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

Imagery is a major theme in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The narrator of the novel is Chief Bromden, a patient at the ward who pretends to be deaf and dumb. Chief has a mental illness where he relates everything to machines, he believes that everything is one big machine to be controlled by another person. The ward is a dismal place, with two distinct groups separated at the middle. One group is the Acutes, people who have a chance at rehabilitation and release to the outside world. The other group is the Chronics, patients who will never be able to assimilate into the real world and live at the ward to protect themselves and others. The use of imagery in the particular selection helps readers understand the strict separation of ward patients and the grim outlook for the Chronics. Patients at the ward separate themselves, Acutes don’t want to associate with the Chronics because it reminds them what they could

He was an ornery man who caused trouble in the ward, and as a result, he was given a “head installation,” an operation known as a lobotomy. When he came back from his treatment, he was no longer causing trouble, but he wasn’t doing anything else either. His life was limited to standing in a corner, turning a worn-out photograph over in his hands endlessly. Chief describes him as burnt out, with clouds over his eyes, staring blankly at the old photograph. Ruckly is an example to the Acutes, they see what they could end up as if they don’t cooperate in the ward. The Acutes are afraid of the Chronics for this reason. This contributes to their division as well. Chief’s description of Ellis also uses imagery that can shed light on how the ward works. He came in as an Acute, but they overloaded him in electroshock therapy. Now he stands nailed to a wall, covered in his own bodily fluids until someone decides to move him and clean him up. He also reminds the Acutes of what could happen to