Dehumanization In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

When Ken Kesey sat down to pen his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he enlightened many to the problems that were taking place under the veneer of perfection. In his life, he experienced some of these problems, as Kesey had been the subject of multiple science experiments. These experiments were later discovered to be top secret mind control experiments under the purview of the Central Intelligence Agency. These experiments enlightened Kesey and motivated him to share his new world view. Kesey’s worldview would go one to shape the minds of many in the United States and would be one of the largest harbingers of the hippie movement. His novel crafts an overarching theme of challenging particular aspects of society that previously had

This was first mentioned by Bromden in the following quotation: “One side of the room younger patients, known as Acutes because the doctors figure them still sick enough to be fixed...” (Kesey 15). This quotation appears to dehumanize the Acutes, as they are not normal and must be fixed. This dehumanization, paired with other tonal choices by Kesey work to characterize those in the mental institution as animals. The next quotation that describes the institutions ability to fix its patents comes from the lifeguard and is as follows: I’d of left here before now if it was up to me. Maybe I couldn’t play first string, with this bum arm, but I could of folded towels, couldn’t I? I could of done something. That nurse on my ward, she keeps telling the doctor I ain’t ready. Not even to fold towels in the crummy old locker room, I ain’t ready,” (Kesey 171). This quotation shows how much control these institutions have over the people they abertarially deem insane after their subjective examination. This type of control is exactly what Kesey is speaking out against through this novel, as he believes that even the insane could be a value to society. The final quote that illustrates the control the institution has in its quest to help comes from Nurse