One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; by Ken Kesey, July 1989, 272 pages
             For my outside reading assignment, I read the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and found it to be a very enthralling book. Even tough the central Character, McMurphy, broke all rules, irretated Nurse Ratched, he was trying to bring across a point. He was trying to tell the other inmates to believe in themselves, and don't rely on everything to be done for you. It's your own life, Be your own boss. The book is set in a mental asylum in America, and makes it a perfect setting to bring across the point.
             The book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has many strengths, and few weaknesses. Its major strengths are the unique viewpoint of the narrator, the vivid personality of the characters, the many scenes that are often humorous and highly dramatic at the same time, and the struggles and major changes that occur for most of the characters. The weaknesses of the book are its slowness of pace in part and the black and white comparison between the protagonist, McMurphy, and the antagonist, Nurse Ratched.
             One strength and probably the most interesting aspect of the book is the point of view from which the story is told. In most books, the story is told from the point of view of the main character, a narrator, or an omnipresent point of view. Instead, we see this story through the eyes of Chief Bromden, nicknamed Chief Broom. Chief Broom is a paranoid schizophrenic who suffers from fear of technology, women, and blacks. These three fears are represented by the staff of the ward. Technology and women are both represented by Big Nurse also known as Nurse Ratched, who, in his mind, manipulates the ward through the use of machines. His fear of blacks is represented by the three black orderlies whom Chief Bromden refers to as the black boys. Chief Broom's distorted perspective provides a truly unique point of view as we see his delusions intertwine with reality ...