ipl-logo

Archetypes In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1852 Words8 Pages

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a psychoanalytical work of literature composed by Ken Kesey which scrutinizes the taxonomy of cell patients in a psychological ward who seek to enact an inner peace through the alleviation of their minds and compliance to their innate, yet inconstruable, paradigms . The narrator, Chief Bromden, is a patient of the ward who tells the story through his pair of cogent, capricious oculi. Randall McMurphy is the protagonist of the novel; he is a newcomer to the ward but is quick to assert his role as a leader. Long term denizens of the ward are inspired and influenced due to his nonchalant behavior towards the staff, most particularly, Billy Bibbit; a young lad who attempted suicide due to rejection. As McMurphy …show more content…

He utilizes hilarious yet kind remarks at patients from the beginning to garner attention. For instance, he mentions, “Damn, what a sorry-looking outfit. You boys don’t look so crazy to me.” upon meeting the Acutes, a socially construed group within the ward. Furthermore, he solicits the Acutes on various occasions, asking them about their lives and routines at the ward. One particular example is when he demonstrates his desire for power whilst speaking in a humorous manner by inquiring, “This busy man Mr. Harding, is he the bull goose loony?”. Shortly after, he contradicts the statement of Mr. Harding by explicitly saying that he’d be willing “to vote for Eisenhower again this November,” in order to prove himself as the more insane yet controlling individual. Later on, he attempts to successfully persuade them to follow his lead in getting Nurse Ratched to allow them to watch the World Series. He encourages his mates by arguing, “there’s at least twelve of you guys I know of myself got a leetle personal interest who wins these games. Don’t you guys care to watch them?”. Alongside this, McMurphy represents his inner unconscious later in the novel as he attempts to kill Nurse Ratched in one last act of bravery, “he’d smashed through that glass door, her face swinging around, with terror forever ruining any other look she might ever try to use again”,

Show More
Related

Similarities Between Cool Hand Luke And One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

353 Words | 2 Pages

In the film Cool Hand Luke produced by Gordon Carroll and the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey , there are many similarities. Both of these works were portrayed in an institution of some time either mental or prison camp. Both of the works were set to be in the 1960s. The most important similarity of both Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s, is their theme of one man fighting the power, which was also a main theme of the 1960s.

Read More

Ambiguous Character In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

830 Words | 4 Pages

Albert Einstein once said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey portrays this quote through the main character McMurphy’s internal and external conflicts of falling into Nurse Ratched’s trap of becoming an obedient patient and being under her control or rebelling and fighting for the patients’ rights and freedoms. McMurphy’s actions can lead the reader to assume that he is an evil character, but he redeems himself by partaking in the selfless acts he does for other patients. One way it can be proven that McMurphy is a morally ambiguous character in this novel is that Nurse Ratched uses McMurphy and forcefully puts an idea in other patients minds that McMurphy has purely evil motivations. After McMurphy takes the patients from the ward on a fishing trip, Nurse Ratched has a

Read More

Who Is The Christ Figure In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

973 Words | 4 Pages

The novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, takes place in a mental institution in which the patients are either insane or scared to survive in the real world. The patients want to rebel against Nurse Ratched, the head of the ward, but; they do not have the courage. When Randle Patrick McMurphy comes into the ward, he helps these patients gain the confidence to go against Nurse Ratched. With his light-spirited and dauntless attitude, McMurphy represents the Christ figure.

Read More

Theme Of Allusions In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

713 Words | 3 Pages

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, Randle Patrick McMurphy, the protagonist, leads a rebellion within a mental institution and helps the patients learn the importance of self-worth and not conforming to rules that violate their natural rights. Kesey employs many biblical allusions in the novel that serve to build deeper meaning of the character McMurphy, who on the surface comes off as harsh and unpleasant at times to the reader. However, he is key in helping bring real change to everyone in the hospital. By alluding to the bible to establish Randle McMurphy as a Christ-like figure in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey is able to soften the hard edges of McMurphy, which is essential in the novel because it is ultimately

Read More

Sacrifice In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

759 Words | 4 Pages

How strong their beliefs are can be observed by how large their sacrifices are for their values. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, is a fictional novel about a man called Randle McMurphy who transfers from a prison work farm to an asylum after being thought of having psychopathic tendencies, and a tall Native American nicknamed, “Chief Bromden,” who becomes McMurphy’s friend in the ward. In the end of the novel, Chief Bromden kills Randel McMurphy after he is given a lobotomy. Chief Bromden’s sacrifice of Randel McMurphy’s life highlights his values in freedom and personal strength, as well as providing an image of an oppressive society that

Read More

Examples Of Imagery In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

683 Words | 3 Pages

He was an ornery man who caused trouble in the ward, and as a result, he was given a “head installation,” an operation known as a lobotomy. When he came back from his treatment, he was no longer causing trouble, but he wasn’t doing anything else either. His life was limited to standing in a corner, turning a worn-out photograph over in his hands endlessly. Chief describes him as burnt out, with clouds over his eyes, staring blankly at the old photograph. Ruckly is an example to the Acutes, they see what they could end up as if they don’t cooperate in the ward.

Read More

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Character Analysis

987 Words | 4 Pages

The general populous of the hospital are described as “hens” (Kesey, 285), which is an extended metaphor which was mentioned earlier when McMurphy said that Ratched’s group therapy was a “pecking party”, insinuating that the fisherman, Ratched, actively turns the hens, or the patients, against each other to keep them

Read More

Character Development In 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'

1267 Words | 6 Pages

Nurse Ratched initially lobotomized McMurphy in order to set an example for the other patients and keep them in check but Chief Bromden destroys this attempt by putting McMurphy out of his misery saying “I

Read More

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Dehumanization Analysis

1047 Words | 5 Pages

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveals the insensitive treatment and dehumanization of the mentally ill. The origin of the book is a story of an individual in a mental hospital. Ken Kesey’s character observes the daily life in a psych ward and reveals

Read More

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Should Be Banned Essay

1669 Words | 7 Pages

In the novel, McMurphy attacks the nurse brutally and attempts to kill her, “doctors and supervisors and nurses prying those heavy red fingers out of the white flesh of her throat as if they were her neck bones, jerking him backward” (Kesey 319). Also, the narrator shows mercy towards McMurphy by smothering him in his sleep, “and scissor the kicking legs with mine while I mashed the pillow into the face. I lay there on top of the body for what seemed days. Until the thrashing stopped” (323).

Read More

Authority In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1459 Words | 6 Pages

By weakening McMurphy’s power in the ward, she creates an environment where can continue to thrive in her power through the systems she has set in place. However, Nurse Ratched’s plan does not succeed and McMurphy is allowed to proceed with his fishing trip. He continues to undermine the nurse’s authority to the point where he physically assults her after she blames Billy’s death on him. His actions give Nurse Ratched an opportunity to give him the ultimate punishment, a

Read More

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Insanity Essay

755 Words | 4 Pages

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, considers the qualities in which society determines sanity. The label of insanity is given when someone is different from the perceived norm. Conversely, a person is perceived as sane when their behavior is consistent with the beliefs of the majority. Although the characters of this novel are patients of a mental institution, they all show qualities of sanity. The book is narrated by Chief Brodmen, an observant chronic psychiatric patient, who many believe to be deaf and dumb.

Read More

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis Essay

1288 Words | 6 Pages

His rebellious and free mind makes the patients open their eyes and see how the have been suppressed. His appearance is a breath of fresh air and a look into the outside world for the patients. This clearly weakens Nurse Ratched’s powers, and she sees him as a large threat. One way or another, McMurphy tends to instigate changes of scenery. He manages to move everyone away from her music and watchful eye into the old tube room.

Read More

Psychological Issues In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1010 Words | 5 Pages

The movie was mostly focused on the feud between the warden/nurse Ms. Ratched and McMurphy. McMurphy tried to go against the hard-set plan set by the institution. More he tried to establish dominance and leadership within the group. This threatened the nurse’s ways of subduing patients, and they felt of less importance in their own institution. This led to a bitter rivalry and because of it the nurse tried to subdue, with same techniques as with other patients, McMurphy even after realizing that he was not a mentally unstable person.

Read More

Mental Illness In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

673 Words | 3 Pages

Ken Kesey uses his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, to describe the lives of patients in a mental institution, and their struggle to overcome the oppressive authority under which they are living. Told from the point of view of a supposedly mute schizophrenic, the novel also shines a light on the many disorders present in the patients, as well as how their illnesses affect their lives during a time when little known about these disorders, and when patients living with these illnesses were seen as an extreme threat. Chief Bromden, the narrator of the novel, has many mental illnesses, but he learns to accept himself and embrace his differences. Through the heroism introduced through Randle McMurphy, Chief becomes confident in himself, and is ultimately able to escape from the toxic environment Nurse Ratched has created on the ward. Chief has many disorders including schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in addition to these illnesses, he pretends to be deaf and dumb.

Read More

More about Archetypes In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Related Topics

Open Document