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Examples Of Conformity In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Social Conformity in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest “He Who Marches Out Of Step Hears Another Drum” (Kesey 154). In this modern world, to come to terms with society is to conform to its standards. A society regularly scrutinizes people who do not fit the common mold of norms. Consequently, forcing people to follow a societal norm is detrimental to the health of the mind and body. This struggle between conformers and nonconformers creates a schism in a society that causes a great disparity in ideals. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey asserts the overarching importance of individuality through the use of a conflict between the patients and the nurse as a microcosm of society. In the novel, the delusions of the narrator …show more content…

With this in mind, she does not hesitate to exercise her power on the psych ward. Furthermore, Kesey characterizes Nurse Ratched as the antithesis to Randle McMurphy. In the Chief’s mind, he can “smell the machinery inside the way that you smell a motor” (Kesey 4). This statement further shows how the people of the asylum see her as a regent and connects her to the Combine. Nurse Ratched controls every aspect of the patients’ daily lives. Her strict schedule restricts how much time the men will eat, sleep, and play. With no freedom, the men are kept in check. When Randle McMurphy breaks her routine, she is angered and her image falters. On one day, Randle McMurphy tricks her into thinking he is naked. She realizes what he is doing with “her flat red smile going out before her” (Kesey 100). Each incident with McMurphy makes her lose her composure, revealing that she is not as powerful as the men perceive. A powerful example of this is when McMurphy smashes her glass windows to prove to her that she is not going to imprison him. When McMurphy smashes the glass, it “came apart like water splashing, and the nurse threw her hands to her ears” (Kesey 201). Previously, McMurphy decided to yield to Nurse Ratched’s rules in fear that he would be kept forever, but when he breaks the glass, he decides to fight for their freedom …show more content…

As a leader, he is able to unite the men against Nurse Ratched. His rebellion is similar to the rebellion of various countercultures in the 1960s. During group meetings, the Nurse routinely turns the men on each other in what McMurphy describes as a “pecking party” (Kesey 57). The men fall to her trickery because they are afraid of the repercussions of defying her. McMurphy successfully gets the men to rebel against her by sitting in front of the T.V. when it is not the scheduled time, leading to Nurse Ratched “ranting and screaming behind us” (Kesey 144). Her inability to stop the men further reveals to them that she does not truly control them. They have the free will to do what they want to do; not what society wants them to do. In effect, these men are transformed by the freedom that McMurphy brings. While Nurse Ratched reproach the men for expressing any sexuality, McMurphy encourages them to embrace it. Billy Bibbit is a target of this shaming, but he falls in love when he is introduced to Candy by McMurphy. The tendency of society to have a strict control on sexuality is shown through this. Instead of shaming sexuality, society should be accepting it as human nature. Overall, the qualities of Randle McMullen make him a Christ-figure. He leads the men as the leader of a rebellion

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In the struggle between freedom and power, McMurphy’s sacrifice allows freedom to prevail. His leadership in a rising rebellion parallels many of the countercultures that arose during the 1960s. His rebellion fights against Nurse Ratched in the way that the countercultures fought against the government and society in the past to the present. The men in the asylum are unknowingly unhappy before the arrival of McMurphy. Through his antics, the men are saved from society in the form of Nurse Ratched’s regime.

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