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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Character Analysis

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Kesey provides the characterization of our narrator, Chief Bromden, and the other ward patients to intimately display the pain Ratched’s institution causes behind the scenes. When it comes to Bromden, there is no doubt that he is an “unreliable narrator” (Zubizarreta). Regardless of the accuracy of his retellings, Bromden’s account still holds emotional weight, as the events and characteristics of McMurphy and Ratched would still shine through, despite possible inaccuracy in smaller details. One main contributor to his unreliability is “the fog”, which clouded his perceptions during times of stress. As the story progressed, the frequency of “the fog” decreased, due to the actions of McMurphy, as did many other insecure characteristics possessed …show more content…

Bromden views himself as miniscule, while viewing McMurphy as “twice the size” (Kesey, 219) of him. This reveals that Bromden’s comments on his size are based on confidence and will-power, which at the time of this comment he lacks. After hearing Bromden’s argument on his size, McMurphy offers Bromden a “free body-building course” (Kesey, 223), foreshadowing the empowering effect McMurphy will have on Bromden and the other patients. Ultimately, McMurphy proves successful in empowering the patients (what should have been the job of the corrupt institution they are subservient to), as Bromden grows mentally strong enough to lift the control panel and escape the confines of the combine. Also, like Ratched and McMurphy, Bromden and the patients are characterized in the nursery rhyme. The general populous of the hospital are described as “hens” (Kesey, 285), which is an extended metaphor which was mentioned earlier when McMurphy said that Ratched’s group therapy was a “pecking party”, insinuating that the fisherman, Ratched, actively turns the hens, or the patients, against each other to keep them

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Examples Of Heroism In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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McMurphy is breaking down Bromden’s walls and shedding a light on his courage. The final notion that exhibited Bromden’s change from zero to hero was when he joined in and helped McMurphy fight the staff member for George. Like the other patients, he could have easily chosen to stand back and just wait for it to unfold, but instead decided to take action when he knew his fellow patient was uncomfortable. It landed him time in the Disturbed Ward and electroshock therapy. This action of standing up for the greater good displays Bromden’s heroic character, brought about by

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest: A Psychological Analysis

517 Words | 3 Pages

In order to demonstrate the detrimental impact of societal institutions such as the mental hospital and the federal government on their subordinates, Ken Kesey captures the patients’ endeavor to become whole again as they temporarily escape the Combine’s clutches within his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. At the beginning of Part 3, it appears Nurse Ratchet’s regime is nearly toppled and that the machinery has lost its control. In fact, McMurphy even draws “[laughs] out of some Acute who’d been scared to grin since he was twelve” and forms a basketball team for the inmates (175). Moreover, Chief Bromden speaks for the first time in years and achieves an erection after his pivotal conversation. Clearly, Kesey indicates the decline of the matriarchy and as a result, portrays the patients as regaining their masculinity.

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Needs In 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'

693 Words | 3 Pages

Many of the men in the ward suffer from low self-esteem and self-respect. The orderlies constantly breakdown the patients and demote their individualty through many different ways. Nurse Ratched taking advantage of their vulnerability “‘you men in this hospital’ she would say like she was repeating it for the hundreth time, ‘because of your proven inability to adjust to society’”(Kesey 167) Nurse Ratched repeatedly destructs the patients on the ward and manipulates them to belive they are incapable of ever being able to function as a part of society. This displays the amount of control the orderlies have on the patients and the amount they take advantage of that, as well. This example ties into the self-doubt and uncertainty the men in the book have in

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Examples Of Power In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

828 Words | 4 Pages

The gift of Nurse Ratched’s tremendous authority in the early stages of the novel is introduced as a desirable power, as it establishes a sense of order and stability within the institution. Nurse Ratched’s authority initially serves her well as it acts as a potent deterrent against one of her rebellious patients, McMurphy, who repeatedly tends to challenge her power. Because of this, McMurphy describes her reputation to the patients as the “wolf of the ward” and themselves as submissive rabbits. This metaphorical scene paints a vivid picture of Nurse Ratched’s power dynamics at play, allowing her to instill a palpable sense of caution within the patient to maintain her high position. Additionally, this cautious environment serves Nurse Ratched well, as it ensures that her directives are followed and disruptions are minimized to reinforce her dominant role within the institution.

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The Power Of Laughter In Nurse Ratched

1091 Words | 5 Pages

Nurse Ratched, the head administrative nurse at a mental institution, exercised her near-absolute power over every aspect of the patients’ lives. Over time, she gradually gained a strong position of power, which was only strengthened by her ability to determine the fates of her patients. She was presented as a controlling, yet peaceful character, ensuring that her calculate outlook on the patients was upheld on every measure. Her strong personality is not seen as superficial, rather permanent through many distractions, revealing a mechanical aspect to her presence. Her lack of emotion was an extreme patience, which she used as a weapon against the patients.

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Character Development In 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'

1267 Words | 6 Pages

(Kesey 223). Here, McMurphy is inspiring confidence in Chief Bromden by showing him the potential that McMurphy has seen in him all along. By building him up, McMurphy is motivating the Chief to step out of his shell and away from the quiet, meek patient that Nurse Ratched wants him to be. By the end of the novel, Chief Bromden is no longer the docile, tame patient he was in the beginning of the novel. He has become a challenging force to the way Nurse Ratched controls the hospital by killing McMurphy himself.

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Nurse Ratched Character Analysis

725 Words | 3 Pages

(113). In all my conversations, we had a consensus that Nurse Ratched was essentially a metaphor for society at large in trying to control people. Thus, I held in high regards the piece of evidence when there are people, thanks to McMurphy, “drunk and running” and “carrying on with women” to the point, and Chief comes to believe that “maybe the Combine wasn’t all-powerful.” (305) In causing an actual change to the mindset of patients like Chief, McMurphy had truly mentally liberated the patients from the control of not Nurse Ratched but that of the entire Combine.

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Chief Bromden In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

270 Words | 2 Pages

Chief Bromden, the narrator of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, is an effective narrator because he narrates from the perspective of a mental patient and is thought to be deaf and dumb. His mental states enhances, rather than detracts, his explanation of the mental hospital as he provides a first-hand perspective on the thoughts of the patients and the impact of society on them. In addition, “[everyone at the hospital doesn’t] bother not talking out loud about their secrets when [Chief] is nearby because they think [he’s] deaf and dumb” (Kesey 11). This puts Chief Bromden in a unique situation where he can narrate both sides of the hospital, the patient and the caretakers, which allows for the development of the conflict. Had

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Examples Of Delusions In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1485 Words | 6 Pages

His experiences of abuse and isolation shape his perception of reality and influence his interactions within the oppressive environment of the institution. Readers see a distraught moment where Bromden struggles to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. “...with the other hand the worker drives the hook through the tendon back of the heel, and the old guy’s hanging there upside down, his moldy face blown up big, scared, the eyes scummed with mute fear” (Kesey

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One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis

1144 Words | 5 Pages

Additionally, his ability to have full awareness triggers the newfound sense of confidence in himself that he uses to finally escape from the ward. One night when Bromden is lying awake in the ward, he describes, “I was seeing lots of things different. I figured the fog machine had broke down in the walls when they turned it up too high for that meeting on Friday... For the first time in years I was seeing people with none of that black outline they used to have, and one night I was even able to see out the window” (Kesey 162).

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The Pros And Cons Of Chief Bromden

1360 Words | 6 Pages

Chief described Nurse Ratched as the head force of a hospital he calls “the nationwide Combine.” (pg.192) With an overarching power to the administration and the patients under her ward, her commands went beyond meetings, medications and trickled down to policy creation, mandating as to how Chief should conduct himself. Bromden is perceived as someone who is diagnosed of being unable to thrive in a society, therefore, made to accept that he is deviant; that he does not follow or have a grasp to social norms that are given by nature. Consequently, Bromden shifts the way he perceives himself, making himself into a conformist who “lose [himself] in the fog.” (pg.42) How others view him becomes how he views himself, and the identity he puts on.

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Authority In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1459 Words | 6 Pages

In the ward, the only individual capable of undermining Nurse Ratched’s power is Randle McMurphy. By blatantly disregarding the nurse’s strict rules, standing up for himself, and encouraging other patients to do so, he creates a situation that jeopardizes the order Nurse Ratched has created. When McMurphy manages to get a fishing trip approved, granted he gets ten other patients to sign up, Nurse Ratched uses malicious methods to thwart his plans: “The nurse started steadily bringing in clippings from the newspapers that told about wrecked boats and sudden storms on coast” (Kesey 178). In order to dismantle the immense progress McMurphy has made towards changing the attitudes of the patients, Nurse Ratched discourages them from attending his trip. Her motive in doing this is to have the patients lose faith in McMurphy, ultimately destroying the influence he has over them.

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Examples Of Social Justice Issues In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

729 Words | 3 Pages

In this novel, Chief Bromden narrates his experience in a psychiatric hospital, which has been his home for 10 years. He describes the psychologically manipulative and abusive manner of the program in depth, run by Nurse Ratched in the 1950s. The plot takes place when Randle McMurphy arrives, trying to swindle his way out of going to a prison work farm when he was diagnosed as psychotic. The story follows his rebellion against Nurse Ratched, challenging her cruel ways and rallying the patients against her. While this novel has some mature themes, I believe it is important to introduce mature and realistic themes to young people.

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Character Analysis: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

916 Words | 4 Pages

Since the other patients held McMurphy in such a high regard for these characteristics, McMurphy takes on a somewhat fatherly responsibility for these patients. Quick to notice Nurse Ratched’s tactic of pitting the other patients against each other during group therapies, he becomes bent on trying to overpower her. Although he has little to no personal gain from this, he is respected by his friends. As Harding points out, “...society’s chastising was [not] the sole force that drove one crazy…” (Kesey, 308); in McMurphy’s case it is the dependence his peers have on him.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Character Analysis

993 Words | 4 Pages

Kesey has used characterisation to get the idea that in this novel there are aspects of venerability and strength. In Nurse Ratched’s case, Kesey has made it so that she is shown with strength and power over the whole ward, including the black men in white, other nurses, and mainly the patients. An example of Nurse Ratched’s power over the patients is when she says to Billy Bibbit, “What worries me, Billy, ' she said- I could hear the change in her voice- 'is how your mother is going to take this.” This shows how one sentence was able to debilitate Billy into begging Nurse for forgiveness and restraint of telling his mother.

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