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Mccarthyism In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, life described as either pain or laughter. McMurphy teaches that life's sorrows are redeemed through laughter, which is depicted as the ultimate rebellion. Applying archetypal theory to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest portrays McMurphy as the saviour from the dictatorial force of authority and society by sacrificing his welfare to free the controlled minds of the patients.
McMurphy’s journey of redeeming freedom by sacrificing himself echoes Christ’s sacrifice. In Randle Patrick McMurphy’s life, it is a constant struggle with authority. When he is transferred to a mental institution, he realizes the oppressive control placed by Nurse Ratched. McMurphy notices that Nurse Ratched's …show more content…

At the meeting, Nurse Ratched opens a discussion about Harding’s experience with his wife. During the meeting, the patients gang up on Harding and shred his sexual issues. The reality of the dysfunctional ward is shown when McMurphy states, “Is this the usual pro-cedure for these Group Ther’py shindigs? Bunch of chickens at a peckin’ party?” (57). The hypothetical good intention of the meeting is to help mentally unstable patients in order to improve emotional and mental growth, which could help lead patients to being sane. Instead of improving patient’s wellbeing, the reality of the meeting is to put everyone against each other in order to induce a “pecking party” to “wipe out the whole flock”. McMurphy gives Bromden Juicy Fruit after Geever, and aid, leaves the bedroom. Before Bromden realized what he was doing, he told McMurphy, “Thank you.” (185). His first words show his hidden emotions toward McMurphy. McMurphy has a big impact on the patients and allowed them to be men. He healed Bromden from his deafness and dumbness and gave him hope, freedom, and masculinity. This statement shows how Bromden is thankful for McMurphy and what he has done for the other patients. At the start, McMurphy seems to be careless that breaks the rules whenever he feels like it and rebels at any open chance. He starts realizing how much he influences the other patients. He has become serious, kinder, patient, and through his recent acts, allowed the patients to realize they can help

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It’s common for some works of literature to improve upon their writing by sustained allusions to myths, the bible, or other literature references. In “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Ken Kesey makes use of frequent allusions from the bible. Because of this, McMurphy, the main character, is painted as a Christ-like figure.

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In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the prolific Christian imagery serves not only to align the protagonist, Randle McMurphy, with Jesus Christ, but to provide an overarching allegory: only God can rescue mankind from the inexorable, bleak future it will spawn. The novel suggests that the bleak, oppressive future is caused by the presence of societal constraints, since government is inherently flawed as are the humans that created and maintain it. The depraved future is fully realized through the careful, populist affectations of the Combine which bely its emasculating ways. Functioning as a modern-day version of Christ, McMurphy, persists in his contrarian, self-immolating efforts to deliver his peers--his disciples--from the evils

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Albert Einstein once said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”. The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey portrays this quote through the main character McMurphy’s internal and external conflicts of falling into Nurse Ratched’s trap of becoming an obedient patient and being under her control or rebelling and fighting for the patients’ rights and freedoms. McMurphy’s actions can lead the reader to assume that he is an evil character, but he redeems himself by partaking in the selfless acts he does for other patients. One way it can be proven that McMurphy is a morally ambiguous character in this novel is that Nurse Ratched uses McMurphy and forcefully puts an idea in other patients minds that McMurphy has purely evil motivations. After McMurphy takes the patients from the ward on a fishing trip, Nurse Ratched has a

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How strong their beliefs are can be observed by how large their sacrifices are for their values. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, is a fictional novel about a man called Randle McMurphy who transfers from a prison work farm to an asylum after being thought of having psychopathic tendencies, and a tall Native American nicknamed, “Chief Bromden,” who becomes McMurphy’s friend in the ward. In the end of the novel, Chief Bromden kills Randel McMurphy after he is given a lobotomy. Chief Bromden’s sacrifice of Randel McMurphy’s life highlights his values in freedom and personal strength, as well as providing an image of an oppressive society that

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866 Words | 4 Pages

One normal day everything was going how it was supposed to, the ward was following the schedule, just like Nurse Ratched liked it. The patients were following her rules and did everything she said. But that day R.P. McMurphy was introduced into the ward. He was in there because he committed a crime and said that he was insane, so he got put in there for evaluation. In the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" two characters, Randall McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, had this sort of competition going on to gain the allegiance of the patients.

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McMurphy was in prison for breaking the law, nurse Ratchead was strict and obsessed with order and some of the patients voluntarily committed themselves there because of their inability to act in compliance with standards, rules or laws of the society. The theme of gender roles is seen in the way McMurphy hates Ratched or just that he hates female authority. Most of the male patients have been damaged by relationships with overpowering women. For instance, Bromden's mother is portrayed as a castrating woman; her husband took her last name, and she turned a big, strong chief into a small, weak alcoholic. One got to be mentally ill to be in the hospital at the first place as this is a place to recover from mental illness and be able to live with the outside world.

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Ken Kesey’s comic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, takes place in an all-male psychiatric ward. The head of the ward, Big Nurse Ratched, is female. Kesey explores the power-struggle that takes place when the characters challenge gender dynamics in this environment. One newly-arrived patient, McMurphy, leads the men against the Big Nurse. The story is told through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a patient who learns from McMurphy and fights for his freedom.

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Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

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In the drama film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, Patrick McMurphy was moved from a prison farm to a mental institution to get evaluated for his erratic behavior. Upon being transported to the institution, all his assumptions about his new home were completely wrong. The head nurse, Nurse Ratched, has the whole hospital under her control with little to no freedom for the patients. All the inmates at the institution go through rigorous training to become obedient to Nurse Ratched and her strict schedule and rules. The institution was a very controlled environment with the patients having no control over their own life’s while there.

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622 Words | 3 Pages

The age old adage that “laughter is the best medicine” appears as a recurring theme in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Laughter is proven throughout the novel to be a symbol of the strength the men of the ward acquire through McMurphy’s influence. The occurrence and genuinity of laughter among the patients evolves throughout the book, paralleling the evolution the men experience due to McMurphy’s revolutionism.

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1459 Words | 6 Pages

Due to the structure in place by Nurse Ratched’s orders, all patients must participate in therapeutic meetings, where they have a group discussion with the nurse and Dr. Spivey. These discussions specifically target one patient where the others proceed to humiliate them. When Bromden narrates a meeting of this nature, Harding, another patient, is the one under harsh criticism, “The group is still tearing into Harding when when two o’clock rolls around” (Kesey 53). In the ward, the nurse has created an environment where the patients do not feel safe. She pits them against each other using methods such as the therapeutic meetings, which cause the patients to feel as though they cannot trust one another.

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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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In the book Lost Voices by Sarah Porter, the main character has taken on many challenges in her life, however she faces these challenges for a reason. While reading this book I decided to focus on the reasons why the author put that in there. To do this I took note of many different important things. However, after reviewing my notes I realize that three main concepts were social issues, author’s craft, and themes.

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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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The concept of social alienation and various methods of subduing patients like electric shocks and lobotomy were prevalent which further alienated the patients rather than curing them. The movie highlights the strong bond between the patients. The human condition of friendship and bonding is highlighted. During the last quarter of the movie, the protagonist McMurphy had a chance to escape the institution, but he hesitated and stayed to support his friend ‘Billy’. The strong bond that he created with the patients led him to risk his escape plan to stay behind for his friend (Kesey).

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