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Treatment Of Women In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

656 Words3 Pages

In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kessey uses many themes throughout the novel. Kessey shows the role of women as emasculators and shows a negative view of women in the asylum. “She sounds like a teacher bawling out on a student” (Kessey 1). The men in the insane asylum are all under the rule of women. Miss Ratched also known as the Big Nurse is in charge and is really strict. The comparison to a teacher shows just how controlling she is, and is perceived. Kessey also portrays women as manipulators who are taking away the men’s masculinity. Nurse Ratched says: “’A manipulator can influence the other patients and disrupt them to such an extent that it may take months to get everything running smooth once more’”(Kessey 118). In order to remain in control over the men, as well as the workers, Nurse Ratched manipulates the workers into being submissive to what she wants. Because she is a manipulator, it is easy for Nurse Ratched to spot one. Thus, she feels threatened by McMurphy because she …show more content…

“I don’t think you fully understand the public my friend; in this country, when something is out of order, then the quickest way to get it fixed is the best way” (Kessey, 2,). All of the men in the ward are there because they were considered to have something wrong with them. Their inability to conform is considered insane, thus they are sent to the asylum. Because the men in the asylum were different, in their society they are looked down upon. “I indulged in certain practices that our society regards as shameful” (Kessey ). The men lived in a society where being masculine and having the urges, and thoughts of man was looked down upon. Kessey uses this to show how when they are sent off to the asylum, the women there are much like the women in their lives. They emasculate them, which is ultimately taking away their

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Many of the men in the ward suffer from low self-esteem and self-respect. The orderlies constantly breakdown the patients and demote their individualty through many different ways. Nurse Ratched taking advantage of their vulnerability “‘you men in this hospital’ she would say like she was repeating it for the hundreth time, ‘because of your proven inability to adjust to society’”(Kesey 167) Nurse Ratched repeatedly destructs the patients on the ward and manipulates them to belive they are incapable of ever being able to function as a part of society. This displays the amount of control the orderlies have on the patients and the amount they take advantage of that, as well. This example ties into the self-doubt and uncertainty the men in the book have in

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Gender Inequality In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Ken Kesey’s comic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, takes place in an all-male psychiatric ward. The head of the ward, Big Nurse Ratched, is female. Kesey explores the power-struggle that takes place when the characters challenge gender dynamics in this environment. One newly-arrived patient, McMurphy, leads the men against the Big Nurse. The story is told through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a patient who learns from McMurphy and fights for his freedom.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Leadership Analysis

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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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Social Control In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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In the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there are four characteristics of a controlled environment. These include; status hierarchy, depersonalization, adjustment, and institution. Viewers can see these ideas through different scenes and situations in the movie. The overall movie stems from institutionalization, because it is set in a psychiatric hospital, which keeps the patients there confined to a strict environment and schedule. Doctors and nurses look at small traits or changes as something significant, whereas in the real world that small trait would appear as a norm and be overlooked.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Dehumanization Analysis

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One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveals the insensitive treatment and dehumanization of the mentally ill. The origin of the book is a story of an individual in a mental hospital. Ken Kesey’s character observes the daily life in a psych ward and reveals

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Authority In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1459 Words | 6 Pages

These elements keep the nurse in power, as many of the patients fear being the target of one of these meetings and worry that they will again be betrayed by others. By introducing order through these activities, Nurse Ratched undermines the safety of the patients that should be under her care and keeps them silent. Nurse Ratched's oppressive order is not only seen in a literal sense, but also through the attitudes of the patients under her care. Chief Bromden describes the nurse as being “able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants just by turning one of those dials“ (Kesey 70). Nurse Ratched’s control over the patients’ lives extends to the point where

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Women In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Nurse Ratched is the main antagonist who is a very cruel and manipulative nurse, in which all the characters seem to agree that she is out to get them. The other main female role is a hooker McMurphy knew before the hospital who plays a role of meeting the boys needs. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s

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Role Of Nurse Ratched In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Through Chief Bromden’s journey rediscovering himself in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, he witnesses recurring power struggle between male and female characters, such as between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, or between his parents. Although widely regarded as kind and benign characters in society at the time, in these conflicts, female characters are often tagged with detrimental characteristics, and therefore are depicted as demeaning antagonists. Through Chief’s biased narration, Nurse Ratched is often seen to be emasculating patients, through influencing their way of thinking, and thus their decisions to remain with the institution. She plays an essential role in confining the dynamic of the hospital through her recurring manipulation of patients. She influences, or in some cases, uses her power to force others into doing things her way.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Insanity Essay

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, considers the qualities in which society determines sanity. The label of insanity is given when someone is different from the perceived norm. Conversely, a person is perceived as sane when their behavior is consistent with the beliefs of the majority. Although the characters of this novel are patients of a mental institution, they all show qualities of sanity. The book is narrated by Chief Brodmen, an observant chronic psychiatric patient, who many believe to be deaf and dumb.

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Medical Treatment In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1341 Words | 6 Pages

It is obvious that medical treatment can be very helpful for the patient and would provide results. However simple companionship may also help as they could simply talk about their problem. Counselling might actually help more than medical treatment which may have more of a negative effect emotionally on the patient. Medical treatment aims to heal the patients so they can return and function properly in society however this is not the case in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ written by Ken Kasey. In his novel the mental institution serves as a method to keep the patients away from society and doesn’t function to help the men but to keep them passive.

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Character Analysis

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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Theme Of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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A main theme in Ken Keesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is rebellion. In the book, rebellious actions by the main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, representing the carnival side of society, goes against the Big Nurse who represent the strict chains of society. However, what I find ironic is the fact that a woman, in fact the most feminine character in the book, is the enemy or the oppressor. During the 1950’s this was the complete opposite. The feminist movement hadn’t taken a prominent standing yet and men were in power.

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Psychological Issues In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1010 Words | 5 Pages

The movie was mostly focused on the feud between the warden/nurse Ms. Ratched and McMurphy. McMurphy tried to go against the hard-set plan set by the institution. More he tried to establish dominance and leadership within the group. This threatened the nurse’s ways of subduing patients, and they felt of less importance in their own institution. This led to a bitter rivalry and because of it the nurse tried to subdue, with same techniques as with other patients, McMurphy even after realizing that he was not a mentally unstable person.

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Sexism In One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

775 Words | 4 Pages

Her clothes “could no longer conceal the fact that she was a women”(320). She tries to hide her femininity throughout the whole novel, again because any sign or femininity shows weakness. Nurse Ratched controls all men on the ward and acts as what Kesey characterizes as “manly”. Kesey promotes sexism in this way because of how he characterizes women to look and act in a masculine

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Analysis Of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest By Ken Kesey

1468 Words | 6 Pages

Ken Kesey author of the fictional novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest published in 1962 has taken the opportunity to write about the hippy culture and how society shames difference. Readers are taken to a mental institution in Oregon in the 1950’s and experience what it is like for the outcast people. The men in the ward are run by Nurse Ratched and have lost control of themselves. Majority of these men are in the mental hospital because they have checked themselves in, but not McMurphy he is a convict there for psych evaluation. Do to Nurse Ratched the men loses control over themselves and they haven’t realized till McMurphy walked through the door.

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