The Cultural Norm In Ken Kesey's Chief Bromden

Laughter makes the patients feel good, and, specifically, Bromden feels good and begins to remember other things that made him feel good (Tanner 4). McMurphy’s power in laughter is intensified by Nurse Ratched’s lack of laughter. McMurphy’s laughter and humor are genuine while Nurse Ratched’s humor is forced and smiles are chiseled like in plastic (Wallace 3, 5). Power enables McMurphy to make changes on the ward and to survive in the institution. His sanity compared to the other patients, his manipulations, and his ability to laugh give him the power. He, in turn, gives patients a sense of power by teaching them to laugh at themselves, Nurse Ratched, and the world (Magill 1533).

Ratched is furious,somewhat intimidated, that McMurphy has such a strong impact on these patients. Nurse Ratched also has a very aggressive and strong personality having no guilt of how she has damaged the patients with her so-called “treatments’. Throughout the book she mentally hurts three men , 2 commit suicide and the other is lobotomized. For example in chapter two she uses her manipulative ways to shove the thermometer into the patients and uses it as a form of intimidation. Nurse Ratched also sends “unnatural chills” into her patients , she also locks her staff in the ward just to watch them.

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest operates as an entertaining and interesting novel on a pure surface level. There’s a good story, well-developed characters and fresh language. It has all the workings of a good novel, but One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest isn’t just a good novel. It’s a great one, because Kesey uses Chief Bromden’s perspective to let imagery flow out of the novel and have it all come back to one theme: individuality and its repression by society. This idea is highlighted by the image of gambling vs. playing it safe, whether in literal card games or as a way of living. The mental ward’s new patient, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is a self-described “gambling fool” (12)1, while his opposer, “Big Nurse” Ratched,

Although Big Nurse turns McMurphy to a vegetable at the end of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey’s portrayal of McMurphy as a God-like symbol in the lives of the men on the ward helps criticize the diagnosing of “crazy” people in the mid 1900s. Specifically, Big Nurse subjects McMurphy and Chief Bromden to shock therapy after a fight with the black men who were cleansing the men. As they enter the chamber, McMurphy stops Bromden: “Take ‘er easy. I’ll go first” (237). McMurphy then “Climbs on the table” and “spreads his arms out to fit the shadow” (237).

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

Kesey demonstrates the impact of a self-sacrificing, healing influence on the ward, through the construct of McMurphy. He becomes this ‘Christ-like’ figure to the patients because he makes it his responsibility to counteract the control and oppression of Nurse Ratched. Kesey uses this symbol through all aspects of the text. In the aftermath of his final rebellious act, McMurphy sacrifices his own needs for the lives of others, looking “dreadfully tired and strained and frantic.” After his death, the character construct of McMurphy Is still impacting and influencing the mental state of the remaining patients. Although McMurphy sacrifices his own life for the sake of others, he successfully challenges the status quo, and unhinges the very basis that it was founded upon:

Right from the beginning of the story, McMurphy and Nurse Ratched are involved in a power struggle-with Ratched quietly but ferociously determined on 'breaking' McMurphy down and making him 'fit' into her idea of what the ward should be, like re-shaping an odd piece to fit into her jigsaw puzzle; 'If we just wait a while, our hero will give up his bit.' And McMurphy adamant that he will not become subdued and meek like the other patients, and that he will begin to influence how the ward is run. An good example of this desire to 'overthrow authority' is the incident concerning the television on the ward, a scene that is depicted well in the Milos Forman film version of the book: McMurphy campaigns for Nurse Ratched to change the schedule of the

Regarding Miss Ratched, she seems to show signs of passive-aggressive behavior throughout the book. This behavior adds to her manipulative ways and contributed to the decrease of the patients’ progress (mental/physical state). Passive-aggressive behavior is used to maintain control and power because it’s a way for her to not display any signs of weakness. Miss Ratched, also known as the Big Nurse to the patients, fights hard to remain as the top authority figure in the Ward due to her thirst for power. To maintain the control over the men, she emasculates them, stripping them of their masculinity, in various ways to prevent the chance of an uproar against her. For instance, after a group meeting regarding Harding’s problem with his wife’s breasts, the patients attack Harding. In response, McMurphy provides an analogy of a pecking party to the current

In Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the antagonist, Nurse Ratched, can be described as a cold, heartless tyrant. In most cases throughout the duration of the book, Nurse Ratched is a representation of “evil”, but when a character by the name of Randle McMurphy enters her ward, he starts to test the patience of Nurse Ratched which, in turn, causes the patients of the mental hospital to become less afraid of her. Ultimately, she loses her power over the patients and the reader starts to feel sympathy towards her. At the end of it all, her actions cause her downfall.

   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

Written during a turbulent time of change, Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a critique of American society during the sixties, particularly the inhumane and degrading way the mentally ill were treated. Kesey’s utilization of setting, characterisation and symbolism depict how the characters give into conformity, which ultimately robs them of their identities and tortures their souls. The text is a representation of American Society during the sixties, as the characters are confronted with a crisis of conscience to either stand painfully still with their eyes closed, or to spread their wings and fly out of the cuckoo’s next.

Each of these art forms reached unprecedented heights during this period, the former of which can be related to the Merry Pranksters themselves, who were created and led by Ken Kesey. Kesey is most well-known for his 1962 work, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a critique against the institutionalization of people with disabilities, who around that time were not widely accepted by the public. The novel itself acted as a celebration of sorts for humanity as a whole, attempting to bring down one of the major stigmas of that time, that had was even witnessed with people as high as the presidency, as John F. Kennedy, who was president at the time, had a sister with a mental disability for which their parents decided to have a lobotomy performed on her in order to neutralize the overall effect. The use of novels as an observation of injustice witnessed around the country was commonly used during this time period, with other books such as To Kill a Mockingbird having raising awareness to the racial injustice that was so rampant during the time the book was

Ken Kesey: The Man at the Vanguard of the Psychedelic Counterculture The infamous Abbie Hoffman once said, “The '60s are gone, dope will never be as cheap, sex never as free, and the rock and roll never as great.” Never has a quote been so true. A time of great change, the 60s hosted the civil rights movement, anti-war became en vogue, and the beatles took over the world. However, literature was also experiencing one of its greatest heights.

Alfred Kinsey was born in New Jersey on June 23, 1894 to Alfred Kinsey and Sarah Charles. As a young boy he suffered many illnesses such as rheumatic fever and typhoid. In high school, he began his interest in biology and botanical studies with the influence of his teacher. He started his career in biology as a zoologist and entomologist but later found interest in sexology. His parents were very religious therefore not agreeing with his choice of career. Due to this he considered his father’s wishes by studying engineering but decided that he was better off with biology.

Around 1964 the Merry Pranksters, a nonchalant group that developed around novelist Ken Kesey, sponsored the ‘Acid Tests’, a series of parties held by Kesey in the San Francisco area, and which were entirely centered on the use of LSD (supplied by Stanley) (Class). Accompanied by light shows, film projection, and discordant; musical performances by the Grateful Dead were a commonplace (Class). According to Johnson (2011), Kesey regarded the Acid Tests as more than just a form of