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. Both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched approached their leadership in different ways. McMurphy uses transformational leadership, which is a leader that “must perform some combination of the transactional functions (plan, direct, organize, control) in order to build respect and trust… [and the] leader gets people to work towards some higher purpose or goal” (O’Connor). In other words, it is a leader who achieves a “higher goal”, while “build[ing] respect and trust” from the people. On the other hand, Nurse Ratched uses authoritarian leadership, which is when “Policies [are] determined by the leader. [The] leader determines what each member should do and with whom he should work… Some find it difficult to diffuse authority… [which] causes some to feel threatened and insecure” (Sferra). More simply, an authoritative leader is one that has supreme power over the people. McMurphy’s transformational
Society, It is always changing, just like the people in it. No one wants to look out of place in the world so they do what they can to fit in. Everyone does it differently it might be acting a certain way, or changing style, but with fitting in comes rejection. Just like trying to fit in, dealing with rejection is done differently, most people try to fix the problem before they start to get labeled. In the book “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” Ken Kesey shows that the “insanity” of the patients is really just normal insecurities and their label as insane by society is immoral. This appears in the book concerning Billy Bibbits problem with his mom, Harding's problems with his wife, and that the patients are in the ward
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, considers the qualities in which society determines sanity. The label of insanity is given when someone is different from the perceived norm. Conversely, a person is perceived as sane when their behavior is consistent with the beliefs of the majority. Although the characters of this novel are patients of a mental institution, they all show qualities of sanity. The book is narrated by Chief Brodmen, an observant chronic psychiatric patient, who many believe to be deaf and dumb. The question of sanity becomes apparent when McMurphy, a confident gambler, who might have faked psychosis in order to get out of the work farm, is assigned to the mental hospital. He quickly stirs up tension in the ward for Nurse Ratched by encouraging the men to have fun and rebel against her rules.
In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is a perfect example of a tragic hero. Throughout the novel McMurphy sets himself up to be the tragic hero by resenting Nurse Ratched’s power and defending the other patients. He can be classified as a contemporary tragic hero, but he also includes elements of Aristotle’s tragic hero. McMurphy’s rebellious nature and ultimate demise are what truly makes him as a tragic hero.
Who would have thought the new patient, McMurphy, would be the person who saves the other patients? In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy’s impact on the patients is evident. Before his arrival, the patients were under the strict rule of Nurse Ratched. They did not know how to stop her anger. McMurphy, like the other patients, is also mentally unstable and has made questionable decisions in the past. Despite McMurphy's alleged flaws, he inspires the men with a rebellious attitude, helps the patients increase their confidence, and make the patients realize they have a place in life outside of the ward.
In the film Cool Hand Luke produced by Gordon Carroll and the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey , there are many similarities. Both of these works were portrayed in an institution of some time either mental or prison camp. Both of the works were set to be in the 1960s. The most important similarity of both Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s, is their theme of one man fighting the power, which was also a main theme of the 1960s.
In the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a group of men living in a psychiatric ward are dealing with different types of disorders. The character that I chose to observe and analyze was Billy Bibbit. Billy is a young man who struggles to speak without stuttering and make his own decisions. He seeks approval from those around him and is always worried he will disappoint those around him. Although some people at this psychiatric ward are committed, Billy is a voluntary patient. This means that he can leave whenever he feels comfortable. Billy choses to stay because he not ready to make his own responsible decisions in life. I have diagnosed Billy with Dependent Personality Disorder. In the DSM-V, Dependent Personality Disorder is described
To dehumanize someone is to strip an individual of their individuality including their human attributes and qualities. For as long as mental illnesses have been known, people have treated those with illnesses much differently. A particular assertion i tend to agree with is that people who have mental disorders are always dehumanized in some way. This dehumanization is shown in One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest alongside other perspectives such as a live and pop culture point of view.
During McMurphy’s stay at the ward, he has created a name and reputation for himself as the tough guy. Despite the fact that the nurses perceived simply as a troublemaker and a disturbance to their daily routine, the other patients look up to him as their lifesaver. It is evident that this is the case when they begin to adopt his habits during the road trip. Kesey writes that they act “like he did” to articulate the way that others perceive him as superior and want to be like him. However, the word “pretending” insinuates that their livelihood and courage to act free- spirited will soon come to an end as they come back to their sense and realize that they are not McMurphy but their own self. This word foreshadows the dark future of the ward
S10, Ep22 Protection – A schizophrenic subject who has gone off his medication goes around Los Angeles shooting individuals who are committing a criminal act looking for the guy that killed his mother.
In the drama film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, Patrick McMurphy was moved from a prison farm to a mental institution to get evaluated for his erratic behavior. Upon being transported to the institution, all his assumptions about his new home were completely wrong. The head nurse, Nurse Ratched, has the whole hospital under her control with little to no freedom for the patients. All the inmates at the institution go through rigorous training to become obedient to Nurse Ratched and her strict schedule and rules. The institution was a very controlled environment with the patients having no control over their own life’s while there. There are four characteristics of a controlled environment and they include the following: status hierarchy,
Ken Kesey uses his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, to describe the lives of patients in a mental institution, and their struggle to overcome the oppressive authority under which they are living. Told from the point of view of a supposedly mute schizophrenic, the novel also shines a light on the many disorders present in the patients, as well as how their illnesses affect their lives during a time when little known about these disorders, and when patients living with these illnesses were seen as an extreme threat. Chief Bromden, the narrator of the novel, has many mental illnesses, but he learns to accept himself and embrace his differences. Through the heroism introduced through Randle McMurphy, Chief becomes confident in himself, and is ultimately able to escape from the toxic environment Nurse Ratched has created on the ward. Chief has many disorders including schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in addition to these illnesses, he pretends to be deaf and dumb. This combination of many mind and life altering diagnoses leads to an interesting point of view, and a deeper look into the lives of people living with the
There are many different novels and short stories that share a vast of similarities in their protagonists. The short story, “The Happy Man” by Naguib Mahfouz and the novel, “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kessey are one of them. Both of the protagonists desire freedom and happiness, they were as sane as everyone around them from the start, but both characters have a short temper and suffer from depression that leads them to be a madman in the end.
Symptoms include a disregard for right and wrong, violating the rights of others, and a lack of empathy. The main indication that Nurse Ratchet has antisocial personality disorder is that she hurts others to achieve her means and does not feel any remorse about it. She plays people’s biggest weaknesses against them, like she always does with Billy. In the moments after Billy had sex and he was actually feeling confident, she brought up his mother so that she was able to control him; it was this mention of his mother that made Billy kill himself, yet Nurse Ratchet felt no remorse for her actions. Something else that she does that proves she has no idea of right and wrong is that when people do not do what she wants, she sends them to get electroshock therapy or lobotomies. This woman literally tortures and kills people and feels nothing from it: no guilt, no empathy, and no
The film Psycho is a 1960 American horror film based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel by the