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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Critical Essay

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Critical essay theory The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. This is what defines freedom, the definition being considered, our society never had true freedom by definition. We have always taken security over some of our freedom, but in this novel, security of societies comfort is taken too far when people who do not fully conform to society rules and conventions are forced to feel safe in the confinement of the mental institution. Looking through an existential lens, the novel “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest” by Ken Kesey expresses the issues involving freedom of being oneself different from what society is conformed to, and how we act upon the people who are different to what we are accustomed to. In the novel, it demonstrates the sexual repression and the pressures citizens face from society to conform. In the novel, author hints that a moderate expression of sexuality leads to independence, confidence and liberty; Key components needed in …show more content…

Ms. Ratched made it so that the patients would even go against other’s beliefs in order to put the victims down. When McMurphy saw this he called it a ‘peckin party’. McMurphy explains it as, “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. But usually a couple of the flock gets spotted in the fracas, then it's their turn. And a few more gets spots and gets pecked to death, and more and more.” This shows that Nurse is pitting the patients against each other so that she, the leader of the flock, can stay dominate and in control. This reveals that the hospital is not about dehumanizing the patients until they are weak and willing to conform to

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The overarching allegory proposes that McMurphy--who is God--is lifeblood to the patients in the Combine (representative of Jesus’ disciples), and the only way they can be rescued is by investing in Him. Only the Messiah, the allegory claims, can save humanity from the bleak future it has created. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest suggests that the oppressive reality of the Combine is brought on by the presence of social constraints--in this case, the Therapeutic Community, which the Doctor says is a “democratic ward, run completely by the patients and their votes,” and the intention of which is to be “a little world Inside that is a made-to-scale prototype of the big world Outside” (Kesey 49-50). Such statements underscore the sheer hypocrisy the Combine operates and thrives on, as shown by the blatantly unjust World Series vote, where Nurse Ratched declared there were “forty patients...and only twenty voted” and “[they] must have a majority to change ward policy” (Kesey 140).

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Throughout the beginning of the novel it is evident that some characters over use their powers, one of these characters being Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched uses her position in the ward to take advantage of the patients and make sure that they adhere to everyone of her daunting commands. Nurse Ratched “tends to get real put out if something keeps her outfit from running like a smooth, accurate, precision-made machine” (Kesey 28) because she has been on the ward for so long that when something doesn 't go according to her plan, she starts to get mad and will often try to use her power to come down on the patient 's. Nurse Ratched is in control of the whole ward and when someone does something that isn 't in her manuscript she gets irritated. The ward will be run her way and only her way, “ under her rule the ward inside is almost completely adjusted to surroundings” (Kesey 28).

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Banned Book Argument Essay on One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nest Ken Kesey’s novel, One Who Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, has been challenged by people who believe it to be to mature for high school students, however, it can help seniors to understand the flaws in some psychiatric hospitals and understand the type of people all while improving their reading skills.

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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).

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He is able to let her insistent fit roll right off of his back, and does not let the Nurse’s conformity affect him the way that his individuality cripples her. Overall, Kesey believes that individuality will ultimately

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Nurse Ratched (Big Nurse) is the head nurse of the ward, or the combine as Bromden calls it, and she runs and directs the institution. She is very powerful and demanding – the ward only functions in the way she sees fit. Ratched will often dominate over the patients and other ward staff, even the doctor on staff. She also exposes the ward patients to electro-shock therapy if they disobey her orders. Like a massive obstacle, the Big Nurse proves to assert her power over all the patients and seems to care more about the functionality of the ward rather than her patient’s humanity.

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This paper posits that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has challenged the traditional notions of mental institutions and psychiatric medication - this is exemplified with the filmic elements (cinematography, mise en scene, etcetera). In this paper, we will take a closer analysis on how these aspects have influenced the concept of madness and emasculation vis-à-vis self and institution. The cinematography of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest helped draw the line between reason and unreason. For instance, in the ending scene, Forman used extreme close-ups and different lightning to symbolize the transition from reason and unreason. The chief’s face starts out from being dimly lit and the light is concentrated on the windows, emphasizing that the hospital is a jail-like institution.

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However the arrival of a new patient, McMurphy’s makes other patients to rebel against authority that Ratched uses to control them. Through out the book Nurse Ratched actions shows how an authority figures like her can often abuse their power by enforcing rules on “less” inferior individuals which leads to problems. Nurse Ratched is known as the authority figure in the hospital. The patients see no choice but to follow her rules that she had laid down for them. She uses the force of her hatred and fear to get things done.

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Though he does not interact with other patients, his sentiment toward both Nurse Ratched and McMurphy is universally shared throughout the ward. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as manipulative, threatening, and oppressive, ironically inhibiting the psychological and physical recovery of the patients. Harding aptly describes himself and the other patients as “rabbits of varying degrees and ages, hippity hopping through their Walt Disney World”(64) and Nurse Ratched as a “Wolf”. Harding explains his powerlessness in comparison to Nurse Ratched as if he and the other patients are just rabbits in a wolf’s mouth. Nurse Ratched manipulates the men to bring “old sins out into the open”(49), by forcing their participation in Doctor Spivey’s theory of “Therapeutic Community”(48).

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In the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest the mental hospital is very strict with lots of structure. This causes many thing to happen that doesn’t necessarily have to happen and it's almost as if the patients are antagonized to overreact at points in the movie. Also as a human being we should be able to make our own choices and its important to be able to make your own choices to feel like you are an individual. Not to mention I would think it was improvement to have the patients working together as a team, but Nurse Ratched didn’t reward or even compliment them on working as a team. Instead she punished them and if you ask me working as a team is an key element of human behavior, because at this point your not just thinking about yourself

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351 Words | 2 Pages

Because the hospital ward, in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, complies with the restrictions of Nurse Ratched, McMurphy is seen as a manipulative instigator. Nevertheless, rebellion, such as McMurphy’s, is required for the powerless to free themselves from damaging constraints. Particularly, as Bromden realizes his increasing mental clarity (e.g. his improved sight), he gazes out the hospital window. Because the glass is covered with a metal mesh, Kesey implies McMurphy’s rebellious nature plants the seed for the patients’ freedom. At the window, Bromden notices, he “still had [his] eyes shut…like [he] was scared to look outside” (141).

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The whole asylum could be described as one big machine that creates an unnatural state for human beings and is running smoothly, until one day an outside force comes in to shake things up. Rather than being an evil person, Nurse Ratchet is a part of this perfect machine, like a cog in a watch, who represents authority and power in an oppressive society. Jack McMurphy is the free-spirited outside force that does what he wants, when he wants, disrupts order and constantly undermines Nurse Ratchets authority. The patients in the ward are the by-product of the manufacturing process and represent the weak individuals in a society that cannot fend for themselves. The patients believed they were already in a utopia, until McMurphy introduces his ideal

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1288 Words | 6 Pages

“One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest” is a film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey. The Film was released in 1975. It is the story of a convicted man, trying to outsmart the American legal system by playing mentally ill. The film starts at the beginning when the main character, Randle McMurphy, enters the mental institution. It won 6 Golden Globes as well as 5 Oscars and many other nominations.

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602 Words | 3 Pages

The biggest boundary he crosses is his constant challenging of Nurse Ratchet’s authority and intentions. McMurphy tells Harding that the patients are “a bunch of chickens at a peckin’ party”, and that “it’s that old nurse” that makes the first peck (Kesey 35-36). Comparing the patients to chickens and claiming that Nurse Ratchet is the one who starts the conflict between them causes an angry reaction from the patients. McMurphy enjoys this backlash and continues to break even more rules, be it refusing to take his pills, throwing a secret party, or pressuring another patient into losing his virginity. His trickster characteristics push him to show off his disrespect for authority and order

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest The film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, prompts very important aspect of the human condition. In the movie, the protagonist, Mac McMurphy, is deemed dangerous, so the mental institute tries to suppress him (Kesey). The film highlights various aspects of human conditions like psychology, sociology and philosophy. The mental institute tries to suppress the mentally challenged people rather than to try to communicate with them.

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