Conformity In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

The book written by Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, takes place in a mental hospital during the 1960’s where the nurse, Miss Ratched, is in charge. She treats her patients poorly and even goes as far as prescribing them with electroshock therapy and lobotomy. Because of this atmosphere on the ward, most patients live life in what the author describes as a fog. They do the same things everyday and aren’t really living, but are kinda just there. Eventually a man named McMurphy decides to do something about it despite the problems it causes for himself. Although challenging conformity has many consequences, in certain situations it is necessary for the wellbeing of those involved. There are many situations in history where a group of people

Shortly after African Americans got laws passed giving them the same rights as every of male in the United States, the women decided to protest for their rights as well. Susan B. Anthony and others led the Women’s Rights Movement and gained rights for women as well. This is the same thing that happens in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest when McMurphy stands up against Ratched to help the rest of the patients in the ward get the treatment they deserve. McMurphy is similar to Martin Luther King because he protests peacefully at first. When he first gets to the ward he laughs and sings which is really weird to the rest of the men because they’re used to the ward being serious and miserable. The Chief says, “I realize all of a sudden it’s the first laugh I’ve heard in years” (Kesey 16). Him laughing has a great effect on the atmosphere in the ward and causes the men to realize living there doesn’t have to be so bad. McMurphy continues to help the men by trying to pull them out of the fog that they’re in. He helps them to see that Nurse Ratched isn’t actually trying to help them get better so they can leave but she purposely makes them feel useless so she has more power. McMurphy tries to get the men to work