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Cuckoo's Nest Literary Techniques

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The controversial novel ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ written by Ken Kesey (1962) explores many concepts thematically, these being referenced to frequently through the usage of various literary techniques. These explored themes all being widely discussed topics within the communist-ridden, and paranoia instilled period in which the novel was created. The antagonist, Nurse Ratched is metaphorically conveyed through her name via a pun as a device used to force cogs into place whilst also foreshadowing future events, this metaphor shaping the readers understanding of central ideas greatly. Nurse Ratched is also expressed as being the emblem for the Combine by Chief Bromden, this being reinforced with the motif of machinery and mechanical …show more content…

The most obvious way through which Kesey reflects on the themes of the text is through Nurse Ratched’s last name and the two forms of negative connotations attached. The first of these being highlighted through R.P McMurphy referring to her as Rat-shed. "Good morning, Miss Rat-shed! How's things on the outside?" This subsequently implies to the reader that the Big Nurse has rat like tendencies; these being that she works quickly, without drawing any attention to the problems which she creates. Furthermore, associations with death are also present due to rats being the carriers of the Black Plague. This association foreshadows imminent deaths, all in which are related to Nurse Ratched. The word ratched is also a pun for the word ratchet, with ratchet being used within a modern context to describe an undesirable and generally unpleasant woman. Whilst, when the novel ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ was written, this pun was intended to have a much more metaphorical meaning through an alternate definition to the word ratchet. A ratchet is a device which is used to tighten cogs into place and can only move in one direction. Nurse Ratched, through this metaphor is then characterised as being a device used to force cogs into place, to ‘force the eternal soul to fit

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416 Words | 2 Pages

Ratched represents the intents and goals of these institutions in seeking control and dehumanizing patients. With this, Kesey is able to portray the dangers of authority and the impact authority can have on people. He tries to show how it’s crucial that people don't allow themselves to be controlled by the oppressive and tyrannical systems of authority. He argues that it’s crucial that people do what they can to stand up for themselves when they are faced with oppressive authority and fight for their individuality and

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710 Words | 3 Pages

They are her workhorses and adhere to her every need. They represent the dark enmity and the overpowering madness that lies inside of her. Nurse Ratched “ sits in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants” (Kesey 29). Nurse Ratched strictly controls society in the

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

To begin, similar to how Aquinas asserts that spiritual truths in the Scriptures are related through the use of figurative language, Kesey’s work utilizes figurative language to enrich and more effectively express its thematic content. For instance, consider when McMurphy, who provides much wisdom to both his fellow patients and the reader, dramatically imparts to the men the virtues of selflessness and sacrifice. Late in the novel, McMurphy is provided with a difficult ultimatum—he may apologize to Nurse Ratched, but lose the esteem of the men and, consequently, all of the progress he has made in building up their self-esteem, or he may suffer electroconvulsive therapy until he is willing to come to heel. McMurphy, of course, chooses martyrdom for the sake of the men. The importance of selflessness and sacrifice is effectively communicated to the reader by McMurphy’s decision, but this lesson gains more import as a result of McMurphy being developed as a symbol for Christ.

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447 Words | 2 Pages

Nurse Ratched’s desire for control, in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, allows her to manipulate the entire hospital ward into believing her work is for the betterment of the patients. Significantly, Nurse Ratched appears doll-like: hair in a tight bun, a neatly pressed uniform, and “too-red” lipstick (48). Traditionally, dolls, like other toys, are made to occupy the unruly minds of young children. By comparing Nurse Ratched to a child’s toy, Kesey implies she is a mere distraction to the patients from their mental impairments.

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541 Words | 3 Pages

2. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, Kesey uses images of machinery to compare to Big Nurse, Miss Ratched, and the black boy because of the control they maintain in the ward and destroy the patients individuality. As Chief Bromden, the narrator, is thinking about over the years with Miss Ratched, he describes, “I see her sit in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get to the result she want” (Kesey 29). Miss Ratched is conveyed as a robot by the Chief with how she controls and knows how to control the ward and the people in it.

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742 Words | 3 Pages

Can Manipulation Be Used for Good? Laughter is something humans do inherently. If we find something humorous, we cannot resist the urge to laugh; it is uncontrollable. Control and humor are extremely important themes in Ken Kesey’s

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999 Words | 4 Pages

Kesey explains that men cannot handle a female leader throughout the text. The Nurse suppresses the masculinity of the patients because she would have no power against them in their full strength. The men would not respect her power and revolt. Though Kesey’s characters convey misogynistic messages in the novel, the reader understands it as a critique of the male conscience. This timeless novel promotes awareness of gender issues in an uncommon fashion that relates to problems in today’s social

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1389 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel, Kesey employs many characters, each with unique features. For example, Dale Harding, one of the protagonists in the story, was described as, “... a flat, nervous man ...” (Kesey 20) and in one of the group discussion lead by Nurse Ratched, he was reported of saying

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778 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

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1470 Words | 6 Pages

This behavior is due to her initial representation of an authoritarian figure who controls every aspect of their lives on the ward and their fear of retribution if they speak out against her. In the early stages of the novel, Nurse Ratched uses several tactics to maintain her control over the hospital and its patients. One of her primary tactics is to establish a rigid and authoritarian system of rules and regulations that leave no room for deviation or individuality. She strictly enforces these rules, punishing patients who disobey them with electroshock therapy or confinement. Additionally, she manipulates the patients by offering small privileges, such as sleeping in or access to the dayroom, as rewards for conforming to her expectations.

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1459 Words | 6 Pages

Everyone Agree? Perfect. "Nothing builds authority up like silence, splendor of the strong and shelter of the weak" (Charles de Gaulle). This idea is reflected in Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, where it is shown how authority becomes more powerful by abusing the silence of the people.

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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.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

Kesey has used characterisation to get the idea that in this novel there are aspects of venerability and strength. In Nurse Ratched’s case, Kesey has made it so that she is shown with strength and power over the whole ward, including the black men in white, other nurses, and mainly the patients. An example of Nurse Ratched’s power over the patients is when she says to Billy Bibbit, “What worries me, Billy, ' she said- I could hear the change in her voice- 'is how your mother is going to take this.” This shows how one sentence was able to debilitate Billy into begging Nurse for forgiveness and restraint of telling his mother.

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1468 Words | 6 Pages

Nurse Ratched has control over every guy in the hospital because she decides what they are doing every day when they wake up. She has brainwashed the men into think they need her. Vera has manipulated her husband Dale into thinking he is disgusting. Billy’s mother has emasculated him by deciding everything for him and letting him have no control over his own life. The men in this novel have lost their manhood to women who have manipulated them and they are too blind to see it till McMurphy shows them.

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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.

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