Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Essay

Conformity has been the target of many works of literature even before Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye spewed angst about everyone around him being a â€Å"phony.† To many people, there are forces in the social order that shape others to fit a certain mold, and one who does not fit the mold will be considered an outcast by society. During the 1960’s, rebellion was a shared act among the majority, including authors and artists; this was due to the conflict in the East as well as the Civil Rights movement. To these people, the government was a criminal, even a machine perhaps, which threatened one’s individuality. This provides some historical context on the background of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ken Kesey, the author, worked in†¦show more content†¦Most of the characters are truly plagued by the government, as it rejects any sort of nonconformity in society. Patients such as McMurphy are forced into the ward because they refuse to conform to the normal standards of civilization, and thus they must be fixed. The Combine’s machines of oppression cause many to conform, and eventually leads to the fall of many, including McMurphy. Personified as Nurse Ratched, the Combine’s tyranny causes a major conflict with McMurphy throughout the novel and much of the persecution that he endures. McMurphy rejects compromise and constantly fights the Big Nurse as she tries to emasculate him and the other patients. McMurphy, as the representative of the individual, fights against the grip of the mechanized civilization that has forced him into the ward. He tries to enrage Ratched to cause disorder and thus destroy the foundation of regularity and consistency; he succeeds in this when he and the other patients pretend to watch the World Series and Ratched explodes in anger. When McMurphy finds out that he is one of two patients that are involuntarily committed to the hospital, it makes him realize that he alone is fighting for his freedom, and the others have been repressed by Ratched to the point of being afraid to rebel against her or simply leave. McMurphy fights until the end to free these men of their emasculation even if itShow MoreRelatedOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Critical Analysis1479 Words   |  6 Pages Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest, is the narrative of a former psychiatric patient who looks back at the events leading up to his freedom, the novel shows the true rebellious nature of man against tyrannical rule, and man’s never ending yearning for freedom and inner peace. The narrator Chief Bromden goes through a long period of silence and oppression, until Randall McMurphy is committed to the ward, and brings about a change in attitudes from the oppressed patients. Bromden has beenRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuc koos Nest Literary Analysis972 Words   |  4 PagesOne Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel written by American author Ken Kesey, and set inside a psychiatric hospital. The story is narrated by ‘Chief’ Bromden, and unravels the events leading to McMurphy’s rebellion against Nurse Ratched in order to achieve his long-term goal of ‘freeing’ the inmates. Throughout the novel, Kesey introduces a number of ideas to the reader such as the oppressive nature of authority and society’s inability to accept difference. By using literary devices such as characterizationRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Literary Analysis1003 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom can be obtained through the defiance of society’s expectations to find a sense of individuality. Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is a novel originally published in 1962, which centres on the lives of patients in a psychiatric hospital. Symbol ism, one of the many techniques, was incorporated into the novel, to convey the main ideas of freedom, and society versus individual. Motifs and symbols are vaguely different, in a sense that motifs are symbols unique to the novel, whereasRead MoreCritical Analysis Of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest1542 Words   |  7 Pagesperspective 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. Chief Bromden displays characteristicsRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest And 1984 Critical Analysis1216 Words   |  5 PagesThe two texts studied, 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, both teach the viewer essential lessons about the importance of freedom and the dangers of despotism. They do this by showing the viewer how awful life is in the absence of freedom, the constant abuse of power by authoritarian forces, and the elimination of love. The film 1984, directed by Michael Radford, is based on the highly acclaimed novel, 1984, written by George Orwell. The film follows the life of a man called Winston livingRead MoreThe One Who Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Literary Analysis1046 Words   |  5 Pagescharacteristics, including the use of literary elements to portray deeper meaning. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are great pieces of literature which keep their main focus around the use of symbolism, hidden in the plot . Whereas Mrs. Mallard, from â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, appears to be insane due to her husband, characters from The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gains their insanity from Nurse Ratched, both authors incorporate symbolism in order to display themes andRead MoreOne Flew Over A Cuckoos Nest And Girl Interrupted Literary Analysis1862 Words   |  8 Pagesplatform 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 patientsRead MoreKen Kesey s One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest1629 Words   |  7 PagesKesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is a timeless classic. This novel has been subject to analysis through many different literary lenses: feminist, Marxist, and of course, psychoanalytic. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest provides a plethora of evidence when it comes to using the psychoanalytic lens. The lens in question deals with the teaching of Sigmund Freud. When reading this novel, the audience sees quite clearly that the world of psychology plays an impactful role in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’sRead MoreHumor in the Halls of an Asylum in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest763 Words   |  3 Pages Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, portrays humor in a powerful, obvious form. Usually, mentally-unstable people do not understand what it means to laugh and simple do not see humor in the everyday things other high-functioning people do. Their lives, lived tragically, consist of them wandering the cold bland hallways of the asylum. Forgetting how to live, they permit the harsh watch of the head nurse. The patients seem lifeless because they do not comprehend what life is. Since theRead More In ken keseay’s one flew over the cuckoo’s nest a psychiatric ward becomes613 Words   |  3 PagesIn ken keseay’s one flew over the cuckoo’s nest a psychiatric ward becomes a metaphor for the oppressive nature of society In ken keseays one flew over the cuckoos nest a psychiatric ward becomes a metaphor for the oppressive nature of society. This symbolic novel relays the story of an inmate standing up against the powerful forces that operate a mental institute. This novel represents more than man vs the institutions. The novel compels us to think about just how thin the line is