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Of Chief Bromden In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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In the text One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the main character, also known as Chief Bromden, is a Native American man who fought in World War II. Growing up, he had to watch as his father was torn down. Throughout the book, Chief explains that the combine is strong and made his father too little to fight back. He explains all this in a mental institution ward surrounded by other men who had also checked in. All those on the ward believe Chief is deaf and dumb even though he is not.Although he is not deaf and dumb, Chief has been forced through extreme events and as a result has developed PTSD, hallucinations, and stripped of his masculinity due to society causing him to not cope well in relationships, work, or in society in general. Traumatic …show more content…

Among the ward, it is a well known fact that Chief had served in World War II. Since they know this, they believe that he is deaf and dumb which he is not. Chief does not just have nightmares and flashbacks of his childhood but also of the time he served in World War II. One of the horrifying flashbacks he has in the book is of him watching as a close friend of his dies (Kesey 195). This flashback specifically can cause PTSD because watching a friend die in war is tough to get over. Especially if that friend is very close, this particular flashback though can cause PTSD due to the fact that Chief knew he was supposed to help his friend. This can cause Chief feeling as though he is the reason his friend is dead because if he just went out and helped his friend like he knew he should have, maybe his friend would still be alive. However no matter if Chief went out and helped or not, it is not his fault. His reasoning for not helping was that he could have died himself from being seen by the enemies. This event in the book shows Chief has PTSD because after something happened, the flashback was triggered. The flashback had cause Chief to go into a panic, thinking back on how he could have saved his friend and the horrific screams that were filling the air as World War II dragged on around him. These events …show more content…

Dealing with PTSD is not just the one illness. When dealing with any type of illness, that illness comes with others. Information from The refuge; a Healing place, With PTSD, symptoms of the illness are nightmares or flashbacks, distress when facing a trigger of the event, irritability, avoiding things that may trigger a flashback and much more (“PTSD: Statistics, Causes, Signs & Symptoms”). The symptoms of PTSD can be extreme or not so extreme however they still are signs of the illness and should still be looked at seriously. According to The refuge; A healing place, sleep problems, depression, nightmares, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts (“PTSD: Statistics, Causes, Signs & Symptoms”). To some, a few of these effects may seem as exaggeration however these are extremely serious problems. Nightmares may cause one to wake up in a panic and sweaty, breathing deep. Sleep problems such as night terror, can cause one to stay awake due to the fear of someone or something deadly being near them. Maybe they visualize a demon or such standing in their room, much like a child being scared of monsters. However with this illness, one can visually see the monster. This can cause panic, stress, and anxiety about going to

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