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
SETTING One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest takes place in Oregon during the late 1950’s or early 1960’s in a mental hospital. We know this because the memory of World War II is fresh in Bromden’s and McMurphy’s minds. The environment is very grey, dull, confining, and machine-like. There is very little warmth before McMurphy’s arrival.
Dima Musleh Dewes American Lit, Period 2 18 April 2023 Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs vs. Nurse Ratched Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs highlights the importance of fulfilling basic needs before achieving self-actualization. Maslow’s interpretation of self- actualization emphasizes one’s ability to reach their full potential. This concept also ties in with one’s individuation and their role in their environment. In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey stresses the ward’s inability to help fulfill the patients’ basic needs that causes them to never be able to move past the psychological needs and fail to meet self-actualization. This causes all patients to feel as if they are not ready for the outside world or to meet
In novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, a leader organizes a group of mental patients and rebels against the figurehead of the broken institutional system of the mental hospital. McMurphy pushes The institutions rules of order, bringing out the evil in the situation. Bromden, due to his bias narration, misconstrues Nurse Ratched as the antagonist where, in truth, she falsifies this by trying to maintain order and by ultimately seeking the best for her patients. Kesey chooses Bromden as the narrator, by doing this, he introduces an element of skepticism for the audience as Brombden opposes the institution.
Weather in literature is often used to symbolize the mood or mental state in which a character experiences. For example, rain is commonly associated with sadness. As it is commonly identified, fog is a cloudy element of weather that affects one’s ability to see clearly, however, it is also used in literature to represent a character’s lack of clarity. Throughout One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the motif of fog is used to represent the mental instability and confusion Bromden experiences under Nurse Ratched’s ward. As the story progresses and Bromden gains confidence, the fog diminishes and he is able to overcome the Big Nurse.
The portrayal of the two main female characters Nurse Ratched in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth by Shakespeare both emphasize the power differential and utilization of emasculation that defies stereotypical gender roles of the 16th and 20th century, however, the rationale to climbing the power hierarchy pyramid differ as Nurse Ratched’s authoritative demeanor exemplifies traditional masculine characteristics, misandry and a need for order, while Lady Macbeth embraces her womanhood implementing manipulation to generate chaos. For example, Lady Macbeth mocks her husband, “Infirm of purpose/Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/Are but as pictures. ' Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil.”
In the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a group of men living in a psychiatric ward are dealing with different types of disorders. The character that I chose to observe and analyze was Billy Bibbit. Billy is a young man who struggles to speak without stuttering and make his own decisions. He seeks approval from those around him and is always worried he will disappoint those around him. Although some people at this psychiatric ward are committed, Billy is a voluntary patient.
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.
Rational: The principal purpose of this written work is to depict the views of Nurse Ratched on the situation on her psychiatric ward which is the main location of Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.” Nurse Ratched, the leading antagonist of the story, is the head administrative nurse in the psychiatric hospital; moreover, she is known among the patients as a cold, heartless tyrant. Using old-fashioned and prohibited methods – such as electroshock therapy and lobotomy – she pacifies the patients, stimulatingly seriously harming their health. Throughout the action of the novel, three patients die: Charles Cheswick commits a suicide, Billy Babbit is found dead in the swimming pool, and Randle McMurphy is suffocated by another
Furthermore the doctors don’t seem to see the patients as human beings but rather they see them in terms of their conditions and illnesses. “Chronics are divided into walkers… and Wheelers and Vegetables.” (pg17) Because of this they no longer see them as men which consequently alters the way they act towards them. Because of this in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ there is very much a nurse verses patient atmosphere throughout the novel due to there being no connection or understanding between them.
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.
“One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest” is a film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey. The Film was released in 1975. It is the story of a convicted man, trying to outsmart the American legal system by playing mentally ill. The film starts at the beginning when the main character, Randle McMurphy, enters the mental institution. It won 6 Golden Globes as well as 5 Oscars and many other nominations.
The movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” gives an inside look into the life of a patient living in a mental institution; helping to give a new definition of mental illnesses. From a medical standpoint, determinants of mental illness are considered to be internal; physically and in the mind, while they are seen as external; in the environment or the person’s social situation, from a sociological perspective (Stockton, 2014). Additionally, the movie also explores the idea of power relations that exist between an authorized person (Nurse Ratched) and a patient and further looks into the punishment a deviant actor receives (ie. McMurphy contesting Nurse Ratched). One of the sociological themes that I have observed is conformity.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest The film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, prompts very important aspect of the human condition. In the movie, the protagonist, Mac McMurphy, is deemed dangerous, so the mental institute tries to suppress him (Kesey). The film highlights various aspects of human conditions like psychology, sociology and philosophy. The mental institute tries to suppress the mentally challenged people rather than to try to communicate with them.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a movie focused on the aspects of mental institutions and what goes on there. The main character, Mac McMurphy, is a patient until they determine his sanity. Unfortunately, like in many other hospitals, this institution is corrupted in the way that persuades the patients that they are unable to function outside of the hospital. They are also told that any disruptive behavior represents illness, and those who are ill get treated with electroshock therapy. The patients are controlled by an underlying, unspoken fear to disobey, which is illustrated in many forms throughout the hospital.
