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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Capitalism Analysis

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Capitalism is an integral part of our modern society; countless individuals have benefited from the system. Nevertheless, capitalism has consequences that are often hidden in our society, the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest reveals these consequences by comparing aspects of the animal world to capitalist society. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, characters are compared to certain animal species in order to illustrate the consequences of capitalism. The role of rabbits in nature is used to illustrate how capitalism punishes those who cannot conform to society. This comparison is made by Harding to McMurphy during their argument concerning Nurse Ratched. Harding lectures McMurphy on the reason the patients are in the institute. Harding explains, “Oh, don’t misunderstand me, we’re not in here …show more content…

This imbalance is noticed by McMurphy during the group therapy session, McMurphy tells Harding afterwards why he called the session a “pecking party”. McMurphy explains, “The flock gets sight of a spot of blood on some chicken and they all go to peckin’ at it, see, till they rip the chicken to shreds, blood and bones and feathers” (57). McMurphy compares the pecking order behaviour of chickens to the patient’s behaviour in the group therapy sessions. McMurphy use of the words “rips”, “shreds”, “blood”, and “bones”, creates a vicious image of the patients being “pecked”; the session is weakening their power, not helping them. By revealing an embarrassing secret, a patient’s integrity is weakened, they lose respect in the group and the ability to influence. By the end of the session, Nurse Ratched has not revealed anything and therefore retains power, while the “pecked” patients are left with little to none. This is an example of capitalism at play, the vulnerable and weak are targeted while those in power remain unscathed, creating an imbalance of

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When Nurse Ratched does not grant McMurphy access to the TV to watch the world series, McMurphy proposes a vote to settle the dispute. The nurse agrees to this and Chief describes the moment, “First one, then another, then the next. Right on down the line of Acutes, dragging them out of the fog till there they stand, all twenty of them, raising not just for watching TV, but against the Big Nurse, against her trying to send McMurphy to Disturbed, against the way she’s talked and acted and beat them down for years'' (109). McMurphy has inspired the patients to stand up for themselves against the Big Nurse, despite their fear of consequences. This is the first time that anyone has stood up against the big Nurse, and therefore she is shocked and dismayed.

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1474 Words | 6 Pages

At some time-- perhaps in your childhood-- you may have been allowed to get away with flouting the rules of society” (Kesey171). Nurse Ratched said this to all the patients at the ward one day regarding them rebelling against the rules. This quote really showed how manipulative and mean Nurse Ratched could be. Ever since McMurphy came to the ward, everyone there decided to start a rebellion against Nurse Ratched and the ward policy. Many examples such as when McMurphy was carousing around the halls in his underwear, people not doing their chores, asking to change the schedule to watch the baseball game and breaking the nurse’s window to take back their cigarettes show there is a difference in the air at the ward.

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637 Words | 3 Pages

The way that Nurse Ratched abuses her power is her constant attempt to emasculate the men that attend that institution. For instance, in the film, Nurse Ratched repeatedly reminds her patients that they are “weak” and “unmanly”, further diminishing their masculinity, and making them feel inclined to give in to her commands. Along with this, this film has allowed awareness about mental illness to spread and has changed a multitude of perspectives about mental illness. This movie allowed individuals to feel more empathetic

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416 Words | 2 Pages

Ratched represents the intents and goals of these institutions in seeking control and dehumanizing patients. With this, Kesey is able to portray the dangers of authority and the impact authority can have on people. He tries to show how it’s crucial that people don't allow themselves to be controlled by the oppressive and tyrannical systems of authority. He argues that it’s crucial that people do what they can to stand up for themselves when they are faced with oppressive authority and fight for their individuality and

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447 Words | 2 Pages

However, to Nurse Ratched, this window illustrates her dominance over the ward. “The Big Nurse watches all [that the patients do] through her window” (42). Kesey’s glass division between the sane and the insane demonstrates Nurse Ratched’s overall want of authority. Correspondingly, the Big Nurse is a wolf amongst the hospital full of rabbits. As Harding explains to McMurphy that the patients are essentially small rabbits in the forest that is the mental institution, he also notes that Nurse Ratched is the “strong wolf” that teaches the rabbits their place, much like the hierarchy of nature (61).

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954 Words | 4 Pages

The table, a religious symbol, performs the function of destroying lives and making public examples of those who rebel against the ruling powers, while also symbolising crucifixion, and foreshadowing McMurphy’s inevitable sacrifice. Similar to Hitler, who concealed his actions from the German civilians, Nurse Ratched hid her ‘vile’ behaviour from outsiders. Through the despicable actions of Nurse Ratched, Kesey positions the reader to question the sinister notion of authoritative control. This is highlighted through Nurse Ratched’s manipulation of patients through her ‘democratic’ group meetings which were intended to transform the patients into ‘functioning, adjusted components’ ready to assimilate into society. Nurse Ratched maintained her position of power through her ‘pecking party’ where she manipulated patients into expelling shameful ‘confessions’ and performing humiliating

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A patient's first thought when they enter a mental ward is, this could not have been as bad as someone thought it would be. Only once they meet certain people in it is

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766 Words | 4 Pages

They should’ve known better...” This shows the fear the men have after being caught by Nurse Ratched. They are scared by her and fear her actions. Another example of this is on pages 4 and 5, is “She’s going to tear the black bastards limb from limb, she’s so furious. She’s swelling up, swells till her back’s splitting out the white uniform

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725 Words | 3 Pages

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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991 Words | 4 Pages

And you want to take that away from them. We like to hear suggestions and requests whenever we can, but I should think you might at least give some thought to others before you make your requests” (Kesey 106). This interaction shows how Nurse Ratched can easily manipulate a conversation into a respect battle. She uses every fault a patient has against them, and makes them believe it is all because of what they were admitted for. This further supports how Ratched abuses her power as she then turns to more physical terms of manipulation over the patients.

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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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1379 Words | 6 Pages

The movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” gives an inside look into the life of a patient living in a mental institution; helping to give a new definition of mental illnesses. From a medical standpoint, determinants of mental illness are considered to be internal; physically and in the mind, while they are seen as external; in the environment or the person’s social situation, from a sociological perspective (Stockton, 2014). Additionally, the movie also explores the idea of power relations that exist between an authorized person (Nurse Ratched) and a patient and further looks into the punishment a deviant actor receives (ie. McMurphy contesting Nurse Ratched). One of the sociological themes that I have observed is conformity.

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

The movie was mostly focused on the feud between the warden/nurse Ms. Ratched and McMurphy. McMurphy tried to go against the hard-set plan set by the institution. More he tried to establish dominance and leadership within the group. This threatened the nurse’s ways of subduing patients, and they felt of less importance in their own institution. This led to a bitter rivalry and because of it the nurse tried to subdue, with same techniques as with other patients, McMurphy even after realizing that he was not a mentally unstable person.

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1329 Words | 6 Pages

The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey tells the story of a group of patients in a 1960s psychiatric hospital. The novel is told from the perspective of one of the patients who, up until the very end of the story, is mute. This character is named Bromden and because of the fact that he doesn’t speak, people think he is deaf. Bromden is in the psychiatric hospital because, although its is unclear whether he actually is skitzophrenic, he has been diagnosed as such. Bromden and many other psychiatric patients live in this ward, under the “command” of Nurse Ratched, nicknamed “Big Nurse”.

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1031 Words | 5 Pages

The government told the human race that nothing is wrong, it was just the citizens’ fear of the worst. So people did not worry about their lack of food or unsafe working conditions because they had no reason to distrust the government. They never realized that their idea of a utopia slowly slipped through their grasp. Rather than maintaining utter perfection in respect of laws, politics, customs, and conditions, the government remained in oppressive societal control; everything appeared ideal, but once examined closer, the true horrors came to light.

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