While trying different drugs and working at a psychiatric ward, Ken Kesey was influenced to write his first novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. During his time and experience at the hospital, Kesey was inspired to come up with characters, scenes, and situations in the book. Kesey uses first-person point of view through Chief Bromden to tell his story of his own life through a character who was very similar to a man that he knew. The ward, a society in itself, is for the insane. Two characters, one insane and the other one sane help each other to overcome the society that they live in. To depict the themes of sanity versus insanity and individual versus society adequately throughout the novel, Ken Kesey uses first-person point of view and character development in his novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. …show more content…
With the first-person point of view from Chief, it allows the readers to see how insane he is and how confining the ward really is through his psychotic haze (Macky 4176). This is a very important aspect of the story. It helps to give the reader an idea of what state the patients are in both emotionally and psychologically (Tanner 22). Everyone in the ward is in a different state, some of the patients are worse off than others but through Chief’s narration the reader gets an insight of what really is happening on the ward and to them. It also adds development of the story as the story unfolds through Chiefs different states: emotional and intellectual (Novel for Students 227). The emotional and intellectual states changes throughout the book as Chief’s character develops and better things begin to