One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Essay

self. The clearest examples of this struggle are shown in the two victims of suicide, Dale Harding and Billy Bibbit. Before their deaths, both characters felt a sense of uneasiness and discomfort in the psychiatric ward. Though they attempt to seem impassive and mentally stable, the men face issues within themselves and their reasons for being in the ward. Harding reveals that his issue within himself concerns his sexuality. He mentions that he feels “inferior” when “looking at the bosom” of his own wife. He also mentions comments about homosexuality, which leads readers to understand that he is in the psychiatric ward due to his sexuality. Due to these internal struggles, Harding decides to drown himself in the ward’s pool. Bibbit, on the other hand, struggles with his self-esteem. He explains that his stutter does not give him much confidence and that he has struggled to ever have relations with a woman. At the end of the story, McMurphy hires Bibbit a prostitute in hopes of gaining money and improving Bibbit’s attitude. When Bibbit is caught with the prostitute by Mrs. Ratched, his anxiety reaches a peak point. Upon being sent to the doctor’s office after being scolded, Bibbit decides to slit his own throat to avoid conflict with the ward and his mother. The internal struggle and violent responses to it show the more serious, life-or-death conflicts in the

Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is a unique fiction novel about oppression and rebellion in an American 1950's Mental Hospital. In this highly distinctive novel, setting definitely refers to the interior, the interiors of the Institution. It also refers to the period this novel this was set in, the 50's, 60's where McCarthyism was dominant. Furthermore, it has great symbolic value, representing issues such as the American struggle of freedom and conformity. This essay shall discuss the ‘setting' & its significance towards Ken Kesey's "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest".

Everything seen as unfathomable ideals at the time are used in the book to help point out how ridiculous they are. For example one of the many crucial roles in One who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the evil Nurse Ratched who obliterates all of the standards of women during this time. She is an authoritative figure who has complete control over the male patients in the ward. She can play with them as if they are her puppets she makes even the biggest man on the Ward Chief, a 6’7 foot Indian feel tiny in comparison. In fact Chief explains to Mcmurphy “No. I’m way too little . I used to be big, but not no more.You twice my size. ” ( Kesey #219) This proves how Nurse Ratched as such control over her patients that a 6’7 man thinks he is smaller than the height of the average man like Mcmurphy. She uses any opportunity she can to get into the head of her patients by forcing the patients to repetitively speak about their flaws and insecurities and writes every bit of information down to use against them later. These tortuous meeting usually cause the patients to go into a fit the most notable patient is Billy Bibit, a man known for his stuttering problems exclaimed “ 'I c-c-couldn't take it. Wh-wh-wh-whenever the officer in charge of class would call roll, call Bibit, I couldn't answer.” then he says “You were supposed to say, “Here sir,” and I never c-c-could get it out.”(Kesey #56) This viscous routine of her silencing the patients by making them confess what they lack in order to fit into society continued until McMurphy Showed

Mrs.Bibbit, Billy’s mother, and friends with Nurse Ratched, is another authoritative figure in the novel. Mrs. Bibbit gains her power by preventing Billy, from becoming an adult. At first Mrs. Bibbit does realize that Billy is an adult and is able to function in society, When his mother tells him he has plenty of time to accomplish things such as going to college, and Billy reminds his mother that he is thirty-one years old, she replies, "'Sweetheart, do I look like the mother of a middle-aged man?'" (Kesey 247). This shows that Billy’s mom does not seem to understand that Billy is an adult that is able to live in the outside world. This Results in him feeling Insecure and he chooses to remain in the ward. “Sure! It’s Billy, turned from the screen... If I had the guts.” (168). This takes place after McMurphy realizes that the men are there voluntary, Billy explains to McMurphy that he could leave at any time if he wanted to but he believes he doesn’t have the guts to go out in society. Unfortunately in the end it is just the fear of his own mother, and Nurse Ratched’s manipulative ways that causes him to take his own life. Another family member who manipulates her "loved one" is Vera Harding, whose control over her husband is similar to that of Billy and his mother.

Nurse Ratched has just learned of the secret party that took place in the middle of the night the previous evening. She is enraged at the patients and when she finds Billy in the seclusion room with Candy, she manipulates Billy by threatening to tell his mother he slept with Candy. Billy crumbles under the pressure and

Billy’s mother often enjoys being with her 30 year old son, sometimes treating him as if he is still a child. This is displayed when Billy’s mother takes him out after work to lie on the grass and tease his hair. Billy tells her about his dream to go to college and find a wife. However, upon hearing this, she “laugh[s] at such foolishness” (295). Billy exclaims that he’s 30 years old already only to receive the response, “‘Sweet-heart, do I look like the mother of a middle-aged man?’” (295). Billy’s mother treats him like a baby and emasculates him to the point where he is unable to grow. This causes Billy to be constantly scared, uncertain, and compliant with the Nurse and any other women of authority. Only after his night with Candy does he seem to act more confident and not respond much to Nurse Ratched’s shaming (314). Nonetheless, his confidence doesn’t last long after the Nurse threatens him to tell his mother in which he is then seen to be begging for her mercy. This scene shows how the the women of the ward uses the men’s insecurities to weaken them and force them to act a certain way, as shown by

Section 5 Page Range: 230-281 Dates Read: 10/16-10/20 Original Summary: After getting into a fight to protect another patient from the staff, Nurse Ratched urges McMurphy to apologize, but he refuses and gets subjected to multiple electroshock treatments and the others, knowing that the nurse will continue to do this to him, urge him to escape. McMurphy refuses and tells everyone that he will sneak in prostitutes tonight for the date he scheduled for Billy, and later he plans to make everything look like an escape attempt so that no one will get in trouble and so he can run away from the ward. The plan fails and everyone is caught. Nurse Ratched threatens to tell Billy’s mother of what happened and he later ends up killing himself. Nurse Ratched blames McMurphy for the deaths of the patients and out of anger, McMurphy strangles her.

By carrying out the Combine?s orders and imposing a matriarchal system, the Big Nurse has the ability to systematically dehumanize the patients and suppress their individuality. In Group Meetings, the men are forced to talk about personal experiences, a method Big Nurse claims is therapeutic but is actually very humiliating. Billy Bibbit talks about his first love who his mother disliked. Billy?s relationships with women seem to be the root of his problems. Nurse Ratched worsens the situation by ?grinding (his) nose in (his) mistakes? instead of helping him work through his problems (59). The patients let the nurse manipulate them in fear of the consequences of her wrath, and consequently are shamed, weak, and defenseless men. Even the Chief, the biggest man, has become a person so weakened by his society that he loses his ability to speak against the cruelty that surrounds him, ultimately leaving him powerless. The men are victims of their society and lose all their self confidence and individuality as a result of being pressured to conform.

Out of the four characters listed in this film, the one character that does not exhibit pretense is Billy. We first see Billy as a nervous, shy young boy with a speech impediment. Billy has weird relationships with women; he likes women and enjoys the company of them but is fearful of the women that are most close to him. Billy’s mother and especially Nurse Ratched are the women he is most afraid of. Nurse Ratched has a personal relationship with Billy’ mother, she has a special motherly power that she only has on Billy and not the other patients in the hospital. She can control him into doing stuff he doesn’t want to do because, Billy is afraid that Nurse Ratched will tell his mother about his

Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a unique fiction novel about oppression and rebellion in an American 1950’s Mental Hospital. In this highly distinctive novel, setting definitely refers to the interior, the interiors of the Institution. It also refers to the period this novel this was set in, the 50’s, 60’s where McCarthyism was dominant. Furthermore, it has great symbolic value, representing issues such as the American struggle of freedom and conformity. This essay shall discuss the ‘setting’ & its significance towards Ken Kesey’s “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”.

After Billy’s suicide due to his fear of his mother, McMurphy’s final act of sacrifice occurs when he attacks Nurse Ratched. His purpose in the ward is revealed when even the patients

Response to Question #4 The death of Billy Jo’s mother and newly born brother is one of the many life-changing events that occur throughout Billy Jo’s youth. Billy Jo blames herself for the death of her mother and brother because she accidently threw the flaming kerosene on her mother while trying to get the kerosene-filled pail out of the house. Life after her mother’s death is filled with guilt and sorrow.

Along with other features, the actions of a character play a significant role in shaping their personality as it provides the audience with a clear idea of how the character thinks. The actions Ratched takes has a more psychological approach, rather than physical. For example, she manipulates the patients into revealing theirs, and inmates’ secrets by “merely insinuating”, simulating reactions from the patients. During the group therapy, which McMurphy refers to as “a peckin’ party”, he notes that Ratched “pecks [the] first peck” which demonstrates McMurphy’s understanding of the way Ratched works, which could also be understood that he also understands how society functions. However, despite it being clear to the readers that Ratched is manipulative, and controlling, the patients, specifically Harding believes the group therapy is “done solely for therapeutic reasons”. This shows the extent to which Ratched as power over Harding, as he quickly defends her, bringing up the fact that she is a “highly regarded psychiatric nurse with twenty years in the field”. However, it also shows how Bromden may be treating Ratched unfairly, as he fails to attempt to understand from Ratched’s perspective, like Harding. On the other hand, it can be understood that Harding is easily manipulated, and therefore cannot be trusted.

While constantly aware of Miss Drew’s situation, Billy can’t escape the realization of his position’s possible transiency and the fact that his life depends on his usefulness in the gang: “all I had to remember was how small of a mistake was sufficient to change my fortune, maybe even without knowing it. I was an habitual accomplice to murder. I could be arrested, tried, and sentenced, to death”(123). From this, Billy is impressed with one of the fundamental rules that accompanies inclusion in gang life—absolute loyalty to the gang’s interests. Billy observes the consequences of breaking this rule of loyalty when he hops onto the boat and into the scene of Bo’s sinking figure, and later, when Schulz’s personal life becomes complicated with a pending courtcase. The gang loyally relocates to the rural small town of Onondaga to help ensure the boss avoids jailtime. After painstakingly building an amiable reputation in the town for the Boss, Schultz’s temperament leads to “the president” Julie Martin’s murder in the hotel. The entire gang dutifully cleans the room and removes the body with cover up concluding with and unprepared Billy being punched in the face. After the fact, Billy comes to see the necessity of his subsequent broken nose yet is internally insulted and cannot shake the urge to “get revenge” (159). This affront to his own ego caused a shift

A Comparison of Mrs Casper, Mr Sugden and Mr Farthing's Treatment of Billy in Barry Hines' Billy's Last Stand