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Who Is The Protagonist In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is a novel that dives into the theme of societal indifference. In the book, the mental asylum is run by a woman named Nurse Ratched. Usually the hospitals such as this one are run by the doctors, but due to the matriarchy, the head nurse calls the shots. The patients in the ward have no choice but to look up to her, that is until R.P. McMurphy, a former inmate committed to the ward, makes an appearance. Nurse Ratched loves being in control, especially being powerful than others. She does this by belittling the patients by embarrassment, however, most of all patients are not taken seriously, like Chief Bromden. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” displays ideas of matriarchy taking over the hospital, making the idea that the patients could be nothing but the minority. The Narrator, Chief Bromden, among other patients, was overlooked and not taken seriously. When readers …show more content…

To keep the power that she has, Ratched needs to make the patients, and even the staff, feel small. In an example, how she treats Billy. Billy Bibbit is a patient on the ward who, though he has the ability to leave, will not do so. As an insecure man, Ratched seems to go out of her way to embarrass him. While McMurphy threw a party at the hospital, he was also planning his escape, but he did not want to leave Billy without him having a date with Candy. Candy was a friend of McMurphy who brought the alcohol for the party. Ever since the fishing trip, Billy was very fond of Candy. When given the opportunity for a real “date” with her, he took, accidentally having her in his bed asleep the next morning. When he was caught, he was shamed like a child by Nurse Ratched. “Oh Billy… A woman like this…”(Ratched). It could be seen as Billy’s confidence grows weaker, asking Ratched not to tell his mother as she said “... how your mother is going to take

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