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One flew over cuckoo's nest book character analysis slide show
Analysis of one flew over the cuckoo nest
One flew over the cuckoo's nest literary analysis
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1. Discuss the control devices used by Big Nurse on the ward and by the Combine in general. Within the novel ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ Nurse Ratched (the Big Nurse) uses various control devices as to maintain order in the ward. Nurse Ratched has created her society through the utilization of manipulation; this done most obviously through the logbook, which is dedicated wholly to patients documenting their peer’s secrets. Through this, the Big Nurse instils fear and distrust within the men aimed towards each other, rather than at herself. This consequently allows the Big Nurse to use the shame brought upon each man to maintain submission. Although, this shame is only insinuated by the Big Nurse, as she “has a genius for insinuation.” This insinuation is another form of control which is employed by both the Big Nurse and the Combine. The Big Nurse in conjunction the Combine manipulate through group intervention as to expose those who go against …show more content…
McMurphy is characterised by Ken Kesey as being a red-haired, rumbustious Irish-American man, who before being in the ward, was sentenced to a work camp due to a long history of brawling, drunkenness, assault and battery, disturbing the peace, gambling and, most disturbingly, rape. The reader, despite having a general feeling of disgust towards rape and rapists, somewhat dismisses this charge and condones McMurphy’s actions. These actions are condoned due to the positive light through which Chief Bromden discusses McMurphy. Through the eyes of Broom, McMurphy is a saviour who is comparable to Jesus Christ and through this, McMurphy is conveyed as to not truly being able to do something condemnable. Therefore, all condemnable actions performed by McMurphy are not perceived to be true by the
I chose the subject about “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” written by Ken Kesey in 1962 for my research paper because my mother told me years ago of the accompanying film and how interesting it is. Two years ago a friend of mine came back from his exchange programme in the United States of America. He told me that he and his theatre group there had performed this novel. He was and still is very enthusiastic about the theme and about the way it is written. Although I started reading the novel, I didn’t manage to finish it till the day we had to choose our subjects at school. When I saw this subject on the list, which we were given by our English teacher Mr Schäfer, I was interested immediately. So I chose it.
He values this trait in others too, and when the Chief sees just how deceiving McMurphy can be, he is dumbfounded. Just as quick as he trusted McMurphy in the first place, Bromden lost his trust once he saw the con man for what he really is. This can be applied to everyday life as well, because there are so many scams out in the world that people are afraid to trust others. Once Chief Bromden sees what McMurphy is capable of, the Chief understands why the Big Nurse is so skeptical of him. McMurphy always acts according to his ethics, which consist of maintaining having the upper hand in all situations. The narrator provides indirect characterization for McMurphy. By describing his actions and how the man thinks, the reader can interpret McMurphy’s behavior to discover some of his traits. Since McMurphy plays with the thinking of others, I can infer that he is sly and calculating. Additionally, since McMurphy looked reluctant to bet, I can infer that the man is skilled in acting, because he obviously knew the outcome of the bet but pretended
When they first come to the Island Philip is dependent of timothy and doesn’t want to work because he is blind stated by him in the novel. ”I just wanted to sit and think. I didn’t want to work. I said timothy I can’t work I’m blind”. Page 70 in the novel. Then when Timothy almost died of malaria so Timothy trained him to to rely on himself. Phillip starts being independent of Timothy when he carves a crane for philip so he can move around the island and also attaches vines to each side of the island so philip can walk back and forth from the hut.In chapter eleven is when philip says ” Timothy fashioned a cane for me and I was now using it to feel my way around the island ”.” I was starting to be less dependent on the vine ”. While still dependent on timothy he started to be less being able to walk without him and the vines. To test if Philip was now independent of Timothy he had to climb a tree blind. When he first went up to it he had stop and
The novel, which takes place in an Oregon psychiatric hospital, centers around the conflict between manipulative Nurse Ratched and her patients. Randle McMurphy, a transfer from Pendleton Work Farm, becomes a champion for the men’s cause as he sets out to overthrow the dictator-like nurse. Initially, the reader may doubt the economic implications of the novel. Yet, if one looks closer at the numerous textual references to power, production, and profit, he or she will begin to interpret Cuckoo’s Nest in a
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was written by Ken Kesey. The book is about a guy named Randle Patrick McMurphy. It all starts out where he goes to a mental hospital and is introduced to to Chief Bromden, who is also the half- indian narrator of the book. He has been in the hospital for ten years, he suffers from hallucinations and delusions. Bromden pretends to be deaf and dumb to be unnoticed, but he is six feet seven inches tall. It made it quite hard for him to be hidden from anything being the odd person out of everyone there because he just stuck out like a sore thumb. All of the mental patients are males and are divided into acutes who are curable, and chronics who can not be cured. Nurse Ratched is a nurse who runs the ward and everyone
Both novels describe societies in which those in power utilize manipulation to maintain control. Nurse Ratched, or “Big Nurse,” rules the asylum with an iron fist--continuously demoralizing the male patients.
During his time in the psychiatric ward, McMurphy discovers that many of the patients are self-committed. This spurs him into action, along with Dale Harding, to rebel against Nurse Ratched. In addition, McMurphy’s rebellion equates to an attack on the social expectations that initially caused so many of the patients to commit. The ability to allow the patients to overcome their fear of their social standing is indicative of McMurphy’s embodiment of the novel’s central
Obviously, Kesey’s analogies epitomize the nurse’s rigid, unforgiving composure and utter lack of typical human emotions such as compassion and empathy for the plight of her oppressed patients. In fact, the nurse resorts to intimidation techniques, torture, and psychological warfare to manipulate the patient’s into fearful obedience, which is witnessed when Harding, in a brainwashed state, refers to her as a “sweet, smiling, tender angel of mercy”(57). On the surface, Kesey displays the nurse’s façade of genuine concern and caring dedication for each patient’s treatment. However, as a con man himself, McMurphy easily sees through her disguise and employs a persuasive series of animalistic comparisons to expose her truly wicked
This is the first sign of the reversal, the majority of the population is male, yet they do
Kesey explores the idea that society's perception of insanity is flawed through the characterisation of the main characters: Nurse Ratched, Bromden and McMurphy. Signifying the head of Society, Nurse Ratched controls
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey delves into the predominate theme of power, and how it is used to manipulate and coerce to the point in which one individual rules over all others. This relationship is embodied in the power struggle between Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy. Before McMurphy arrives at the hospital, Nurse Ratched's strict routine works to maintain order within the hospital. However, with the introduction of McMurphy into the ward, chaos and change ensues. Mcmurphy’s blatant sexuality and individuality undermines the authority of Nurse Ratched, and in turn, the patients begin to discern their own power. Consequently, the pressure of the expectations of those around him ultimately forces McMurphy to forfeit
"It gave voice, gave life, to a basic distrust of the way in which psychiatry was being used for society's purposes, rather than the purposes of the people who had mental illness," Dr Pittman told The Discovery Channel. In this quote Dr. Pittman is expressing that the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey wrongly defined the use of ECT as a punishment instead of a cure for people who have severe mental illnesses. Throughout Ken Kesey's novel the patients in the mental hospital are often silenced by the power hungry Nurse Ratched. The patients are mentally and physically abused when they disobey any order from the nurses. Nurse Ratched constantly uses her power to administer ECT as a punishment for patients that rebel against her. These scenes in the book causes society to have a falsified view on Electroconvulsive Therapy. Ergo, the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey diminishes any hope of
Twigs surrounded the building with fragments of deceased worms embedded within them. The structure of a nest was dangling on a tree, on the verge of collapsing. Minute leaves glue the twigs together, allowing the fragile structure to remain intact. In the middle of this structure was to be found the smallest of schools. Inside was a defeated writer who had been forced to settle to teaching Creative Writing.
unrealistic to true life. The ‘Big Nurse’ sees life through a lens of restraint and sameness and she wishes to get the mental ward patients to adapt to this mindset by enforcing harsh and totalitarian control over them. It is important to reflect on the ignorance of Nurse Ratched’s own state. She believes that a prime example of trouble is McMurphy because he is a manipulator but she herself fits this description. Nurse Ratched believes McMurphy is “ a ‘manipulator’… a man who will use everyone and everything to his own ends.” Nurse Ratched is unaware that she too makes the patients reveal their innermost secrets and turn on each other with her manipulation to get her own gains. Nurse Ratched represents a microcosm of how society in the 1950’s desired people to be: they desired order and effectiveness. The Red Scare led everyone to want “normalcy” and so differences were widely
McMurphy is a highly sexually active character. He was found guilty of rape and was sentenced to spend time at a work farm. "... Disturbing the Peace, repeated gambling, and one arrest-for Rape" (44). But he used his sexual relations as an excuse to be committed into the hospital, because he thought the hospital would be an easy way out. He has been to the work farm before, he doesn't want to do anymore hard work.