Ken Kesey- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Offers Important Insights on Human Conditions and the Human Society
Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has been known as one of the strangest and most psychedelic novel ever written. The plot takes place exclusively in a mental institution, which is almost cut off completely from the outside world because of the despotic management of the ward by nurse Ratched. The novel thus offers important insights on human condition and the human society. The oppression and the terror promoted by the mental institution is a symbol for social oppression and the intimidation produced by all the systems and mechanisms of the modern world. The story is told in the voice of a half-Indian man named Chief Bromden, a huge man who is however extremely shy and isolated. The schizophrenic Bromden pretends to be deaf and mute, so as to shield himself from what he guesses to the threat posed by the ward's medical staff. His behavior betrays his unconscious desire to defend himself against the aggressive environment. His distorted perception of himself is also very significant for the social oppression. Despite his physical strength he sees himself as a small and helpless man, and tries to go unnoticed as much as possible. It is to be suspected that his behavior is also influenced by his racial origin: as
" (Kesey, 5) She is herself pictured as hysterical and even crazy: "She knows what they been saying and I can see she's furious clean out of control. McMurphy makes a definite impression from his very first entry into the sanatorium, as he appears odd but not definitely insane. " (Kesey, 216) McMurphy thus obviously represents the values that Kesey is trying to emphasize in his novel: liberty, courage and a positive attitude. He makes jokes, he treats everything lightly and protests when he cannot watch the World Series because the ward has a very strict order of daily activities. Different from all the other patients who are institutionalized in the ward, McMurphy comes in determination to change the rules of the hospital and make the patients more aware of themselves and more assertive of their own rights and wishes. With his help, Bromden manages to see the world for a second as if the fog clouding his mind had been cleared up a little. one flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest. Also, McMurphy is characterized through his gestures. "(Kesey, 5) All through the novel she is described as increasing in size and being ready to blow up. The division can only be drawn superficially for some of the characters, since everything takes place in a mental institution where the patients are basically abnormal. The atmosphere changes a little in the hospital only with the arrival of a new patient, an Irishman named Randall Patrick McMurphy. Thus, as he announces from the start, McMurphy arrives to promote liberty among the patients and to urge them to seek entertainment: "Yessir, that's what I came to this establishment for, to bring you birds fun and entertainment around the gamin' table. ] the way kids look in a schoolroom when one ornery kid is raising too much hell with the teacher out of the room and they're all scared the teacher might pop back in and take it into her head to make them all stay after.
Common topics in this essay:
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Patrick McMurphy,
Chief Bromden,
Bromden McMurphy,
Cuckoo's Nest,
mental institution,
Ken Kesey's,
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social oppression,
mcmurphy positive character,
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positive attitude,
modern world,
distorted perception,
medical staff,
chief bromden,
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