...Because he knows you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance…” (Kesey 250). When Randle Patrick McMurphy initially arrived at the psychiatric ward, with his laugh reverberating against the walls, uncertainty of his agenda reciprocated throughout the minds of the other patients. This uncertainty gradually evaporated once the patients realized that McMurphy only possessed one objective: to address the individual needs of the patients, regardless of the punishment. Through the previously mentioned quote, we viewed the expansion of Chief Bromden’s thinking beyond consequence. Before the presence of McMurphy on the ward, Bromden shriveled at the mention of pain and hardship. Nonetheless, McMurphy installed a sense of strength and acknowledgement within Bromden....
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...Moreover, as Kesey introduces him as “not a regular visitor”, highlights the importance of McMurphy, and the central role in which he comes the Jesus of the institute. However, essentially there are two McMurphys. The one who has conned his way into the institute, and describes himself as being “in and out” of institutions his whole life, knowing how to play the system, is directly contrasting with the typical American man of the 1950s. Which is a clear representation of God’s role diminishing, as the heathenish McMurphy is presented as a rapist categorising him as a sinner, and against god. This view of McMurphy agrees with the question, as men like McMurphy are lacking in influence from God, due to the secularisation of himself, and refusal of religion infers that God had died within McMurphy, henceforth characterising McMurphy as a sexist and a rapist, and a non-conformist....
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...complexity of who we are, how different we are from one another, and what influences each one of us. Inside the mental institution, each character could be the same as anyone else outside the walls in which they are confined. These characters represent a microcosm of what exists in everyday life in the outside world. In the “real world” as we know it, there are paranoid people like Chief Bromden; obsessive compulsives like George Sorenson; or someone like Randy McMurphy, who chose the mental institution as the lesser of two evils to pay for a crime he committed. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the most prominent social conflict emerges through the character of Randle McMurphy. McMurphy was the protagonist in this book and he was the one who showed the patients the way to rebuff the system, laugh, and defy authority through humor. The patients began to find strength in his leadership. However, McMurphy came to realize that the very people he was defying were the same people who would determine the timeframe of his release from the hospital. When McMurphy decided to play it safe and stop bucking the system, the other patients who looked up to him were very disappointed because they did not have him to support them and they were not strong enough to fight the system alone. I never believed in the philosophy that we are our “brothers’ keeper (28).” But, because everyone relied on McMurphy to stand up and help them fight the horrible...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...symbolizes as a minimized matriarchal society which further expressing the social criticism of Kesey, that in order to make significant changes in society, one needs to have the courage to make sacrifice to what they believe. Point of View and Significance Kesey uses first person point of view of Chief Bromden to tell the entire story. In the novel, Bromden is the...
Words: 1834 - Pages: 8
...One flew over the cuckoo’s nest 1. The noticeable changes on the ward after McMurphy breaks the window are that the patients on the ward realize they don’t have to take the abuse that nurse Ratched and the staff inflicts on them and the embarrassment that follows on an everyday basis. 2. Some specific signs of the tension between McMurphy and nurse Ratched is that is beginning to affect her are that McMurphy has total control and influence on the way her patients think and react to her commands. Therefore, Ratched is affected in a sense that she is losing control of the ward because of mcmurphy. 3. People began to treat Bromden as if he was too dumb to hear or see anything. Bromden reminisces with his childhood when men Stetson hats used to visit the Indian reservation and insulted the tribe in front of him and when he tried to speak up they ignored him/ inferior feelings. Can hear everything going on inside the hospital without people knowing he is listening like the Native Americans people who believed that they were different or not considered socially normal these people believed that their actions and thoughts would not be listened to. Defensive mechanism so people don't attack him. People viewed Native Americans as lesser beings as well as uneducated. Therefore they made these people feel inferior and isolated. “ It hadn’t been just since I came in the hospital, either; people first took to acting like I couldn’t hear or talk a long time before that/ and even as...
Words: 374 - Pages: 2
...“The air is pressed in by the walls, too tight for laughing.” (46) Bromden feels as if the hospital has an air of seriousness that is too heavy for the lightness that laughter brings. However, whenever McMurphey gets admitted to the hospital, he isn’t affected by the same pressure. He constantly laughs and tries his best to make the other patients around him laugh by cracking jokes. Everyone is amazed at the audacity he exhibits by laughing: a simple, yet taboo act. After some time has passed, some of the other patients are able to smile and chuckle; but it isn’t until McMurphey has more time to become an influence that they fully let loose. (102) “I was born dead an’ life was hard.” (52) Pete says this the last time he loses control of himself. He wasn’t born a smart man and life had never been easy for him because of this. All his life he has been made fun of and treated differently for not being able to participate in the same activities that others have without experiencing more difficulty. He feels as if he was born into a losing battle that he couldn’t escape and he constantly mentions how tired he is. None of the the characters feel sympathy for him except for Bromden. Although he is a mental patient like the others, he expresses a level of understanding while narrating that the other characters don’t sympathize with. (116) “She don’t lose...
Words: 1094 - Pages: 5
...Darren Mah Mrs. Kirkeby English IV Honors 16 August 2014 In “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey, R.P McMurphy, the ward’s new rebellious and charismatic patient, is depicted as the story’s Christ figure through various images, events, and character qualities. There are several representations in the story that help support McMurphy’s role as the story’s Christ figure. The author presents McMurphy as a savior for the patients who are incarcerated in Nurse Ratched’s ward. McMurphy pulls them out of the “fog”, which represents Nurse Ratched’s complete control over them, and tries to get them to stick up for themselves. McMurphy wishes for the men to learn to change the strict policies when tells them to “Don’t you see you have to do...
Words: 440 - Pages: 2
...the other acutes in the ward. McMurphy gets interpreted as a manipulator, but is really a hero. Throughout the story he portrays different characteristics that give off that vibe. There were no heroes in the psychiatric ward until McMurphy’s arrival. Many of the patients in the psych ward looked up to McMurphy as a Christ-like character and supported his many and sometimes crazy ideas. He was really recognized as a hero or a Christ-like figure when he took a fishing trip and brought 12 other...
Words: 983 - Pages: 4
...Over the span of humanity humans have always been divided by opinion. These views are what grouped between the popular, and sometimes the easier choice, versus the lesser view. Usually urging the others to follow the greater supported choice. How does such a sway of opinion switch from person to person, happen right before the beholders eyes? The novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, presents a strong portrayal of society’s desire to force conformity upon individuals, as represented by McMurphy and the inmates who struggle against the Big Nurse and the public, with their ruthless methods of discrimination, punishment, and emasculation. The minority within the novel, much like that of the minority of the real world, gives a real look into...
Words: 1585 - Pages: 7
...In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, the Combine is an allegory for the dichotomy between establishment and antiestablishment. The narrator, Chief Bromden, describes the Combine several times in the novel and likens it to a machine. Ken Kesey uses the imagery of a machine to explain the negative influence of establishment on society. The ward is an extension of the Combine that works to regulate the sameness of society. Nurse Ratched is the voice of the Combine and she ensures that the ward runs like a well-oiled machine. Within the novel, Chief Bromden describes the ward as, “...a factory for the Combine. It’s for fixing...something that came in all twisted” (Kesey 40). If the ward is a “factory”, then the patients...
Words: 801 - Pages: 4
...stereotypes has become more obvious. The 1960’s-1970’s was a time characterized by Irish Mob Wars (Durney 2000), Hollywood conservative backlash films, and the ongoing misrepresentation of American Indians in film (Larson 2006). One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a movie is about a criminal who pretends to be crazy so that he can serve his sentence in the relatively comfortable confines of an insane asylum rather than a prison. We see the results of the historical events represented in characters from this movie such as Randle Patrick McMurphy, Mr. Turkle, the ward’s guards, and Chief Bromden. The Irish have been infamous for their mafia and organized crime, especially in the Cleveland area. Perhaps their most publicly recognized contribution to the media’s fascination with violence is the Mob Wars of the mid-1970’s (Durney 2000). These huge displays of violence prepped the audience of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to easily accept the character of McMurphy, an Irish American good-for-nothing who has been convicted of gambling and battery, as well as charged with statutory rape (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975). With coverage of violent crimes being committed by Irish mobs in the news, this character is logically personified...
Words: 2080 - Pages: 9
...the meaning becomes more convoluted, it has a higher potential to be lost on its audience. In order to prevent this disconnect with readers, authors employ allusions, or hidden similarities to popular works during a specific time period. Allusions can add depth to a story and at the same time, they can pass criticism on a certain facet of society. Religious allusions especially can be effective among intellectual populations, likely to subscribe to the idea of social change. Within the stories Teddy and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, authors J.D. Salinger and Ken Kesey allude to well-known religious philosophies to express the fundamentally good nature of their protagonists setting them apart from what they perceived as the corrupted influence of society. The protagonist of the short story Teddy is a ten year old boy, Teddy, who possesses profound wisdom and knowledge. His ideas on spiritualism and meditation come through his diary entries. On October 28, 1952 he writes, “It will either happen today or February 14, 1955, when I am sixteen. It’s ridiculous to mention even” (Salinger 75). His thoughts on what could be the end of his life reflect Buddhist philosophies on death. A key principle of Buddhism is to be aware of the inevitability of death. “A person who correctly grasps the inevitability of death becomes more focused on religious practice…” (Frontline), just as Teddy has chosen to do. Because of his spiritually devoted past life, he believes he has gained some form of...
Words: 981 - Pages: 4
...Дневник читателя READER’S JOURNAL Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea (1952). Joseph Heller. Catch-22 (1961). Tennessee Williams. A Streetcar Named Desire (1959). Iris Murdoch. The Black Prince (1973). Jerome David Salinger. The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Michael Ondaatje. The English Patient (1992). Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451 (1953). Ken Kesey. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962). Edward Albee. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962). Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman (1949). ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea (1952). ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- FULL TITLE · The Old Man and the Sea ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR · Ernest Hemingway ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- TYPE OF WORK · Novella ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- GENRE · Parable; tragedy ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- LANGUAGE · English ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · 1951, Cuba ------------------------------------------------- ...
Words: 43588 - Pages: 175
...Ms. Latasha Keith HUMN401-1305B-01: Literature and Film Professor Bonnie Ronson January 19, 2014 Unit 2 Individual Project – Canonical Classics of Literature Section 1- Introduction Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is set at an Oregon asylum in the 1950s (NovelGuide.com). The book is a study in the institutional process of the human mind, a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles while exploring themes of individuality and rebellion against socially imposed repression (NovelGuide.com; SparkNotes.com; CliffsNotes.com). These themes and ideas were the topic of discussion during the publication of this novel because the world was introduced to communism and totalitarian regimes. The novel was published in 1962 and received with immediate success (SparkNotes.com). Section 2 – Biographical Information La Junta, Colorado is the birthplace of novelist Ken Kesey. He was born in 1935 and grew up on a small farm in Oregon and Colorado with his family. He married his high school sweetheart in 1956 and they had three children together (Lone Star College). He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon where he participated in wrestling and theater in 1957 (Lone Star College; SparkNotes.com). In 1959, Kesey enrolled in a creative writing program at Stanford University, the same year where he began volunteering with the Stanford Psychology Department (CliffsNotes.com; Lone Star College). The Stanford Psychology...
Words: 2726 - Pages: 11
...rules in the hospital are same as the dogma and law in American society. The common people have to strictly follow the dogmatic rules and the autocracy; freedom does not exist. The patients in the book are like machines. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, using the analogy of a mental institution, suggests that 1950s American society is not free and that people need to rise up to try to change it. Firstly, the Big Nurse’s manipulation and subtle cruelty cannot give enough freedom for the patients. Secondly, the main elements of control are self-inflicted; the fear that holds them down is internal. Thirdly, McMurphy is a messianic figure, and his doom is inevitable. He brings liberation to others, and this is the true meaning to his own life. First, Nurse Ratched’s manipulation and subtle cruelty mirrors discrimination of the era. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the chief Bromden and the patients who are there are essentially being "segregated" from the rest of society because they are different. This segregation from the normal life can compare to the struggle with racism, discrimination, and segregation between whites and African Americans in post-World War II era. In the book, the patients are not treated as normal people, and they do not have freedom. For...
Words: 2451 - Pages: 10
