One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Analytical Essay

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".

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.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey during a time in our society when pressures of our modern world seemed at their greatest. Many people were, at this time, deemed by society’s standards to be insane and institutionalized. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is set in a ward of a mental institution. The major conflict in the novel is that of power. Power is a recurring and overwhelming theme throughout the novel. Kesey shows the power of women who are associated with the patients, the power Nurse Ratched has, and also the power McMurphy fights to win. By default, he also shows how little power the patients have.

The 1960’s was a period of great dissatisfaction from people who felt their rights were being violated. Millions of Americans, young and old, black and white, came together to fight against racial discrimination and protest the Vietnam War. The government suppressed the southern black population the right to vote, while sponsoring a war in Vietnam that was widely unpopular. Reflecting the anti-establishment movements of the 1960’s, Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It has since become an American classic for its themes of rebellion and nonconformity against an over controlling authority that does not respect individualism and humanity.

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

   In 1962, when One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (the Nest), was published, America was at the start of decade that would be characterized by turmoil. Involvement in Vietnam was increasing, civil rights marches were taking place in the south and a new era of sexual promiscuity and drug use was about to come into full swing. Young Americans formed a subgroup in American society that historians termed the “counterculture”. The Nest is a product of time when it was written. It is anti-authoritarian and tells the tale of a man's rebelling against the establishment. Kesey used metaphor to make a social commentary on the America of the sixties. In this paper I will

One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest, written by Ken Kesey in 1962 is a gripping multidimensional novel, set in an Oregon Mental Institution set deep in the countryside. The novel is narrated by an American half-Indian known as the “Chief”, who is a seemingly deaf and dumb patient with Paranoid Schizophrenia. By choosing Bromden as the narrator instead of the main character McMurphy, Kesey gives us a somewhat objective view, as its coming from only one perspective.

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”.

     The one that flies over the cuckoo's nest is the giant, allegedly deaf-mute Chief Bromden. In Ken Kesey's original novel, Chief narrates the story, providing evocative images of an all-powerful bureaucratic 'harvesting machine' fostering functionalist social integration: a combine that would process out individuality, thus creating compliant individuals (the exaggerated representation of this in the film's ward is a microcosm of society at large). Those who did not conform would be relegated to a correctional facility for repair or removal.

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey utilizes different motifs to show the hierarchy in power. While the book may have included sexist and racist elements, it does not have an overall theme that is based off it, thus it is not critical towards a specific group. Instead, Kesey made use of those premises to incorporate those ideas into developing the division in power that is held throughout the book.

The main character, McMurphy, represents ideas of sexuality, freedom, self-determination. Nurse Ratched represents ideas of sexual repression, authoritarianism, and conservation. Billy Bibbit’s behavior represents and shows the influence and effects that guilt has on people. Ruckly, is a chronic patient that suffers from having too much electroshock therapy, and in his mental state holds a “Jesus Christ” pose, arms out forming a cross. He cannot move unless the “nails” are removed from his hands. The Aides Warren and Williams represent oppression and the unfairness that was to colored people back in the day. How this is represented is the patients use slang towards them and call them “boy.” When the Aides speak they use incorrect grammar and slang. Also due to the oppression and unfairness that they have dealt with all their lives they are very bitter and cruel people. They abuse the patients behind Nurse Ratched’s back and are constantly taunting and teasing them, doing nothing to help the patients already corrupted mental state. Finally, when the Nurse is being choked, the Aides, fed up with doing the same amount of work and getting paid less, and having to obey everything Nurse says, just watch and let it happen behaving almost pleased about the

Every person at some point in their lives have felt unusual or out of place. All of us have had both a bully or that one individual that we simply didn 't need to be around or even anybody they knew. Additionally, every person has had that one character they favored, for sticking up for themselves and declaring what they wanted, even though it intended sure punishment. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest by author Ken Kesey, these attributes stick out in the story. A dialogue of the setting, theme, and character situations into the story will help one capture how ones’ feelings fall into line with everyone at the streets nowadays.

The setting of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a mental institution, in the countryside of Oregon during the 1960’s. At this time young Americans began to challenge conformity and live their lives around peace, love and drugs. LSD was a drug used

She believes him to be an ordinary man and that he will eventually settle down. Nonetheless, McMurphy continues to do all he can to annoy her. Throughtout the story, the two battle against each other, seeing who will give in to who first. Everything is rather harmless until and inmates party rolls around. McMurphy smuggles in prostitutes to help out the inmate, Billy. When the nurse found out what had been going on she was furious. Billy ended up slitting his throat and bleeding to death. McMurphy was in real trouble with the nurse this time. To retaliate he tore open Nurse Ratched uniform. As a result, McMurphy is taken away and give a lobotomy. When he returns, he has been changed into a vegetable. His Indian friend known as Chief Bromdencannot bear to see his friend in such a state, and ends up smothering him to death to save him from such a miserable existence. However, he escapes to freedom after that. Ironically, dead Mcmurphy had given this man a new life.

Our perspective of a stranger whom we’ve never met nor seen, but only heard of through the mouth of the enemy’s opinion, will inevitably align with the only version of the story we’ve heard. This sort of bias is found in Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with Nurse Ratched’s depiction through the narration by Chief Bromden. The reliability of Bromden’s perspective is questionable, as it is his interpretation of the world, rather than what it actually is.