Euthanasia In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

The story “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey is seen through the perspective of a schizophrenic patient in a mental hospital pretending to be deaf, dumb, and mute. Because of his clear mental illness, it is difficult to tell in the story what is true and what is just in his mind. Throughout the story, the intentions of the patients and staff are questioned by whether they are acting morally. The issues brought to light by the story are using cruel and unusual punishments on mentally ill patients, fighting authority, and putting a human out of his or her misery by killing them, and if these actions are morally correct. In the beginning of the story, it is clear that the story occurs several decades ago due to the way the patients

Now, people that support euthanasia have the same opinions that Chief Bromden had. “Contemporary advocacy for euthanasia centers on compassion for patients whose suffering is considered incapable of relief in any other way or who wish to avoid what they fear will be an undignified death” (Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia). Since McMurphy was no longer able to make decisions for himself, Bromden thought killing him would give him the most dignified death available. There are many situations in the real world where euthanasia can be debated; however, in the case of the story, McMurphy and Chief Bromden are best friends, and Bromden thought it would be just to end McMurphy’s life. Chief Bromden made the right decision even though it was not easy for him.
There are several questions of morality in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” such as treating the mentally ill, fighting authority, killing to end suffering. The story is a moral one because most of the situations that play out end up in the favor of the moral side. Although the narrator of the story can make it difficult to read at times, the favoritism of the right thing makes the story one of strong