One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest By Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest English Essay Conflict is a disagreement that happens naturally due to the clashing of thoughts and ideas. Conflict, as a literary element, is essential in enhancing the understanding of characters, themes, and symbols. Ken Kesey's, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, suggests that the power of an institution ultimately wins over any individual challenge to its authority in pursuit of independence and freedom. Conflict in the novel is fuelled by the power struggle between the institution's administrator, Nurse Ratched, who rules everything and everyone on the ward until R. P. McMurphy opposes her control. McMurphy is the inciting force to the conflict in the novel. One of McMurphy's main objectives in competing

In McMurphy's quest to disturb the institution, he encourages the patients to rebel against the rules of the ward with the hope of creating a change of policy. He wants to change the television schedules so that they can watch the World Series baseball game. Nurse Ratched agrees with his request but puts the decision to a vote in which the patients participate. The vote takes place and Nurse Ratched is pleased with the decision as she proclaims to McMurphy, "There are forty patients in the ward, Mr. McMurphy... and only twenty voted. You must have a majority in order to change the ward policy." (Kesey, 140). Fortunately, for McMurphy a surprise voter brings the number of votes to a total of twenty one which wins the majority to change ward policy. The significance the vote holds is that it allows McMurphy and the others patients to obtain dominance over Nurse Ratched. By McMurphy winning the vote, it shows the political power that he has won over Nurse Ratched and this makes McMurphy feel that he is able to make decisions within the ward just as Nurse Ratched does. McMurphy also views this win as a major victory in his efforts to rehabilitate the patients and give them the confidence they need to reach the goal of controlling the

McMurphy uses sexual acts of his fellow patients to try and create an opportunity to obtain power. Billy Bibbit, a young patient who has yet to lose his virginity, is used when McMurphy throws a party and invites a prostitutes into the ward. Afterwards, Billy Bibbit initiates his manhood through having intercourse with one of the prostitutes. The next morning Nurse Ratched returns to the ward and humiliates Billy by saying, "It is all right Billy... No one else is going to hurt you. I will explain [this] to your mother." (Kesey, 316). Billy's sexual act promotes the power Mc Murphy has gained so far against Ratched in which she accuses him of playing with men's lives (Kesey, 316). It is clear that McMurphy uses Billy to his own advantage , but what McMurphy is aiming for is to discredit Nurse Ratched who has a close relationship with Billy because she knows his mother very well. Having Billy lose his virginity is a disrespect towards Nurse Ratched. McMurphy benefits from Billy's loss of virginity by upsetting Nurse Ratched and showing that he has total control over what happens in the ward for the time being. Nurse Ratched overcomes McMurphy's doings by sending him off for a lobotomy procedure to which he becomes put into a state of complete