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Mental health stigmas in our society
Mental health stigmas in our society
One flew over the cuckoo's nest literary theme
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This was the case until one person got the inmates to question if McMurphy was working along with nurse Ratched because he seemed to always avoid becoming in trouble. There is also a character just like Mcmurphy in the Movie Cool Hand Luke his name was luke. Luke was an interesting character throughout the movie. People also looked up to him as most of the movie took place in a prison where they had to listen and submit to authority or they would get beaten, so of course just like Mcmurphy no one except for themselves wanted to step up to authority because they were scared of what would happen. This didn’t stop Luke he got many people to believe in what he said and they would help him try and escape the evil society made by the chief.
The concept of justice is dependent on a character’s view point on a situation. Randel McMurphy is the latest addition to the psychiatric ward, and is able to witness the extent in which the patients are being neglected with fresh eyes. In response to the injustices that McMurphy observes, he takes it upon himself to be the one to stand up to the authority of Nurse Ratched, as Kesey writes, ““Just what I said: any of you sharpies here willing to take my five bucks that says that I can get the best of that woman—before the week’s up—without her getting the best of me?”” (Pg. 66). While it is in McMurphy’s nature to gamble, he is also a man of justice.
In addition to setting, McMurphy did what wanted, when he wanted, always being loud and disruptive (“One Flew Over The Cukoo’s Nest” 3). He admits himself into the ward only to get out of working on the work farm. Because McMurphy is not actually insane, he’s not fond of the rules of that are set in place on a daily basis; He doesn’t follow the “god damned policy” (Kesey 89). By acting the way he does, he gets under the skin of the Big Nurse, who is in charge of keeping a set routine Acutes and Chronics, such as “Six-forty-five the shavers buzz and the Acutes line up in alphabetical order at the mirrors, A, B, C, D….” (Kesey 26).
McMurphy is a man who comes to the ward, destined to change it forever, and to restore the power taken from the patients by Nurse Ratchet. [1] His actions and motives during the text to follow what he has set out to do, follow a liking to another anti-hero who plans to change the course of someone else’s life, through his own actions. Ferris Bueller – the main character in the popular 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” – like most anti-heroes, has a bad side, [2] which in his case is easily forgiven as his enemies are considered ageist and worse than him. The same can be said for McMurphy when he acts out against Nurse Ratchet and the staff on the ward, because although McMurphy is flawed and has continuous bad behaviour, these people are seen as worse than him so his actions are forgiven easier than theirs.
McMurphy does the exact opposite and acts out inspite of someone else controlling him. He does this in order to prove to all the other patients that he is going to be in charge and take over Harding’s place. Also, McMurphy tries to
2. Compare the structure and financing of today's “medical–industrial complex” to your mental image of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century hospital. Outline your arguments—both pro and con—for this debate topic: Resolved, that government shall eliminate all favorable tax treatment for not-for-profit healthcare organizations. My mental picture of hospitals in the 19th century comprises of small establishments owned by medical graduates or physicians which is the direct comparison to today’s rural clinics.
His scars also inform us, you guessed it, that McMurphy is different from the other patients in the ward in a sense that the damages of life have toughened him up as opposed to other the patients who are very weak minded and subservient. This is shown to us throughout the book by the fact that McMurphy is the one who opposes Nurse Ratched's tyrannical rule while the other patients just follow his
This part is very significant because through the breaking of the window, McMurphy is trying to tell the other patients that even though Nurse Ratched has control and power over them that they can try and break that power. Basically what it is saying is yes Nurse Ratched does have power over them but if they know that some things can upset her then they can try and break her power which means her power would be overtaken by the patients. We also see that McMurphy does all these things to bother Ratched but this also exhausts himself too. His humanity is a good thing but it can make him very run down and become weak, letting Ratched get the power back. I think this is significant because it means just because someone has power over you doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion.
In the beginning of the novel, McMurphy came from wilderness and begins to gain followers by teaching the men that it is good to rebel against Ratched. In the middle of the novel, McMurphy chooses to rebel, takes the men on a fishing trip, and creates miracles by making Bromden break his twenty years of silence. At the end of the novel, McMurphy proves to be a Christ figure because he stands up for George and in return gets EST, gets betrayed by Billy, and receives a lobotomy. The idea that sometimes one must sacrifice himself for the greater good is still a relevant message in today’s society because it is important to stand up for other’s who cannot stand up for themselves. For example, Nelson Mandela peacefully protested in South Africa against apartheid and was jailed in doing so, but he did it for the sake of
All of McMurphy violent behavior was for the men to better themselves. He prepared them for real world outside of the ward. He helped them not to get pushed around and to not be afraid to do what they want. Mcmurphy’s madness is made reasonable as it provided the patients with hope and helped them return to a sane lifestyle. By the end, McMurphy managed to release many of the patients to their normal senses, Even though it caused him to lose his freedom.
By weakening McMurphy’s power in the ward, she creates an environment where can continue to thrive in her power through the systems she has set in place. However, Nurse Ratched’s plan does not succeed and McMurphy is allowed to proceed with his fishing trip. He continues to undermine the nurse’s authority to the point where he physically assults her after she blames Billy’s death on him. His actions give Nurse Ratched an opportunity to give him the ultimate punishment, a
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.
The audience already knows that Blanche is mentally unstable, however in this scene Tennessee Williams uses different techniques to demonstrate how the tension aggravates her case. The scene starts with Blanche dressed in a “somewhat soiled and crumpled white satin evening gown (...) placing the rhinestone tiara on her head”. Blanche is drunk and is trying to persuade herself that she is still young and beautiful by wearing a beautiful gown, however even dressed up she cannot hide her true self; the dress in itself is crumpled and soiled, exactly the way Blanche feels about herself and the reason why she tries to purify herself all the time. The audience perceives Blanche’s mental instability when she sees herself in the mirror. “She catches her breath and slams the mirror”, the mirror represents the reality, it contrasts with Blanche’s mind, in which she lives in a fantasy world where she is still young and unsoiled, the fact that she slams down the mirror shows that Blanche is surprised and repelled by her image and therefore has a mental issue with accepting reality and who she has become.
First thing you know he’ll begin to think she’s tougher than he is…” (Kesey 75). McMurphy acts as an unlikely Christ figure in the novel. He has a dominant force challenging the establishment and the ultimate savior of the victimized
Another point to note was that McMurphy seems abnormal among the patients. Especially with his laugh, I kept thinking that he might be mentally ill and not fake it (Kesey). But if you just imagine his behavior outside of the asylum, then it seems normal. This phenomenon is well known in psychology. It says that person once convicted of mental illness have an uphill battle to prove that he is not.
