Nurse Ratched was very controlling and wanted complete power. This caused many of the patients to rebel and break loose from her control. McMurphy lead the ward in this uprising. From brushing his teeth too early to sneaking prostitutes into the ward, he shows Nurse Ratched that she cannot rule him. This story reminded me of Malala Yousafzai and her retaliation against the Taliban.
The Origins of Madness in One Who Flew Off The Cuckoo's Nest The book, One who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, is an eccentric story on the cruel treatment of patients within psychiatric wards in the 1960s. It is told from the narration of an indigenous man, named Chief Bromden, a character who is deeply conflicted and wounded inside, as he narrates the story of another patient McMurphy. McMurphy is not like Chief, nor any of the other patients for that matter, for he is a man who refuses to follow the wards rules and does whatever it takes in the book to strip the head nurse, Miss Ratched, of her power, in a fight for the patients, sovereignty within the ward. His rebellious attitude unfolds and the consequences begin unveiling
In the beginning, McMurphy seems to be winning his conflicts with Nurse Ratched but she is merely waiting for the right moment, in anticipation for her opening. Nurse Ratched has crucial control over the patients and this is what makes McMurphy lose to Nurse Ratched. McMurphy finds out the reason why the other patients are in the ward when they say to him that
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”,
This leads to ethical violations that slowly build upon each other with empathic breaches and sadistic interventions to the mental patients by Nurse Ratched; which actually seek to impose order and exercise control, sometimes at the expense of the individual 's (mental) health, but certainly at the expense of each patient’s independence and freedom. Through death; McMurphy spirit and inspiration have developed well beyond any influence that came by that he might have been able to exercise as a "patient". The mental patients, all male, are divided into Acutes; who are there for treatment and will eventually be released and Chronics; who are in the hospital permanently.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Meets The Hero’s Journey One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey is a fictional novel that explores the interrelations between a nurse and her patents in an insane asylum. Furthermore, Ken Kesey utilizes two characters R.P Mcmurphy and Chief Bromden who help to depict the inner and outer phycology of men who have been confined. In addition, Kesey makes use of themes such as power determined by sex and rebellion as a struggle between life or death to portray the ultimate castration of men through using a female character who detests her own female breast and enjoys emasculating the men of the ward. The plot of the book mainly starts off with a focus on Chief Bromden, but changes with the introduction of R.P Mcmurphy arriving on the ward. Kesey initially characterizes Mcmurphy has a convict who has rape under a list of crimes he has committed, however later on in the book Mcmurphy is seen as a hero like figure.
McMurphy then proceeds to attack Ratched and attempts to strangle her. Unfortunately, like Billy Bibbit, McMurphy becomes a victim of Nurse Ratched’s wrath which teaches the truism: never
In the meetings she hosts with the acute patients, she tries to poke at the men's flaws and in a way uses the other men of the group to tear one another down. She begins this first meeting with Mr. Harding as victim and brings up his issues he has claimed to have with his young wife. McMurphy raises his hand and says that he thought when Miss Ratched asked the men to touch on the subject that she meant for them to touch Mr. Harding’s wife’s bosoms. Taken aback by how immature McMurphy appears to be and to show her authority, Nurse Ratched pulls out Randall’s file and reads off why he is there and all the things he has done, including an emphasis on his statutory rape charge. Randall tries to play it off, claiming he “practically had to sew his pants shut” since the girl was so willing, in his attempt to intimidate the nurse into believing she cannot phase him.
This may have been prevented if McMurphy would have stood up for Cheswick against Nurse Ratched but he didn't. Therefore this shows McMurphy has tremendous power now in the ward and Nurse Ratched knows it. That’s you can say Nurse Ratched fears McMurphy because he's not like the rest of the patients that she can control McMurphy is different. For my third and final example is how McMurphy organizes the Deep Sea Fishing trip and just needs one more man for the trip.
McMurphy makes friends with all the guys on the ward, seeing as it’s the 50’s and the only females in the story are nurses, wives, and prostitutes so there are no females on the ward. McMurphy befriends all the guys and turns Big Nurse’s iron fist into practically nothing. Big Nurse
After receiving a lobotomy, a man returns to a mental ward as his friends watch, refusing to believe that he is the same man. The procedure took his once loud and energetic personality, and completely ripped it out of him. Author Ken Kesey captures the harsh and controlled reality of life in a psych ward to inform readers of what goes on behind hospital walls. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey reveals parts of his LSD use and his belief in fighting against conformity through the mistreatment of the mentally ill in the 1960s. Knowing events in Kesey’s life leading up to the writing of Cuckoo’s Nest can help readers understand what influenced the writing of the novel.
The characters in the book have formed a mutual relationship with Nurse Ratched that allows them to take advantage of her. They know her weak points as well as how to get the doctor on their side to support them in the battle against her. McMurphy acts out partially for the attention of being the hero in the ward and partially to feel in charge of an aspect of his life that he has no control over. The other patients look up to him as the courageous patient that can help them get their way, which was never possible before. They all want to feel empowered and have the power to make their own decisions and can fulfill that desire by pushing Nurse Ratched around.
She is sometimes even referred to as “Big Nurse” indicating a large, overshadowing presence in the ward. As head nurse, she runs the hospital, seeking to have all the control and the power. She determined and maintained her harsh authority by proving to the patients that she was in charge, often resulting in humiliation and manipulation. Many times throughout the novel, the nurse used a patient's instability and fear of both her and life outside the ward, to get her what she wanted. Naturally, the men in the ward retaliate because of their lack of confidence prevented them to stand up to the nurse.
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.
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.
