Moral Lense Literary Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The 1950s, the context of which One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a novel by Ken Kesey, was written, was called the Era of Conformity. During this time, the American social atmosphere was quiet conformed, in that everyone was expected to follow the same, fixed format of behavior in society, and the ones who stand out of being not the same would likely be “beaten down” by the social norms. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey argues that it is immoral for society to simply push its beliefs onto the people who are deemed different, as it is unfair and could lead to destructive results. First of all, it is unjust for people who are deemed unalike from others in society to be forced into the preset way of conduct because human tend to have dissimilar nature. In the novel, Kesey employs many characters, each with unique features. For example, Dale Harding, one of the protagonists in the story, was described as, “... a flat, nervous man ...”(Kesey 20) and in one of the group discussion lead by Nurse Ratched, he was reported of saying …show more content…
As the Era of Conformity progressed and eventually died down, people began to realize the problem with the ideals pre-implemented in society. Although the overall social atmosphere has improved, there are still many works left to be done. As time moves on, new generations will replace the old as to dominating the society, the goal for everyone in this rising generation should be to create the equal, diverse, and accepting environment for the betterment of the