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Prostitution In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Today’s society is one in which women can assume positions of power, without being regarded as bitches or being told that they are for men to take. We usually do not take these women as emasculating, or oppressive towards men; although they can be, generally, they are not. In the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest however, the female characters, with the exception of prostitutes and one of the nurses, are often portrayed as castrators or ‘ball cutters’. It becomes quite clear that, as we progress through the story, we see that the patients have been psychologically affected negatively, as a result of dealing with the overpowering and emasculating female characters. Furthermore, the patients seem to agree that the women, especially Nurse …show more content…

Firstly, we learn that Bromden came into the hospital as an acute, but thanks to Nurse Ratched’s ‘treatments’, he became a chronic. In addition, Bromden himself thinks he “used to be big, but not no more” (pg. 187). This shows us how Nurse Ratched, in addition to other women, have belittled him to the point where he has lost his strength and size. Secondly, as we read through the novel, we become acquainted with Bromden’s father, the Chief, who loses everything, and goes from a strong Indian chief, to a weak, small alcoholic. We learn that Bromden’s mother would make herself bigger by putting him down, and stripping him of his masculinity. It is mentioned that his father takes his mother's name, which is the ultimate sacrifice and represents his loss of manhood. Bromden mentions that his mother “made him too little to fight anymore and he gave up.” (Pg. 188). Likewise, we can see the same effect on Billy Bibbit, who is treated like a child by his mother and Nurse Ratched. Billy mentions that the first word he said was a stutter, “m-m-m-mama.” (Pg. ), and at one point, Nurse Ratched calls him a “poor boy, poor little boy.” (Pg. 273). By doing this, Billy’s mother prevents him from developing sexually, but through sexual intercourse with Candy, he is able to briefly revive his manhood. Once Nurse Ratched threatens to call his mother however, fearing what may happen, Billy commits suicide. For contrast purposes, Kesey portrays the nurse in charge of the disturbed ward as the ideal authoritative female in between Nurse Ratched and the whores (Candy and Sandy); a kind and nurturing woman who bandages McMurphy and flirts with

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1474 Words | 6 Pages

At some time-- perhaps in your childhood-- you may have been allowed to get away with flouting the rules of society” (Kesey171). Nurse Ratched said this to all the patients at the ward one day regarding them rebelling against the rules. This quote really showed how manipulative and mean Nurse Ratched could be. Ever since McMurphy came to the ward, everyone there decided to start a rebellion against Nurse Ratched and the ward policy. Many examples such as when McMurphy was carousing around the halls in his underwear, people not doing their chores, asking to change the schedule to watch the baseball game and breaking the nurse’s window to take back their cigarettes show there is a difference in the air at the ward.

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416 Words | 2 Pages

Describe Nurse Ratched. How does she treat patients like Billy Bibbit? Why does she treat him this way? And why would Kesey create a character like Nurse Ratched? What is he trying to say about authority?

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447 Words | 2 Pages

Nurse Ratched’s desire for control, in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, allows her to manipulate the entire hospital ward into believing her work is for the betterment of the patients. Significantly, Nurse Ratched appears doll-like: hair in a tight bun, a neatly pressed uniform, and “too-red” lipstick (48). Traditionally, dolls, like other toys, are made to occupy the unruly minds of young children. By comparing Nurse Ratched to a child’s toy, Kesey implies she is a mere distraction to the patients from their mental impairments.

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759 Words | 4 Pages

He also felt that McMurphy was bigger than him, even though Bromden is about 6’7. Its only when Bromden starts hanging out with McMurphy is that he starts to feel his is big again and grows as a person in terms of self-confidence. By Bromden suffocating McMurphy, this shows that Bromden has truly grown in terms of self-confidence, because if this were to happen in the beginning of the novel Bromden would have just stood by and done nothing about what had happened to McMurphy. McMurphy has done what he set out to do from the beginning of his stay in the ward, which was given the men a sense of pride and confidence, which he has now given to Bromden. Bromden’s character has now developed opposite of Mcmurphy.

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970 Words | 4 Pages

Once McMurphy helped him realize that, he became a new, confident, man. Bromden no longer had to hide because he thought he was insignificant. He could now be anyone

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

In the beginning of the novel, McMurphy came from wilderness and begins to gain followers by teaching the men that it is good to rebel against Ratched. In the middle of the novel, McMurphy chooses to rebel, takes the men on a fishing trip, and creates miracles by making Bromden break his twenty years of silence. At the end of the novel, McMurphy proves to be a Christ figure because he stands up for George and in return gets EST, gets betrayed by Billy, and receives a lobotomy. The idea that sometimes one must sacrifice himself for the greater good is still a relevant message in today’s society because it is important to stand up for other’s who cannot stand up for themselves. For example, Nelson Mandela peacefully protested in South Africa against apartheid and was jailed in doing so, but he did it for the sake of

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999 Words | 4 Pages

In Ken Kesey’s comic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, gender is a definer of one's power in the hospital, and this leads to Nurse Ratched hiding her femininity, the patients’ attempts to boost their own masculinity, and both sides trying to expose the other. Kesey uses these examples to explain that men cannot handle a female leader. Nurse Ratched, a female who is head of the ward, attempts to hide her femininity so the men respect her power. At the beginning of the novel, Bromden is describing the Nurse’s appearance. He states, “A mistake was made somehow in manufacturing, putting those big, womanly breasts on what would of otherwise been a perfect work, and you can see how bitter she is about it” (6).

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2061 Words | 9 Pages

“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is a book written by Ken Kesey about a group of men living in an unforgiving mental ward, filled with many unjust guidelines and rules. In that book, it tells the story of Chief Bromden, a patient at a mental ward, and Randle McMurphy, another patient who has recently been admitted into the mental ward. When McMurphy arrives, he begins to stir up trouble with Nurse Ratched, who controls everything and everyone in the ward. McMurphy goes against most, if not all, the rules that the nurse has in place because he realizes that her rules are unfair, and that her actions and behavior are not justifiable. McMurphy doesn't believe in a world full of conformists, where everyone is the same, and where life revolves

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1014 Words | 5 Pages

Nurse Ratched’s character is vile in enforcing conformity. She picks her staff to her liking and exercises her authority as she pleases, ensuring that she has total control over the ward. Chief states, “Year by year she accumulates her ideal staff: doctors, all ages and types, come and rise up in front of her with ideas of their own about the way a ward should be run, some with backbone enough to stand behind their ideas, and she fixes these doctors with dry-ice eyes day in, day out until they retreat with unnatural chills” (Kesey 29). Nurse Ratched is detrimental to the men’s physical and mental health. She keeps herself superior to the men through emasculation and shame.

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778 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

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951 Words | 4 Pages

He is a physically large person but due to years of belittlement, Bromden succumbs to the societal pressures of the ward and loses himself. Everyone in the ward including himself believes he is nothing but weak and dumb. One of the biggest forms of oppression the authority in the ward imposed was dehumanization. Nurse Ratched's office resides behind a panel of glass that she uses as a barrier between her and the men of the ward but also to watch them and make sure they are following the rules. The men are subject to the treatment of a zoo animal and are robbed of their rights to privacy, they are all scared Nurse Ratched will catch them doing something wrong.

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1459 Words | 6 Pages

By weakening McMurphy’s power in the ward, she creates an environment where can continue to thrive in her power through the systems she has set in place. However, Nurse Ratched’s plan does not succeed and McMurphy is allowed to proceed with his fishing trip. He continues to undermine the nurse’s authority to the point where he physically assults her after she blames Billy’s death on him. His actions give Nurse Ratched an opportunity to give him the ultimate punishment, a

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994 Words | 4 Pages

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published in 1962, tells the story of men in a psychiatric ward and focuses on two characters called McMurphy and Bromden, and their defiance towards the institution’s system. A critical factor in this novel are the women. The 1960’s played a significant role in changing the norms of social issues, and the perfect idea of women was changing too. Women were no longer just stay at home wives, but had their own voice in society, and many people did not agree with these untraditional views. Kesey’s representation of women in this novel illustrate them in a poor light that makes it obvious that they don’t fit the ideal womanly persona.

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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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775 Words | 4 Pages

In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Kesey promotes sexist views through the way he characterizes his female characters. He does this showing women in a dehumanizing light. The nurse for example is constantly showing her source of power over the males on the ward by simply taking away theirs. However kesey also adds in women such as Candy to simply help empower men. Kesey wrote his novel in the 1960s.

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