One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Literary Analysis

Fairy tales will always remain an inaccurate representation of life – simply because ‘happy endings’ almost never happen in reality. This unfortunate truth is explored throughout Ken Kesey’s fiction, “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Most notably, the novel shares a quote “He was in his chair in the corner, resting a second…take your place” (316) which embodies the soul of the entire story: the idea of the impenetrable power of authority and the forced conformity to society’s expectations. Kesey suggests with the role of Nurse Ratched that no amount of effort is enough to be able to truly overturn those in power; additional to the prevalent theme of the Combine which exemplifies the cookie-cutter nature of society.
Often, being bold and heroic is

Nurse Ratched is the epitome of an “impregnable” (73) authority whose power cannot be simply shaken by a few uprisings. The patients describe the Nurse to “always win” (73) and she has “all the power… behind her” (113) with her close relationship to the “supervisor” (63). Not only does Nurse Ratched have official authority due to her status but the patient’s fear and trust for “her craft”(41) to make them better. Harding tells McMurphy that he “need the nurse to make [him accept] his [differences]” (65). It’s not hard to see that the Nurse’s direct authority is absolute among the ward even though this power may not prove to be the most beneficial to the patient’s recovery. However, it is when McMurphy decides to challenge the Nurse’s control that the novel truly shows us how it is impossible to “whip it for good” (316) when it comes to power. Although McMurphy experiences a few minor wins over the Nurse, such as during the World Series voting, it is not to be forgotten that the situation could just as easily be a simple act of mercy from the Nurse.