Kesey's brilliant work in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is the
             by-product of many factors. Kesey uses the setting of the story as his most
             powerful weapon in establishing his viewpoints. At first, one might
             consider the story to simply be a fine piece of contemporary fiction, but
             in reality it is a bitter commentary on the condition of the American
             society. Obviously, it becomes evident that Kesey will convey many
             viewpoints throughout the course of the story, however, I strongly believe
             that a recurring theme can be singled out. The main theme behind One Flew
             Over The Cuckoo's Nest is that the society that we love so much is not as
             good as it is made out to be. Kesey establishes this theme through the
             brilliant manipulation of setting. Kesey uses the specific setting of a
             fictional mental asylum to represent the non-specific realities of the real
             world. The literary term for such a technique is the use of a "microcosm" -
             a small universe representative of a larger one. Kesey uses the environment
             of the mental asylum to demonstrate just how hypocritical society can be.
             As aforementioned, Kesey utilizes many symbols that represent
             elements in the real world. The very fact that the story takes place in a
             mental asylum is in itself a commentary on society. In the asylum, it
             becomes highly evident that a great deal of oppression takes place.
             Although a considerable amount of abuse is in the physical form, most of it
             manifests itself in subtle psychological torture. The abuse that
             specifically takes place is the suppression of individualism. One cannot
             help but notice the same suppression of individualism to exist in society
             as well. Inside the hospital, the men are expected to not only act within
             strict guidelines, but to also suppress urges to express themselves. They
             are limited to doing repetitive, menial tasks and are never given the
             opportunity to choose their own pathways for in...