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

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Peril of Conformity Society often portrays a certain stereotype that people tend to become in order to be accepted; presently conformity pushes people to their breaking point, supporting the idea that conformity can be a dangerous force. The 1950’s, when Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, were full of conformity, judgment and suspicion due to the United States being involved in the Cold War. Anyone who acted of out the “norm” was viewed with distrust. People began to question forces with great power, therefore questioning conformity. Only some connected the two, but those who raised objection to powerful forces were looked down upon (“One Flew Over” 227). In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a psychiatric ward in Oregon holds several men who have conformed into the people that Nurse Ratched, the head of the ward, wants them to be. The protagonist, Randle McMurphy, comes to the ward trying to prove to the men that they …show more content…

“McMurphy eventually helps instill the other men on the ward with the confidence to face life again” (Slater 124). He comes to the realization of the power that Nurse Ratched has and becomes afraid; McMurphy succumbs to the pressures that all the other men have faced and conforms out of fear. Nurse Ratched spoke, “’Mr. McMurphy, I’m warning you!’” in “a tight whine like an electric saw ripping through pine” (Kesey 144). This supports that even if McMurphy is the leader or the strongest man alive, the fear of strength in large establishments destroys the confidence that McMurphy once had; it resulted in the thought of life and death-the outcome being death. He concludes that Nurse Ratched has the power to “punish him” if she pleased, which in return could potentially kill him. Kesey uses this in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to prove that the idea of death has a big influence on conforming (Martin

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Throughout, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy teaches the patients how to revolt in order to oppose the Nurse’s extensive control with the Combine. He uses his Christ like attributes to allow them to work alone without his assistance and to make them realize their submission to the Nurse’s commandment isn’t necessary since they are men and not mental patients. As a result, McMurphy has conceded the men into controlling their own lives rather than the Nurse doing it for

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The Beat Generation of the 1950’s and early 1960’s encouraged a new lifestyle for young Americans striving for individualism and freedom, which included rock and roll music, long hair, relaxed style attire, vegetarianism, and experimenting with drugs (“Beat Movement”). Many young Americans of this era wanted to experiment with new social and cultural concepts, rebelling against “normal” American life. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey, portrays the gruesomeness of conformity through the lives of patients in one of the asylum’s wards. The novel shows how the patients are confined to strict rules and limited freedom because of Nurse Ratched’s power.

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Moral Lense Literary Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The 1950s, the context of which One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a novel by Ken Kesey, was written, was called the Era of Conformity. During this time, the American social atmosphere was quiet conformed, in that everyone was expected to follow the same, fixed format of behavior in society, and the ones who stand out of being not the same would likely be “beaten down” by the social norms. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey argues that it is immoral for society to simply push its beliefs onto the people who are deemed different, as it is unfair and could lead to destructive results. First of all, it is unjust for people who are deemed unalike from others in society to be forced into the preset way of conduct because human tend to have dissimilar nature.

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1311 Words | 6 Pages

It is often said that in order to gain something of value, something of equal or more value must be sacrificed. Throughout Ken Kesey’s book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, many things are gained, such as relationships, power, self-confidence, and independence while many things are lost to compensate for that gain, such as power, identity, control and people. The last chapter of the book brings the issue/conflict of gain and loss to a resolution. In chapter 29, the patients complete their transformation into independent and self-confident men with the help of McMurphy and the loss of the Big Nurse’s power, while McMurphy completes his transformation into an immortal ideal, rather than an individual. The independence and self-confidence gained

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In the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there are four characteristics of a controlled environment. These include; status hierarchy, depersonalization, adjustment, and institution. Viewers can see these ideas through different scenes and situations in the movie. The overall movie stems from institutionalization, because it is set in a psychiatric hospital, which keeps the patients there confined to a strict environment and schedule. Doctors and nurses look at small traits or changes as something significant, whereas in the real world that small trait would appear as a norm and be overlooked.

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Nurse Ratched’s Truth One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel with a clear engagement shown toward the reader regarding Nurse Ratched’s measures. Author Ken Kesey expresses Ratched’s actions through multiple altercations with other leading characters. The main conflict in this novel is how Nurse Ratched manipulates her power in the ward, and inevitably does not want to better her patients.

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One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveals the insensitive treatment and dehumanization of the mentally ill. The origin of the book is a story of an individual in a mental hospital. Ken Kesey’s character observes the daily life in a psych ward and reveals

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In this modern age of fluctuating self-esteem and an overwhelming desire for acceptance from the highly critical surrounding society, every person in some way, shape, or form seeks to embed themselves into a niche where they can find solace and a place of belonging. Society’s opinions of its members very often leave a lasting impact on a person, in which they internally impede their true selves as a result of society’s critique. One Flew Times the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey explores this phenomenon, where a group of mental health patients are continually handicapped and constrained by the controlling psychiatric hospital that surrounds them. Throughout the course of the novel, there is a main motif of what it means to be a rabbit versus a wolf.

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Throughout the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest written by Ken Kesey, power is a recurring theme that also teaches the morals of responsibility in this novel. Power is something that can easily be abused when given to the wrong person, as demonstrated in the story through allusions and characters, such as the antagonist, Nurse Ratched, and the protagonist, Randle McMurphy. Without proper use of power, it may result in negative consequences, therefore it is important for one to use their power accordingly and responsibly, as demonstrated all throughout the novel. Firstly, the novel demonstrates the theme of power through making reference to a famous historical figure, Adolf Hitler.

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Forcing people to follow a societal norm is detrimental to the health of the mind and body. The struggle between conformers and non conformers creates a schism in society. 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 create a surreal world that reveals a strong message on the nature of conformity.

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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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Expectations. A simple set of norms that kids often lack, both academically and socially. In “The Catcher and the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield, is struggling to grow up. Holden doesn’t want to grow up, but rather stay a kid because he doesn’t want responsibility. For the sake that Holden struggles to following social and academic conformity, he experiences a difficult crossroad between his childhood and adulthood.

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1599 Words | 7 Pages

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published in 1962, is one of Kesey’s most popular works. It helped America realize the cruel way that psychiatry and psychology were being practiced. The story is about a group of guys committed to a men’s mental hospital in the 1950’s. Throughout the plot, a new patient named Randle P. McMurphy shines light on the otherwise dull lives of his fellow patients while he is committed. On the other hand, Nurse Ratched and the staff seem to be doing everything they can to make the patients' lives miserable and foil all of McMurphy’s patient supported schemes.

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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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1288 Words | 6 Pages

His rebellious and free mind makes the patients open their eyes and see how the have been suppressed. His appearance is a breath of fresh air and a look into the outside world for the patients. This clearly weakens Nurse Ratched’s powers, and she sees him as a large threat. One way or another, McMurphy tends to instigate changes of scenery. He manages to move everyone away from her music and watchful eye into the old tube room.

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