One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Literary Analysis

Ken Kesey’s figurative language in his novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, suggests that broken individuals can connect and make each other whole again. The traumatic events that occur when the patients are younger still affect them in their current state. For example, throughout his life, Bromden has always been assumed to be deaf and dumb. When he spoke to people their “machinery dispose[d] of the words like they weren’t even spoken” (181). Kesey’s metaphor represents how Bromden feels that the Combine influences him. When Bromden speaks, the words do not “fit” in the listener’s brain and they ignore him (181). Being a large Native American man, Bromden does not fit into the mold that is set by the Combine (societal expectations), so

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.

In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey makes many allusions to McMurphy as a Christ-like figure. As the story progresses the religious references increase and become more evident. Any character can be a Christ figure, “where you find them, and as you find them. If the indicators are there, then there is some basis for drawing the conclusion” (Foster, 2003, p.123). Throughout the novel McMurphy’s actions parallel the actions of Christ. From the beginning it was clear McMurphy was different from the other patients. As his visit prolonged, McMurphy began to care for the patients much like Christ cared for his followers. In order to depict this similarity, Kesey used foreshadowing, events, and feelings.

The significance of the title can be interpreted in this quote. The story is about a struggle in a psychiatric ward, where many “cuckoos'; reside, “Ting. Tingle, tingle, tremble toes, she’s a good fisherman, catches hens, puts ‘em in pens… wire blier, limber lock, three geese inna flock… one flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest… O-U-T spells out… goose swoops down and plucks you out.'; This is where the title comes from, the cuckoo’s nest being the psychiatric ward and McMurphy being the goose who plucks “you'; out.

The literary elements in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are very important in the way the movie and novel were made because without them there would be no novel nor movie. These differences were made due to the affects a book has on a reader and the affects a movie has on them. A book needs plenty of detail to show how the reader is feeling and what the surrounding area is like, while a movie only needs a few significant main events to put in. The reason Ken Kesey made differences in the movie from the book is because not as much detail is needed to get the story across in the movie. These differences did change the way the story is portrayed however. With the adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel into film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest displays differences in characterization, setting, symbolism, plot, and theme, affecting the reader’s perspective.

As one is experiencing a life of alienation and loneliness, they may being to act uncontrollable while rebelling against their surroundings, one loses themselves as they feel different than everyone present. Alienation can force an individual to spiral into an abyss of nothingness, nonetheless if one allows others to reach out and inspire than it is possible to break away from the alienation and loneliness. Chief Bromden from the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey, is an Indian who was institutionalized for insanity and is considered a chronic in the ward as he is “too far gone” to be healed. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger is a lying, rebellious teenager sent away by his parents to a private school as they are unable to handle Holden’s behaviour. It is evident both experience alienation as their stories progress and actions taken, however the individuals present in their lives motivate changes in the outcomes of these dynamic characters.

Both men, McMurphy and Luke were turned into examples, much like Jesus Christ and left behind a legacy. Luke at the prison was cool without a doubt, motivating all the prisoners to follow his lead which attracted attention of the authority who believed that Luke had to be dealt with since he was getting out of line and also taking the other prisoners with him 'Thats my darling luke, grins like a baby bites like a gator' we see here in this qoute that dragline was one of many whose heart Luke won, dragline calls him 'darling' which shows how much luke is loved by his fellow prisoners and what a huge impact he has had on their personality. When McMurphy started popping the bubbles of the 'rabbits', making them realize that they had been ripped

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

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

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is defined as a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury, or severe psychological shock. As you read The Things They Carried and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, you become aware of the considerable possibility that the two main characters are suffering from this condition. With the main character, Tim O’Brien, from The Things They Carried being a former military member, and the main character, Chief Bromden, from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest being a patient at a mental ward, we are immediately aware of the differences in their experiences. Although Bromden and O’Brien’s traumas are a result of being in different environments, they have similar ways of dealing with it; these include flashbacks of better times, symbols in their life, and close friends they have met.

Please respond to 6 of the following questions. Your document should be at least 1 page, single spaced, including the questions. Please delete the questions you are not answering. 1. What personal qualities of the main character do you like?

The book One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey is based on the genre of fiction/drama and contains a central theme of defiance. This novel is written in a first person point of view of which one of the main characters named “Chief” is describing the events through his eyes. In my opinion the book is a well written piece of literature and forces the reader to think about and contemplate why certain actions or decisions are made when it comes to a mental institution. The novel has a well written storyline which leads to a climax that leaves the reader stunned and for a completely unexpected ending. The novel starts out with a man named McMurphy who is being admitted into a mental institution/ward because he chose to do so instead

In this world, there are two sides to everything. Whether it may be a message, a film or a novel, each platform of literature has two different windows. The first being the depiction of the author and the second being the interpretation of the audience. This concept is evident within both works this essay seeks to explore. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, a charismatic criminal, Randle P. McMurphy is admitted to a state asylum due to his will of serving out of prison sentence in a mental hospital rather than the penitentiary. McMurphy brings in the outside world to the admitted patients after being legally declared insane through a condensed interview with a psychiatrist. He symbolizes freedom, life and the power of an

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.

Written by Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was published in 1967 by Penguin Books. This story was written based on the author’s experience while working in a mental institution. He held long conversations with the inmates in order to gain a better understanding of them. It was during this period that he wrote the first draft of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Most of the characters in the novel are based upon actual patients he met while working at the hospital.