Authority In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Power Unit Essay People tend to react similarly when put into physical situations that trigger fight or flight responses because those reactions are hardwired into human DNA. Simultaneously, natural responses impact mental states and physical states, which allows general statements about humans to be made that are valid for the vast majority. These human instincts can be seen throughout modern entertainment- movies, books, television shows- such as Cool Hand Luke and One Flew

1. In the novel, women are portrayed as mean and feared beings. They are somewhat compared to as evil monsters. An example of this in the passage is on pages 4 and 5. It says, “They sense she’s glaring down at them now, but its too late.

Journal #1 One main event that occurs in the first third of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is the first group meeting Mr. McMurphy joined on the ward. Nurse Ratched begins to talk about another patient named Harding, and his issues with his wife. After listening to what the nurse had to say, McMurphy made an inappropriate joke concerning the matter of Harding’s wife. Everyone was amused with his joke, except for Nurse Ratched.

The whole asylum could be described as one big machine that creates an unnatural state for human beings and is running smoothly, until one day an outside force comes in to shake things up. Rather than being an evil person, Nurse Ratchet is a part of this perfect machine, like a cog in a watch, who represents authority and power in an oppressive society. Jack McMurphy is the free-spirited outside force that does what he wants, when he wants, disrupts order and constantly undermines Nurse Ratchets authority. The patients in the ward are the by-product of the manufacturing process and represent the weak individuals in a society that cannot fend for themselves. The patients believed they were already in a utopia, until McMurphy introduces his ideal

Have you ever saw a person talking to themselves or speaking to a person not physically present? Perhaps on a lesser scale, you have encountered someone who seems sad all the time or jumps from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, with anger in between. Currently we are in legislative session, which is a time when parliamentary and presidential systems come together for the purpose of discussing laws and appropriating funds. This time is crucial for anyone who receives mental health services, as it is when the distribution of funds is allocated for programs. Without appropriate funding the patients suffer in various forms to include abuse due to lack of funding for qualified staff, lack of research for treatment, and lack of programs to assist

The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey tells the story of a group of patients in a 1960s psychiatric hospital. The novel is told from the perspective of one of the patients who, up until the very end of the story, is mute. This character is named Bromden and because of the fact that he doesn’t speak, people think he is deaf. Bromden is in the psychiatric hospital because, although its is unclear whether he actually is skitzophrenic, he has been diagnosed as such. Bromden and many other psychiatric patients live in this ward, under the “command” of Nurse Ratched, nicknamed “Big Nurse”.

Nurse Ratched (Big Nurse) is the head nurse of the ward, or the combine as Bromden calls it, and she runs and directs the institution. She is very powerful and demanding – the ward only functions in the way she sees fit. Ratched will often dominate over the patients and other ward staff, even the doctor on staff. She also exposes the ward patients to electro-shock therapy if they disobey her orders. Like a massive obstacle, the Big Nurse proves to assert her power over all the patients and seems to care more about the functionality of the ward rather than her patient’s humanity.

The concepts of pursuing, becoming and sustaining the status of boss permeate the characters in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. Throughout the novel, the characters face a multitude of platforms for their choices and actions. In order to sustain the title of boss, characters must be able to overthrow the system that they all have grown used to and can’t imagine life without. These characters stay motivated through the feelings of fear, rejection, and revenge. This motivations lead them to realize the flaws in the system they’ve been living through most of their lives.

Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

Rationale: A man named Randle Mc Murphy is confined to a mental hospital for committing minor crimes. The ward is under the strict rule of the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched is so obsessed with maintaining perfect order of the hospital that she will do anything, even torture and kill a patient if he seems to be highly disruptive. However, Mc Murphy starts revolting against the nurse by constantly making her lose her temper, and by promoting gambling to the other patients, and encouraging them to stand up for themselves.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The movie I chose from the list to watch and review was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It was released under United Artists in November of 1975. The film was directed by Miloš Forman and stars Jack Nicholson as the protagonist, and Louise Fletcher as the antagonist. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, who based it off the book of the same name written by Ken Kesey.

In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, one can say that McMurphy’s tragic flaw is his ego of thinking he can win any situation with his charm. When McMurphy walks into the combine, he instantly charms the patients when he shakes everyone's hand. Any circumstance that is a task to McMurphy’s distinguished character, he will dissident against. In the mental ward, the controlling, devious Nurse Ratched delivers that precise test.

A broad range of literature depicts the lead protagonist as an honorable, selfless and courageous character, despite difficulties, bound to succeed in what they pursue. These common traits define the archetypeyl hero. However these characters contain no flaws and nothing representing the 'human condition' therefore appearing alien like towards their audience . The Anti-hero contains heroic morals, but is plagued with flaws that often lead to the characters downfall. They are considered highly relate-able and appealing towards their audience due to the features of the ‘human condition’.