Because of the Combine’s damaging process— in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest— the patients of the mental ward are not fully whole in sanity or spirit. But, with McMurphy to ignite the risky spark to be free of the machine’s control, the men begin to reclaim their lives and fight against Nurse Ratched and her machine. Notably, McMurphy’s reoccurring window shattering demonstrates his attempt to free himself— and the others— from Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched typically watches the men from behind a sheer pane of glass. McMurphy tests Nurse Ratched’s control by “[running] his fist through [the window]” (176). Here, Kesey suggests that this glass composes the barrier of control Nurse Ratched has over the men. Oddly enough, this division is fragile and can be destroyed by McMurphy’s …show more content…
“Scanlon did it in by accidentally bouncing [a] basketball through [the window]” (177). While not as physically assertive as McMurphy, the men acknowledge McMurphy as a model and begin to rebel against the Big Nurse and her mechanical institution. McMurphy breaks the glass with his fist to illustrate his deeper passion for escaping— the other men are starting to agree but they are not as fixed on freedom. Furthermore, by observing McMurphy’s power, especially over Nurse Ratched, the men understand the importance of finding themselves. McMurphy’s influence causes a seed of rebellion to grow inside the fragments of the men. As the men drive towards the ocean, they stop at a gas station so they can make the trek. The workers at the station immediately belittle the men as they are from the mental institution (therefore, they are insane). McMurphy leaves an argument with an attendant and runs to a store “to pick up some refreshments for the men” (202). He returns with alcohol and the men start drinking. After the confrontation, the service station workers comply with the requests of the
The men have a party with prostitutes McMurphy is familiar with; they get drunk, take pills, and engage in sexual activities. The morning after, the men face Nurse Ratched, who is targeting Billy Bibbit. She plays on his fear of his mother, she threatens to tell her what he has done. Big Nurse uses her authority and relationship with his mom to put Billy to shame and emasculate him. Big Nurse’s attitude towards Billy causes him to accuse the men of forcing him to engage with the lady.
The book written by Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, takes place in a mental hospital during the 1960’s where the nurse, Miss Ratched, is in charge. She treats her patients poorly and even goes as far as prescribing them with electroshock therapy and lobotomy. Because of this atmosphere on the ward, most patients live life in what the author describes as a fog. They do the same things everyday and aren’t really living, but are kinda just there. Eventually a man named McMurphy decides to do something about it despite the problems it causes for himself.
“McMurphy eventually helps instill the other men on the ward with the confidence to face life again” (Slater 124). He comes to the realization of the power that Nurse Ratched has and becomes afraid; McMurphy succumbs to the pressures that all the other men have faced and conforms out of fear. Nurse Ratched spoke, “’Mr. McMurphy, I’m warning you!’” in “a tight whine like an electric saw ripping through pine” (Kesey 144). This supports that even if McMurphy is the leader or the strongest man alive, the fear of strength in large establishments destroys the confidence that McMurphy once had; it resulted in the thought of life and death-the outcome being death.
The incorporation of religious themes into Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest depicts McMurphy as a Christ figure, serving to protect the patients from Nurse Ratched. Just as Jesus stands up for all people against the devil, McMurphy altruistically defends the patients of the ward against Nurse Ratched. Kesey includes the theme of selflessness to illustrate that McMurphy acts as a “martyr or saint”, defending the patients regardless of consequences that he may endure (222). McMurphy “risk[s] doubling his stay in the nuthouse” to defend the patients against Nurse Ratched. McMurphy does not care about how much time he must spend in the ward, but instead about helping the patients.
At times, the characters deemed “insane” in the novel appear saner than the “sane” characters who govern the ward. Kesey achieves this effect through the characterization of Randle McMurphy, a loud, clever, and untraditional ward patient. He stirs up the ward as he rebels against the trivial rules enforced by Nurse Ratched (the head of the ward). Similar to McMurphy’s presence in the mental ward, Tesla Motors has stirred up
McMurphy introduces the idea of freedom to them— freedom to make their own choices regarding everything from what time they wake up, when they brush their teeth, to what medicine they take. With this new freedom that McMurphy brings comes great risk: “Then the bird breaks free… jumps out of the cedar into the birdshot” (7). At first the men aren’t quite convinced that have the ability to make these choices themselves, after all, Nurse Ratched has been making all the decisions in the ward without question. As McMurphy fights to get the
In addition, his dissatisfying slurs about Nurse Ratched’s body made him look like a terrible human being. Next, when McMurphy slammed his hand twice through the Nurses’ Stations glass he made a dangerous situation that should and was reprehensible. Lastly, with McMurphy’s indiscretions, Nurse Ratched had to make the safe decision by turning the other patient's opinions against McMurphy’s trip. The ultimate message was to portray that sometimes with the mentally ill there are right times when harsh, strict, and orderly rules enforced by someone who is strong is a good
However, to Nurse Ratched, this window illustrates her dominance over the ward. “The Big Nurse watches all [that the patients do] through her window” (42). Kesey’s glass division between the sane and the insane demonstrates Nurse Ratched’s overall want of authority. Correspondingly, the Big Nurse is a wolf amongst the hospital full of rabbits. As Harding explains to McMurphy that the patients are essentially small rabbits in the forest that is the mental institution, he also notes that Nurse Ratched is the “strong wolf” that teaches the rabbits their place, much like the hierarchy of nature (61).
One normal day everything was going how it was supposed to, the ward was following the schedule, just like Nurse Ratched liked it. The patients were following her rules and did everything she said. But that day R.P. McMurphy was introduced into the ward. He was in there because he committed a crime and said that he was insane, so he got put in there for evaluation. In the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" two characters, Randall McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, had this sort of competition going on to gain the allegiance of the patients.
He works through impulses and does not seem to care about the consequences of his actions. Near the middle of the movie, he commandeers a bus heading out of the asylum, and when asked about getting caught, he simply says that it doesn’t matter because they’re “nuts” (Douglas et al., 1975). He doesn’t place much importance in the risks associated with stealing a bus and fishing vessel, as the instant happiness he gets from going fishing is greater than the risks associated with stealing (pleasure principle). In the end of the movie, McMurphy lets his id overcome him completely as he tries to strangle Nurse Ratched. At that point, he neither thinks about the consequences nor cares, as he is being controlled only by his impulses with no sense of the morality of his
There is no freedom amongst the people without a little chaos, yet to maintain order, there must be oppression towards its people. McMurphy upsets the established routine of the ward by bring his own agenda such as, asking for schedule changes and inspiring resistance during therapy sessions. He teaches his peers to have fun and encourages them to embrace their desires such as watching baseball and playing cards. “If somebody’d of come in and took a look, men watching a blank TV, a fifty-year –old woman hollering and squealing at the back of their heads about discipline and order and recriminations, they’d of thought the whole bunch was crazy as loons” (Kesey 134). He convinces them that not only are they sane like everyone else, but also they are men and they are superior to the matriarchal society they are put in.
Weather in literature is often used to symbolize the mood or mental state in which a character experiences. For example, rain is commonly associated with sadness. As it is commonly identified, fog is a cloudy element of weather that affects one’s ability to see clearly, however, it is also used in literature to represent a character’s lack of clarity. Throughout One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the motif of fog is used to represent the mental instability and confusion Bromden experiences under Nurse Ratched’s ward. As the story progresses and Bromden gains confidence, the fog diminishes and he is able to overcome the Big Nurse.
In the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there are four characteristics of a controlled environment. These include; status hierarchy, depersonalization, adjustment, and institution. Viewers can see these ideas through different scenes and situations in the movie. The overall movie stems from institutionalization, because it is set in a psychiatric hospital, which keeps the patients there confined to a strict environment and schedule. Doctors and nurses look at small traits or changes as something significant, whereas in the real world that small trait would appear as a norm and be overlooked.
In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, author Ken Kesey describes life for patients inside an insane asylum. Through the eyes of a patient on the psychiatric wing, we see that life in the asylum is systematic: there are rules and laws enforced to govern and to keep order on the ward. The head nurse on the ward, Miss Ratched, established the rules to help the men return to society, yet also uses them to dominate over the patients lives. In One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey uses theme that shows the power of laws and rules in society. Miss Ratched, the head nurse, is the main antagonist in the story.
His rebellious and free mind makes the patients open their eyes and see how the have been suppressed. His appearance is a breath of fresh air and a look into the outside world for the patients. This clearly weakens Nurse Ratched’s powers, and she sees him as a large threat. One way or another, McMurphy tends to instigate changes of scenery. He manages to move everyone away from her music and watchful eye into the old tube room.