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Theme Of Insanity In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Insanity or Insecurity Society, It is always changing, just like the people in it. No one wants to look out of place in the world so they do what they can to fit in. Everyone does it differently it might be acting a certain way, or changing style, but with fitting in comes rejection. Just like trying to fit in, dealing with rejection is done differently, most people try to fix the problem before they start to get labeled. In the book “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” Ken Kesey shows that the “insanity” of the patients is really just normal insecurities and their label as insane by society is immoral. This appears in the book concerning Billy Bibbits problem with his mom, Harding's problems with his wife, and that the patients are in the ward …show more content…

There are subtle hints to why he is there, “I have been accused of a multitude of things, of jealousy, and paranoia, of not being man enough to satisfy my wife, of having relations with male friends of mine...”(64)During a meeting with all the patients nurse Ratched accuses him of a various things and one of those things is Harding being gay.During that same meeting, Harding was also heard saying that he is scared that he is not satisfying his wife, and she will cheat on him.“He had stated that his wife ...and that this made him uneasy because she drew stares from men on the street....he may give her reason to seek further sexual attention.” (44) As the book progresses we have an encounter with Harding’s wife and she tells Mcmurphy “She talks some more about some of Harding's friends who she wishes would quit dropping around the house looking for him. You know the type, don’t you, Mack? she says.The hoity-toity boys with the nice long hair combed so perfectly and the limp little wrist that flip so nice.”(185) This could be saying that Harding’s wife knows that he is gay and just tries to make him feel guilty about it. Another indication of Harding being gay are his hands. Harding has been noticed multiple times moving his hands femininely “beautiful …show more content…

The ward is not doing anything to help them, it is just making them worse. Billy could have gotten a wife and gone off to college if the insecurity of stutter did not scare him so much. Harding would have had it difficult but he did not even try to live that life he was so afraid of.When McMurphy brought them on the boat trip it was a huge turning point for the characters, mentally.There is still the question if mental institutions really help people with there “insanity” or keep them

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