...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...
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...One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Literary analysis How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is a book that deals with the struggles of mental illness and conformity. Randle Patrick McMurphy also known as McMurphy has just been out into a hospital for the mentally ill, where he intends to take over and make the head nurse, Nurse Ratched crack under pressure from his shenanigans and wild antics. Next is Chief, Chief has been at the hospital the longest, the story his told through his eyes and schizophrenic thoughts. Though Chief is in the story he can be unreliable because of the schizophrenia and possible ptsd from being in world war two causing hallucinations throughout...
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...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...
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...Ken Kesey was born in 1935 in Colorado. In 1946, his family moved to Oregon, where he become champion in wrestling, both in high school and college (Ken Kesey Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography). He attended Stanford University and later in 1960 Kesey volunteered in the experiment organized by U.S army, in which he was using drugs such LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and then reporting on their effect. He also spent some time communicating with patients in the hospital's psychiatric ward. It was an experience which encouraged Ken Kesey to write his 1962 novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” (the book I’m reading right now), which examined the abuses of the system against the individuals and the theory that patients weren’t insane, but...
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...Gender Roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The 1950’s was a decade characterized by traditional gender roles of women as homemakers downgraded to the domestic sphere and men as economic providers. With the arrival of the 1960’s, however, stereotypical gender roles were challenged and the American society underwent a variety of social transformations. American writers, such as Ken Kesey, responded to the change through writing. Kesey’s response to the times was his 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which is not only a social commentary about mental illness, but also a response to changing gender roles. By demonizing powerful women and uplifting powerful men, his novel promotes sexism and ultimately holds the misogynistic stance that powerful women must be subjugated. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the female characters can be divided into two extreme categories: "ball-cutters" and whores. The negative portrayal of powerful women can be seen in the problematic relationships that the male patients have with their mothers. Bromden, the half Native-American narrator, has a mother who constantly undermines his father, the chief of the Columbia Gorge tribe and a once-powerful man. Bromden’s mother dominates her husband and her son by acting in non-traditional ways, such as using her maiden name for the family’s last name rather than using her husband’s, which convinces Bromden’s father that he is weak and helpless. Because she herself is white, she is ashamed...
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...Deliverable # 2 Ervin Goffman “Characteristics of Total Institutions” Vs. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” By: Eric Sawyer Option #1 We live in a world with many different types of institutions. Some might care for mental problems, not being able to care for yourself or being at age when you cannot. There are also institutions that are organized to protect the community to so called intentional dangers. Some of the concepts we have discussed in class go hand and hand with the social context of Goffman’s total institutions. I will discuss the concepts of how institutions might hurt or help and the different concepts we have discussed in class relating to Coffman’s “Characteristics of Total Institutions”. Something that I analyzed in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest” is the false diagnosis of insanity. Mcmurphy’s sanity is symbolized through free spirit, positive laughter and just an over all around positive out look on life. In Coffman’s “Total Institutions”, it goes into “Adaption Alignments” and how this is a mortifying process of how inmates must adapt to the conditions that an institution might have such as privileges and consequences. Mcmurphy falls under the rebellious line, the characteristics that fall under this is how the inmate intentionally challenges institution by refusing to cooperate with staff in almost any way. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest, Mcmurphy demonstrates this in many ways, in the part were he broke two young ladies in the institution, or...
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...To begin: Read the chapter on Mental Illness and additional reading on “Labeling Theory” located in the Week 7 Folder. Then, watch either movie. You can rent the videos or download them if you like, but One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is available online for free at http://www.onlinemoviefree4u.com/2012/03/one-flew-over-cuckoos-nest-1975.html. You may also be able to find Girl Interrupted online. Next, answer the following the questions (in your answers, use terms and concepts from the readings where relevant): Part A – Theoretical Framework Describe the major components of the Sociological Model of Mental Illness and compare it to the Medical Model of Mental Illness. What evidence exists that supports the Sociological Model of Mental Illness? What evidence exists that supports the Medical Model of Mental Illness? (approximately 2-4 paragraphs) The sociological model of mental illness, as well as the medical model of mental illness both strive to simplify the nature of mental illnesses, but they have opposing views. The sociological model uses subjective social judgments to define mental illness. Using this model, whether a person is mentally ill is determined by the person’s peers and superiors and their judgment, while, in the medical model, illness is solely defined through objective, measurable conditions. Through this, a person can only be defined as mentally ill if their symptoms fit the specific guidelines set forth by the medical professionals. Part...
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...One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey follows the life of men who have to live in the harsh environment of a mental institution. Although we are restricted to only the interior world of the ward, we do not meet any high level authority figure other than Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched is a very tyrannical individual whose goal is to maintain a harsh hierarchical structure which at the time that this novel was written, was fairly normal in mental hospitals. Nurse Ratched had many ways in obtaining the ideal order she desires. One of these is manipulation, which is seen in constant use throughout the novel. Under her tactics, the mental hospital transforms into a small world where anyone can be manipulated in order for people to get what...
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...The majority of individuals in society are often deceived by fallacious beliefs on those suffering with a psychological illness. The novel, One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey, educates readers on the prominence of proper education on mental health, as well as, the severity of the treacherous treatments directed towards the predominantly oppressed group. The renowned tale is narrated by Chief Bromden, who is described as a “deaf and dumb” Native- American, inhabiting the Oregon Psychiatric Institution. Conversely, the protagonist of the novel, Randel McMurphy, is introduced as a polar opposite to the majority of the ward’s patients. McMurphy, distinguished as an American of Irish decent, proclaims to be a well-known gambler,...
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...reduce stress can be of help too. Stress can be detrimental because it can improve the connectivity between different parts of the brain and eventually causes the response to fear to be even more dramatic and this can be seen in patients suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Having a greater response to fear would cause a person to have panic disorders and this can be linked to mental illness by the assumptions of natural and harmless stimuli to be a threat by the patients. It can also be linked to mental disorders by the depression, such as anxiety, that panic disorders causes when it occurs in public places and when it would eventually lead to the obstruction of the flow of thoughts in the individual....
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...The characters of this novel, as well as the experiences, are all real, as the author took a job in a mental hospital in order to write this book. The author, Kevin Kesey, even experienced electroshock therapy to ensure an accurate description in his novel. Kesey uses various characters throughout the story to show his opposition to shock treatments (Kesey, 1962). He also explains how this treatment is given as a form of punishment and abuse, as one of his characters explains, if one does not listen to the nurse’s orders, you will end up on the ECT machine. Kesey believes that shock therapies are not properly justified and can cause much damage to the patient. Even if it seems to work, the patient eventually relapses, which proves the treatment to be unsuccessful (Kesey,...
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...“You are crazy!”. Many people say the statement everyday not intending any harm. However, to the patients in a mental institution, it is a recurring claim enforced early on to convince them that they have unsolvable mental disabilities. Many of the authoritative figures in this novel attribute to that specific belief by taking advantage of patients. This is shown in the characters The Black Boys through abuse and humiliation, physical punishments given by the staff, and Nurse Ratched, the head leader using her negative power and control over patients. In the thrilling novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest written by Ken Kesey, authority in a mental institution setting is shown through The Black Boys, punishment, and Nurse Ratched, showcasing...
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...nature to hope for the best in future situations and to always embellish our memories of the past. I think that this is our way of coping with the present. If we can convince ourselves that things were better at one point and therefore will be better at some point, then the present never seems too awful. This being said, it came as a surprise to me that such a fundamental mannerism of humans drove me so near insane. Novel after novel, I found that the characters who I actively despised were the ones who pretended that their lives were always perfect in order to escape the present. Take Blanche DuBois, from A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams. At one point in the play, Blanche cries, “I don’t want realism. I want magic!” and pardon my informality, but I HATED her for saying so. If only she had faced reality for one measly minute, she would have been able to see that the only way to fix her situation was to fight her plagued present. If...
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...In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey exposes us to the world of mental illness and mental wards. Kesey exposes us to two therapeutic strategies, external discipline and solipsism. Although Nurse Ratched was technically the medical professional, McMurphy inspired the healing by encouraging self healing and helping them escape Nurse Ratched’s control. As the person who had been on the ward the longest, Nurse Ratched dominated the ward as the leader, even though she was unqualified to hold that level of jurisdiction on the patients’ medical treatment. She controlled the ward by making everything fit into the molds she desired. The ward was the world that she could make perfect with rules, schedules, drugs, staff, and fear. By ordering...
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...Unnoticed Antisocial Personality Disorder The treatment available for any type of mental illness in the 1960’s didn’t have much diversity to it only ranging from a couple of medications like “chloryl hydrate, bromides, and barbiturates” to sedate the patients and lobotomies that were used during this time but they had a high death rate of “twenty five percent” and leftmost showing “a total absence of feeling” (Foerschner). The first antidepressant was introduced in the 1980’s by the name of “Prozac” before this there was no medication that could properly treat depression (Foerschner). With the very limited treatments for mental illness, it was very hard to cure and help mental illness in the 1960’s. In modern day there are many different approaches...
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