The levels of meaning in Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is a story of a mental hospital, the patients within it and the changes both undergo. The film Cool Hand Luke is a story that is somewhat similar to Cuckoo's Nest about a man that enters a prison camp and his struggle to break away from that authority. The question at hand is whether these two stories hold deeper levels of meaning. Specifically, there are three levels of meaning that are being looked for other than the normal plot level, or the first level of meaning. The second level of meaning that is being looked for is the psychological/social/moral level. On this level, one finds underlying messages dealing with a person's "inner-light," society or battles within oneself. The third level of meaning is called the allegorical level. An allegory is a story that closely parallels another story. Specifically, we are looking at the allegory of Christ. The fourth level of meaning is the anagogical level. This level deals wi!th the underlying myths of a story. According to Joseph Campbell, every story follows a certain myth because our entire society is made up of myths. The
She used these kinds of weaknesses to enforce her strict regi!me on the ward. We see Dragline telling the other members of the chain gain the story of Luke's death, just as he was commissioned, about Luke's final adventure. McMurphy then is given a lobotomy, rendering him mentally dead. As far as the miracles go, winning a card game is not necessarily a miracle. The Combine itself represents society, and the goal of society is to make everyone the same. The lower class, which holds those in society that are never going to get out of the slums, are easily paralleled to the "chronics," as Chief calls them. The "Big Nurse," as she was called, though not in any real place of power, had all kinds of influence on the decisions of the doctors. " McMurphy laughed, staring incredulously at this huge man. " There is a psychological fight in this story as well. Everything starts with that group of people. I'll do anything you say, but I can't take anymore (Cool Hand Luke). In fact, one, Cheswick, lost so much dignity and confidence that he drowned himself. Luke then sticks his head out the window of the church and says, "What we have here is a failure to communicate," mocking the words of the captain earlier in the film.
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Acceptance Essays
