Premium Essay

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Critical Analysis

Submitted By
Words 594
Pages 3
Dyman Fisher
Mr. Nardone
AP English
24 November 2012
Critical Paper The Novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is narrated by Chief Bromden, a patient in an Oregon psychiatric hospital. The lives of the men in this hospital are dictated by the "Big Nurse" also known as Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched is a tyrant who gains power by emasculating the men and carrying off a sexless persona. She has complete dominance of the men and there is no rebellion until a patient by the name of Randall McMurphy comes and disrupts the matriarchal system of the ward. McMurphy is the Christ figure, or tragic hero, of the novel. McMurphy is depicted as a Christ figure when he first arrives at the asylum. He is "baptized by a shower when he first enters

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Critical Analysis of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey.

...Critical analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey invites his reader into the world of the mental hospital, where everything and everyone is under strict dictatorship of Nurse Ratched. She is the one who decides medications, routine, and the destiny of her patients. She uses all of her power to keep them in fear, so they stay under her full control and obey her rules. Everything runs smoothly on her strict routine, until Randle McMurphy comes into the ward. This free-will rebel starts to question the authority of Nurse Ratched and constantly upsets the routines, which leads to a power struggle between the two of them; a power struggle that becomes a battle between wills, a battle between man and woman, between freedom and control. All the way through the story, McMurphy tries to restore the patient‘s masculinity; he shows them how to live the lives that they are too afraid to live; he attempts to teach them how to laugh, to be brave and, most important, to be free. Although, the power struggle with Nurse Ratched does not finish well for McMurphy-- a lobotomy takes away his freedom and, ultimately, his life--in the battle of wills, he is the conqueror. His free-will changes patients from “rabbits” into men(64). His strong nature teaches them how to stand up for themselves, how to find what they believe in and fight for it. Essentially, he teaches them how to be free men. McMurphy sacrificed himself to...

Words: 1110 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

...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...

Words: 814 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Theme Analysis - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

...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

Premium Essay

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest: An Analysis

...Kesey had close affiliations with the counterculture that dominated the decade. In its own way One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the twentieth-century Romantic manifesto, a ululation for the death of the individual before this rebellion went out of style and individualism along with it. This book verbalized what many where thinking: that the truly crazy in the world were the ones who wanted power while the truly sane were the ones who sought to be individuals and rebelled against authority. Because of this pronounced effect on society the book was a major contributor to the backlash against the entire psychiatric system in the early 1960s. As a result, state institutions began reducing their resident numbers and granting admitted patients more rights within the institutions. In addition to this change in the system, the book also pushed the development of more effective anti-psychotic drugs, thus allowing more patients to be treated within their own homes and live normal lives. Yet for many health professionals the book also had a profound negative effect, consequently changing the overall...

Words: 1091 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Film Analysis: The Compelling Scent Of A Woman

...(IMDb, 1993). Martin Brest both directed and produced this film. Brest is also credited for directing Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, and Gigli (IMDb, 1990). Bo Goldman wrote the screenplay for Scent of a Woman. He also created the screenplays for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Rose and Shoot for the Moon (IMDb,1990) (IMDb, 1990). Donald E. Thorin was the cinematographer for the film. Along with this film, he also shot for An Officer and a Gentleman, Bad Boys, and Purple Rain (IMDb, 1990). William Steinkamp and Michael Tronick teamed up to edit this film. The principal...

Words: 2007 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Mrs. Beeton

...Foucault and the New Historicism Author(s): Geoffrey Galt Harpham Source: American Literary History, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), pp. 360-375 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/490057 . Accessed: 18/10/2011 05:25 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Literary History. http://www.jstor.org the Foucault and New Historicism GeoffreyGait Harpham "People are always shouting they want to create a better future,"Milan Kundera writes in The Book of Laughterand Forgetting."It's not true. The futureis an apatheticvoid of no interestto anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritateus, provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it. The AfterFoucault: HumanisticKnowledge, only reasonpeople want to be mastersof the futureis to change PostmodernChallenges the past"(22). Not only is the historicalrecordlargelyan archive Edited by Jonathan of domination and rebellion...

Words: 5701 - Pages: 23

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

Ghhg

...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

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

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

...LONGMAN LITERATURE Equus Peter Shaffer Editor: Adrian Burke scanned by naruchan proofread by tigger 2 LONGMAN 3 Contents The writer on writing Introduction Structure and form The role of psychiatry Characterisation Passion and religion Critical reaction to the play The writing of Equus Reading log Author's note on the book Author's notes on the play Equus Glossary: reading the text Study programme The play's structure Staging the play Character and relationships The writer's intentions 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...

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

Premium Essay

California an Interpretive History - Rawls, James

...CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA An Interpretive History TENTH EDITION James J. Rawls Instructor of History Diablo Valley College Walton Bean Late Professor of History University of California, Berkeley TM TM CALIFORNIA: AN INTERPRETIVE 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...

Words: 248535 - Pages: 995