Premium Essay

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 1607
Pages 7
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as a Tool for Awareness and Education As violence and diseases such as mental illness detrimentally affect individuals across the world, topics like these that occur in literature are censored, and children are shielded from these "harsh," yet unavoidable, realities. Both violence and mental health are reoccurring themes throughout the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kessey, which is why is it often challenged by parents of high school students. Although some concerned parents believe that the violent treatments within One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are too disturbing and gruesome for adolescents, the book should be included in high school curriculums because it provides education and awareness …show more content…
Several instances of research has shown that "20% of school-aged children experience a mental illness" (Atkins and Rodger 93) and that "children with mental health problems are absent for 40% more school days, and they achieve lower academic success than their mentally healthy peers" (Atkins and Rodger 95). These statistics provide quantitative data regarding the alarming number of children affected by mental health problems and the adverse influence that poor mental health can have on the academic achievement of students. Thus, discussion and education of overall mental health in the safe, academic setting of high school classes is essential in addressing these growing mental health issues. The positive outcomes of addressing these issues can be found in the research of John Desrochers, a former teacher and counselor. He has found that in the Westport school district of Connecticut, "98 percent of the district's high school students graduate" (Desrochers 47). He also found that this school district "places a priority on student mental health, including strong, schoolwide interventions" (Desrochers 47). These pieces of evidence

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Research Paper

...STAGE 2 ENGLISH STUDIES One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey “In what ways has Kesey portrayed R.P McMurphy as an anti-hero?” One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an acclaimed novel written by author Ken Kesey detailing the fictional events surrounding patients within a mental institution. The novel features protagonist R.P. McMurphy and his battle against Nurse Ratched and “the Combine”— Chief Bromden’s word to describe the system that governs the institution and the rest of the world. Through analysing the character of McMurphy, it can be seen that although he lacks conventional hero qualities, his behaviour fits into a subcategory of the hero called the antihero. The personality of an antihero can be described as a devil on the side...

Words: 906 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest

...Cynthia K. Nessmith Professor Shawana Stanford American Literature 2130 14 April 2013 Film adaptation of the American novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest novel was written by Ken Kesey in 1962. The film adaptation version was directed by Czech Milos Forman in 1975. My goal in this paper is not only to compare the film adaptation to the Novel but to also explain what I think the symbols represent, critic’s analysis, themes presented in this film, and the significance of the Novel. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest film’s setting begins with a police car driving down the road to people sleeping in bunk beds, ending with a glimpse of a drawing taped to the wall with a crazy face centered in it. A nurse enters a locked down facility, while another prepares medicine for the patients. The police car arrives at the facility with a prisoner in handcuffs that is released to the hospital staff. The characters in this film are as follows: Randall P. McMurphy played by Jack Nicholson, a rebellious convict with a loud mouth and a set of sexual playing cards. He’s courageous and challenges the staff/system of the mental hospital. Nurse Ratched played by Louise Fletcher is a calm, cold, well mannered, and soft spoken head nurse of the mental hospital that plays McMurphy’s enemy. Chief Bromdon played by Will Sampson is a big and tall Indian who is described as “deaf and dumb” (according to the character Billy). Billy Bibbit played by Brad Dourif is a young...

Words: 1717 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Spring Board Actvity Project

...Springboard Activity One Quote from book and Warm-Up Students will read this quote on the smart board and answer the following questions: How do you feel about the nurse being a wolf? What do you think about people being wolfs in everyday life? "This world ... belongs to the strong, my friend! The ritual of our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak. We must face up to this. No more than right that it should be this way. We must learn to accept it as a law of the natural world. The rabbits accept their role in the ritual and recognize the wolf as the strong. In defense, the rabbit becomes sly and frightened and elusive and he digs holes and hides when the wolf is about. And he endures, he goes on. He knows his place. He most certainly doesn't challenge the wolf to combat. Now, would that be wise? Would it?" He [Harding] lets go McMurphy's hand and leans back and crosses his legs, takes another long pull off the cigarette. He pulls the cigarette from his thin crack of a smile, and the laugh starts up again-eee-eee-eee, like a nail coming out of a plank. "Mr. McMurphy ... my friend ... I'm not a chicken, I'm a rabbit. The doctor is a rabbit. Cheswick there is a rabbit. Billy Bibbit is a rabbit. All of us in here are rabbits of varying ages and degrees, hippity-hopping through our Walt Disney world. Oh, don't misunderstand me, we're not in here because we are rabbits-we'd be rabbits wherever we were-we're all in here because we can't adjust...

Words: 2079 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Psych

...Psychological Disorders Writing Assignment The purpose of this project is to give you experience in making clinical diagnoses and to attempt to make sense of the many psychological disorders that are out there. You have been assigned to watch a popular movie. I decided to give this to you before Christmas Break because you will have at least 2 weeks to think of the movies form the list and watch one or two or whatever number you want. Pretend that you are a clinical psychologist, and the character in the movie has come in to your office. There is one central character in the movie that has symptoms of a psychological disorder (sometimes there may be more than one character; I have given you the character with the most obvious symptoms). In your paper, you should give a brief description of the character. Then, you should answer the following: o Identify the diagnosis that you would make of the character. • You should back up your diagnosis with the relevant symptoms displayed by the character (in other words, explain why did you make the diagnosis that you did). Refer to the movie to illustrate the symptoms that the character demonstrates. • Discuss all the possible symptoms of the disorder; does the client show all the possible symptoms, or only some of the possible symptoms of the disorder? • In some cases, the character may be lying, and does not really have a disorder. For example, the person may be faking the disorder to avoid prosecution...

Words: 1508 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Application Paper

...Zach Shook Professor Donaldson PSY 210 13 October 2013 Application Paper The movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was centered around a man named Randle McMurphy who was admitted to the Oregon State Hospital against his will. He quickly made it obvious that he would not comply with the rules and made an enemy named Nurse Ratched. His deviance inevitably led to the sealing of his own fate when his actions became more pronounced and more severe. Throughout his stay, he was denied many of his rights as a mental patient and was subjected to wrongful treatment from the staff of the institution. According to the text, abnormality can be defined by comparing the behavior of the person in question to a set of criteria. This set of criteria consists of: Unusualness, Social Deviance, Faulty Perceptions or Interpretations of Reality, Significant Personal Distress, Maladaptive or Self-Defeating Behavior, and Dangerousness (Nevid et al. 5-7). These criteria are only useful in deciding whether or not someone is exhibiting abnormal behavior if the behavior is appropriate for that specific situation. For example, if someone is depressed after the loss of a loved one, then that would be appropriate for the situation and would not be considered abnormal. Similarly, if someone is depressed for no apparent reason, then it would be within the realm of possibility that the person is exhibiting abnormal behavior (Nevid et al. 5). Unusualness is a relatively simplistic term used to...

Words: 2404 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Mood Disorders: Causes, Effects and Treatment

...Disorders: Causes, Effects and Treatments In today’s society, people seem to have a lot of problems that are classified as mental disorders. These disorders include: depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, and even seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The immediate stigma that is placed on most if not all mood disorders is that they are sicknesses. In the case of depression, this is not to confuse depression, a normal emotion with biological depression, an illness. Further along this line of irrational thought is the belief that they are not treatable and the person affected is in some way, shape or form disconnected from civilization as we know it. In this research paper, we will attempt to destroy these unfair stereotypes on this subject, attempt to rationalize the behaviors, and shed light on treatments for the various disorders. The research gathered will attempt to understand and answer these questions: 1. What are mood disorders and their symptoms? 2. What are the causes? 3. How can the stigma of mood disorders be removed? 4. What forms of treatment are the most successful? What Are Mood Disorders And Their Symptoms? In order to get a good idea of what causes mood disorders, we first must attempt to categorize what various classes of disorders there are. Our text, Psychology: A Journey (2008 p. 500), defined mood disorders as major disturbances in mood or emotion, such as depression...

Words: 3426 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Psy 1010

...PRINCE GEORGE'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE Welcome to Psychology 1010 Fall 2015 (Tu/Th, ________ – ______ p.m. / Marlboro Hall – Rm. #1104) (August 25 – December 3) INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Janet E. Barber Psychological & Sociological Sciences and Human Svcs. OFFICE/HOURS: Marlboro Hall –M1104/2057 (Tu/Th, 3:25p - 4:25p) The best way to contact the professor is by email. By appointment: Online Office hours via Bb IM: Thursdays 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm PHONE NUMBERS: Professor: (301) 322-0900 x 4143 Social Sciences Office/Phone No.: Marlboro Hall #2054 (301) 546-0525 EMAIL ADDRESS: BarberAJ@pgcc.edu (24 hour response time) The best way to contact the professor is by email. Note: All credit students (with the exception of Howard Community College students enrolled at Laurel College Center) are required to use Owl Mail for all college communication. Students, please be sure to place PSY1010-LD14, 16 or 17 in the subject line so that your email will not be overlooked, confused with another class section, or mistakenly deleted. Thank you. Monday – Friday your emails and phone messages will be returned within 24 hours. Your weekend...

Words: 5920 - Pages: 24

Free Essay

8. Successful Leaders Have a Clear Sense of Purpose. What Is Your Statement of Purpose

...RICHARD DAWKINS-The Selfish Gene. Ebook v1.0. 'Who should read this book? Everyone interested in the universe and their place in it.' Jeffrey R. Baylis, Animal Behaviour Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines. The world of the selfish gene is one of savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit. But what of the acts of apparent altruism found in nature-the bees who commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, or the birds who risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk? Do they contravene the fundamental law of gene selfishness? By no means: Dawkins shows that the selfish gene is also the subtle gene. And he holds out the hope that our species-alone on earth-has the power to rebel against the designs of the selfish gene. This book is a call to arms. It is both manual and manifesto, and it grips like a thriller. The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins's brilliant first book and still his most famous, is an international bestseller in thirteen languages. For this new edition there are two major new chapters. 'learned, witty, and very well written...exhilaratingly good.' Sir Peter Medawar, Spectator Richard Dawkins is a Lecturer in Zoology at Oxford University and a Fellow of Mew College, and the author of The Blind Watchmaker. Preface to 1976 edition This book should be read almost as though it were science fiction. It is designed to appeal to the imagination. But it is not science...

Words: 118698 - Pages: 475

Free Essay

Darkness

...IT IS A SPARKLING DAY IN MID-JUNE, the sun out in full force, the sky a limpid blue. I am lying on my back on the grass, listening to the intermittent chirping of nearby birds; my eyes are closed, the better to savor the warmth on my face. As I soak up the rays I think about summers past, the squawking of seagulls on the beach and walking along the water with my daughter, picking out enticing seashells, arguing over their various merits. My mind floats away into a space where chronology doesn’t count: I am back on the beach of my adolescence, lost in a book, or talking to my old college chum Bethanie as we brave the bay water in front of her parents’ house in Connecticut, where she comes to visit every summer. In the 20 or so minutes of “fresh air” allotted after lunch (one of four such breaks on the daily schedule), I try to forget where I am, imaging myself elsewhere than in this fenced-off concrete garden bordered by the West Side Highway on one side and Riverside Drive on the other, planted with patches of green and a few lonely flowers, my movements watched over by a more or less friendly psychiatric aide. Soggy as my brain is from being wrenched off a slew of antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications in the last 10 days, I reach for a Coleridgian suspension of disbelief, ignoring the roar of traffic and summoning up the sound of breaking waves. I have only to open my eyes for the surreal scene to come back into my immediate line of vision, like a picnic area without...

Words: 8221 - Pages: 33

Free Essay

1970

...1970s From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search "Seventies" redirects here. For decades comprising years 70–79 of other centuries, see List of decades. From left, clockwise: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil crisis put the nation of America in gridlock and caused economic damage throughout the developed world; Both the leaders of Israel and Egypt shake hands after the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978; The 1970 Bhola cyclone kills an estimated 500,000 people in the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (which would become independent as Bangladesh in 1971) in November 1970; The Iranian Revolution of 1979 ousted Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi who was later replaced by an Islamic theocracy led by Ayatollah Khomeini; The popularity of the disco music genre peaked during the middle to late 1970s. Millennium: | 2nd millennium | Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century | Decades: | 1940s 1950s 1960s – 1970s – 1980s 1990s 2000s | Years: | 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 | Categories: | Births – Deaths – ArchitectureEstablishments – Disestablishments | The 1970s, pronounced "the Nineteen Seventies", refers to a decade within the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1970, and...

Words: 11872 - Pages: 48

Premium Essay

Myths

...Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 BRAIN POWER Myth #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Myth #2 Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Myth #3 Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Myth #4 Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes Myth #5 Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products 2 FROM WOMB TO TOMB Myth #6 Playing Mozart’s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence Myth #7 Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil Myth #8 Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in | 8 Their 40s or Early 50s Myth #9 Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility Myth #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages 3 A REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Myth #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurate Events We’ve Experienced Myth #12 Hypnosis Is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Myth #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Myth #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives 4 TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS Myth #15 Intelligence (IQ) Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People My th #16 If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch Myth #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Myth #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to...

Words: 130018 - Pages: 521

Free Essay

Equus

...Themes Collecting relevant quotations Beyond the play Study questions Suggestions for further reading Wider reading assignments 4 The writer on writing I suppose my head has always been full of images. Peter Shaffer is one of Britain's foremost contemporary dramatists. Born in 1926 and educated at Cambridge he had a variety of jobs before becoming a playwright. During the Second World War he worked down a coal-mine; he has also worked in the New York Public Library and as a journalist. He was awarded the CBE in the 1987 Birthday Honours List. His first big success was with Five Finger Exercise in 1958, which ran for two years in London before transferring to New York. Other successes include Amadeus (which has been filmed), The Private Ear: The Public Eye and The Royal Hunt of the Sun. This last play represented a departure for Shaffer as a writer; he moved from detective stories, naturalistic drama and farce to epic theatre and the adoption of avant-garde stage techniques. It was while writing The Royal Hunt of the Sun that Shaffer first collaborated with the British theatrical director John Dexter, who also directed Equus in its first production at the National Theatre in 1973. 5 Both The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Equus are above all plays about faith. One of Shaffer's preoccupations as a writer is with the concept of worship and human beings' attempts at gaining or...

Words: 35185 - Pages: 141

Free Essay

Bush

...Domestic Disturbance 24. Conclusion Afterword Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade trying to find accurate information on Bush’s record in the Texas National Guard. My curiosity had been prompted by his failure to adequately answer a question I had asked him as a panelist in a televised debate with Ann Richards during the 1994 gubernatorial campaign. Eventually I published three books on Bush and his political consigliere, Karl Rove. During Bush’s presidency, many other...

Words: 249168 - Pages: 997

Free Essay

Chuck Palahniuk

...gifted writer, and the novel is full of terrific lines.” —The New York Times Book Review “[Palahniuk’s] most enduring trait … is that marvelous quicksilver voice of his. … The exuberance of his language makes it still worthwhile to brave these often chilly and dark waters.” —The Oregonian “Choke is another welcome antidote to antiseptic consumer life, and you can’t blame it for grabbing you by the throat.” —Maxim “Palahniuk is a cult writer in the truest sense.” —Entertainment Weekly “His subversive riffs conjure a kind of jump-cut cinema of the diseased imagination, resulting in an outlandish allegory that is as brutally hilarious as it is relentlessly bleak.” —Book Magazine “This is Catcher in the Rye with gloves off, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on ecstasy. … Brilliant isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind.” —Fort Meyers News Press Chuck Palahniuk Choke Chuck Palahniuk’s novels are the bestselling Fight Club, which...

Words: 70866 - Pages: 284

Premium Essay

California an Interpretive History - Rawls, James

...HISTORY, TENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2008, 2003, and 1998. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1234567890 QFR/QFR 10987654321 ISBN: 978-0-07-340696-1 MHID: 0-07-340696-1 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Publisher: Christopher Freitag Sponsoring Editor: Matthew Busbridge Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Editorial Coordinator: Nikki Weissman Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Carole Lawson Cover Image: Albert Bierstadt, American (born in Germany), 1830–1902 Valley of the Yosemite, 1864 (detail) Oil on paperboard 30.16 × 48.89 cm (11 7/8 × 19 1/4 in.) Museum of Fine Arts, BostonGift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865 47.1236 Buyer:...

Words: 248535 - Pages: 995