Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest was written during a time period that oversaw Elvis Presley being regarded as a hero. The late 1950's and early 1960's was a time period of freedom, and Elvis's raunchy gyrations are enough evidence to prove that statement. People in America were tired of feeling as though their true identities were being suppressed and authors like Ken Kesey were not afraid to speak out openly about such thoughts. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest uses many parallels between the story and actual society. Freedom for the individual, specifically in the form of sexuality, is the ultimate implication of power and therefore the most important theme in the novel. Strong oppressive undertones are constantly implied, and Kesey's general answer to the question of identity revolves primarily around sexuality.
             The story begins with Chief Bromden, a seemingly deaf and blind man, narrating from the Psychiatric Ward at the Combine. The leader of the entire establishment is Nurse Ratched, who gets everything she asks for because the others are afraid of her power. In the event of an uprising, a man on the ward may be demoted to a different level with one command from the Big Nurse. The general attitude on the ward is characterized by fear and the lifestyles led are completely uneventful. This all would change with the arrival of McMurphy, a loud-mouthed, red-headed, rebellious man who would revolutionize the way the ward works through his open sexuality (Jenkins, 39).
             Typically, the ward would gather and everyone would discuss certain problems of the different patients. Nurse Ratched would devise a solution that everyone would agree upon, and then the case was closed. The whole ward was about to experience a different outlook during a discussion with McMurphy. A long time patient named Harding, who was always embarrassed by the fact that he could never perform sexually, lo...