One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis

The oppressor, or antagonist, of the story is Nurse Ratched, or the Big Nurse. Her methods of oppression, including attempts to emasculating the men in the medical ward, is the foundation of the work. The nurse uses her power to manipulate the patients as well as members of the staff in the hospital. Since she is in charge of the entire ward, she runs it with an iron fist while concealing her feminism and humanity behind a patronizing façade. As the story progresses, Nurse Ratched loses some power over the patients with the introduction of a new patient on the ward, Randle McMurphy. As McMurphy continues to fight her oppression, her façade breaks down and falls apart as she loses control.

Other patients on the ward begin to stand up to Nurse Ratchet and her rules. For instance, Cheswick hollers “ Rules? Piss on your fucking rules, Miss Ratched!” (Forman One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Film). A momentary outburst from Cheswick is an indicator that McMurphy has been able to model a sense of indignance at all of their treatment, and this is now being emulated by other patients through their behaviour towards Nurse Ratched. Another instance of patients talking down to Ratchet is when Sefelt states “Maybe he'll just show Nurse Ratched his big thing and she'll open the door for him.” (Forman One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Film). In this statement the use of sexual language is about empowerment. This makes reference to the possibility that McMurphy holds the key to their liberation from Nurse Ratchet’s control through his capacity to dominate her both sexually and otherwise. His ability to stand up to her and challenge her has captured Sefelt’s

In modern day society, individuals are influenced by strong superiority figures their whose dominance stems from internal power. Authority can often lead subordinates to rebel and seize control; therefore ability to obtain power is exceptionally difficult. A rivalry for rigid power is seen in the literary piece, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The limited dominance is shifted fluidly between Nurse Ratched and Randle McMurphy, and finally designated to Chief Bromden. Although Nurse Ratched exercises initial control over her ward, Randle McMurphy attempts to disobey her authority through defiance, and ultimately the power shifts into Chief Bromden’s final control in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

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.

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.

People with a lot of power are usually very influential and can change your life. In the Novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy and Nurse Ratched both had the same main goal of beating each other. Both the Nurse and McMurphy have an impact on the patient’s and how they act. Big Nurse tries to divide the patients to keep them from uniting while McMurphy is trying to unite them, so they can rebel against the Nurse. Both Nurse Ratched and McMurphy have a huge impact on the patient's.

Throughout the beginning of the book, the struggle to obtain and maintain power was displayed by both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched through their actions. McMurphy and Nurse Ratched battled to maintain control of the ward and did whatever it took to influence the patients’ opinions. Whether their goal was to transmit fear or to transmit hope onto the patients, both refused to stop under any circumstances. Based on the actions of McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, Ken Kesey revealed that individuals in pursuit of power will intimidate, exercise their control, and manipulate their peers’ actions by doing whatever it takes to eliminate anyone who threatens their pursuit.

Does the use of power to control others truly work in an environment where there is no respect for authority? Throughout the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, power and control has been a main focus primarily on two characters, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy. Nurse Ratched tries to maintain power and control over the patients over the course of the story, and McMurphy made it his goal to undermine her authority and make her fold. Up until the very end, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy went head to head against each other, waiting to see who would give in first. McMurphy was the embodiment of pride and rebellion, while Nurse Ratched held up her own title of the boss and led the institution staying high and mighty until the very end.

Works of literature innately embody the author’s ideology and the historical context of the given time period. Within the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, the author furthers his ideals against the issue of oppression as he attempts to take stabs against its deteriorating effects and support those who rebel. Set in the microcosm of a small mental hospital, he establishes man’s external struggle to overcome tyranny. At the head of the head of the ward is the corrupted character of Nurse Ratched, who rules with an iron fist and the help of her machine like aides. It also features the nonconformist character, McMurphy, as he works to break Nurse Ratched’s endless cycle of tyranny. Although the novel shifts between the

“A success, they say, but I say he’s just another robot for the Combine and might be better off as a failure…”(17).

Power Struggles In One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest In the novel “One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest” by Ken Kesey one major theme is the role of power. Power plays a huge role in this storyline and the one person who signifies authority is Nurse Ratched. The protagonist in the novel is Randle McMurphy and he tries to compete with Nurse Ratched for power by protesting.

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.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a psychological fictional piece of literature regarding a man known as the Narrator Chief Bromden who was part of the institution. This character was perceived as “deaf and dumb” attempting to go unnoticed due to the fear of the so called “Combine.” The Antagonist, Mrs. Ratched is the head nurse of the hospital who is known for power as well as rule maker throughout the entire institution. The Protagonist is later involved referred to as Randle McMurphy, this character enters the psych ward due to the unwantedness of facing jail time knowing he will obtain piece or so he thought. Many individuals who have read and or looked over the novel believe that the text exposes teenagers to vulgar content.

“…She’s somethin’ of a cunt, ain’t she Doc?” Although Milos Foreman’s character, Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), put his opinion of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) in the most vulgar of terms, he was not so far from the truth. In the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Nurse Ratched’s treatment and care of the patients was unethical when compared to the standards one would expect of a health care administrator. She used control over her patients to ensure order, without regard to the feelings and concerns of the patients. This issue is presented by the director, Milos Foreman, through symbolism, characterization and scenes. This, in turn, determines how the director wants us, as viewers, to feel about the issue.

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