and companionship explored throughout their texts, primarily through the use of characterization but also through imagery and symbolisms. Alongside techniques, Forman and Steinbeck utilise other themes and ideas to further develop and convey their ideas, exploring the effect and power of ambition and dreams alongside belonging and individuality being used to explore themes of companionship.

In Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there were two main characters that were in a battle to have the majority of control over the ward. Throughout the story, they engaged in different acts of stubbornness to see who could display the most power and which of the two could stand their ground the longest without giving in to the other. These two characters were: Randle McMurphy, a new patient who was determined to change the ways of the ward, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the asylum who preferred to have complete control over everyone and everything.

faculty in order to gain power and take away all of their freedoms, even their freedom

The suppression that the male patients face traces back to the suppression of American society. McMurphy refuses to be another robot following orders aimlessly, he fights to maintain his individuality and to spread that individuality to the other patients. Just as the novel, society in America is very mechanical, citizens follow mundane orders like machines and when a unique individual breaks through and expresses themselves, they are eliminated. The power that Nurse Ratched feels against the male patients is similar to the power that Society holds on their people, order and control is essential. Both entities fear individuals whom have original thought, those people cause a threat since they can influence others to think the way they do--control is then lost.

In a discussion John Steinbeck said, "I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks . . .” (Parini 27)

Many times throughout one of Ken Kesey’s most famous novels, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the book uses animals as symbols to represent the story’s plot. The animals usually relate to individual characters and their current struggles within the story. Animal imagery provides us with great insight to the themes that Kesey is trying to have us explore, and is a very good tool that the reader can use to help better understand and relate to the characters.

In Kesey’s 1950s novel ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest’ Nurse Ratched’s relationship with male patients is based upon differences they hold about gender and identity. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as a masculine misandrist figure that gains power from emasculation. She carries “no compact or lipstick or woman stuff, she’s got that bag full of a thousand parts she aims to use in her duties” . This implies nothing womanly about her as she prioritises her “duties”, suggesting that she aims to control her male patients by ridding her feminine qualities. In addition, she is shown in robotic with a chilling aura. This is evident when she slid “through the door with a gust of cold and locks the door behind her” . This indicates that as a power figure her only concern is controlling her male patients, making sure they are obedient and abiding by her rules. “Gust of cold” implies that by doing so she wholly ruins her relationship with the males due to her “cold” and callous methods. Daniel J. Vitkus states she is “the Big Nurse, an evil mother who wishes to keep and control her little boys (the men on the ward) under her system of mechanical surveillance and mind control.” Yet, can be argued that she is fulfilling her role of working as a Nurse within a mental institution. However Vitkus’s critique is similar to when McMurphy says “Mother Ratched, a ball-cutter?” McMurphy is a hyper masculine force against Ratched’s emasculating norms. Their relationship is essentially a power

During the Great Depression, it was not uncommon to become morosely secluded while working. Men would go far away from their families in search of any jobs they could get, with only themselves to confide in; colleagues only filling in the void of friends and family partially. Naturally, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written during this period, would reflect this fact as a major aspect of the story. Loneliness would become the sinew of Of Mice and Men, manifested in some of the story’s main characters: Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. These allusions to loneliness are found throughout the book, mimicking the rampant disease of isolation at the time.

In the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ F Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck respectively explore the complex perspective of the true outcome of the American Dream. Although set within different eras of American society, the extensive failure of dreams throughout both texts shows how the American Dream is destined for annihilation despite the intention of hope and happiness. In its original form the American Dream encapsulated the ideal that ‘equality of opportunity is available to any American allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved’. ’The Great Gatsby’ follows its protagonist Jay Gatsby who sets his life around his desire of reuniting Daisy Buchanan, the lost love of his life, through the eyes of Nick

In Of Mice & Men and The Great Gatsby, how do people’s American Dream differ, what do they have in common, and how do people feel about the dreams of others?

They are victims. A victim is someone or something that is hurt by some unpleasant occurrence.The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men both depict several instances where people are victims. Both of these books tell a story in which the characters live through these tough conditions every day, from having no money to being victims of racial discrimination. To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men convey considerable understanding of an unstable era in American history through common events and lifestyles of people that lived through these times.

Humans are malicious and furtive creatures. They conform to their surrounding environments and surrender to the pressures of their social class and peers. Therefore, people dissemble their true feelings, and present a false identity of themselves to the world. Humanity also struggles with the acceptance and realization of reality, for people consume themselves with their own mental fantasies. In the novels, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the events the characters face during the roaring ‘20s and World War II illustrate how vastly different plot can share similar themes of humanity. The duality of humanity consists of people, who conceal their true identities and emotions beneath a facade, and their willingness to reveal the truth decreases due to their social circumstances; while other times, the refusal to accept reality can cause humanity to imagine elaborate fantasies that they strive to achieve.

More and more men are holding power over women. When this happens women feel afraid to be themselves and being very insecure and feel they have no purpose. Sadly this is happening more and more in society. This is also shown in Literature books as well, so society has learned and followed what authors have wrote and not it is happening more and more. In the novels, A Doll's House and The Great Gatsby we see that women in the books have strong relationships, but men believe they hold higher power, which can lead womens self esteem to go down, causing them to feel like they have no purpose.