One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is hilarious and very enjoyable. It deals with
several men patients in a psychiatric ward in Oregon. The majority of the play is
extremely funny, however, it does have its serious moments. Its themes and ideas are
clearly shown, which may help the viewer in relating it to his/her own life.
The actors and actresses did a great job depicting their characters. One of the
main characters was Chief Bromden, played by Cliff Williams. He not only a main
character, but also the narrator of the play. The actor played him very well because the
features of the actor were the same as the character in the play. He was tall and dark,
resembling an Indian which chief Bromben really was. He is very paranoid as he tells the
story of his life and sanity. He is also constantly being bullied by the assistants that work
in the ward. They think he is deaf and dumb; however, he really is not. Towards the end
of the play, he becomes stronger and is able to escape from the ward. Another important
character is Randle McMurphy, played by Aren Chaisson III. He is loud, obnoxious,
rude, and not afraid to tell the entire truth. He also tends to make sexual and degrading
comments to women. Throughout the play he tries to make Nurse Ratched lose her
temper. He even has a bet going with the rest of the men in the ward as to when she will
lose it. The actor truly portrayed McMurphy well. He was loud and annoying. His
appearance also seemed like what McMurphy’s probably was. The actor also made it
clear to the audience that McMurphy is not actually crazy. Stacy Searle played Nurse
Ratched, a very stern and army-like nurse. She appears very cold when she comes into
the play, however, she softens up when the rest of the patients come out. She is very
controlling and demanding. The actress that played her did a very good job. She was
stern and mean, with a soft side too. She also physically looked the part. She was big-
boned and big-chested. She had many characteristics of someone in the army.
The set/setting was all around what I expected. It represented the play very well.
Whenever Chief Bromben would speak to himself, the fog would come out with a red
light. This showed that he was thinking to himself.
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
Comparison of Book and Movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. & nbsp; One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a book written by Ken Kesey to accomplish a certain mood within its chapters. The feelings and moods given in the book differ greatly from those in the movie because of multiple changes in character development. Each and every time a movie is produced from a book, the producers are forced to change parts of the story. in order to suit the audiences needs for a faster paced plot. It is impossible to capture every mood or setting which the author creates. What is lost can sometimes be the real meaning behind the story. & nbsp; The characterization of Chief Bromden is a good example of the changes made from book to movie. His past is a vital piece of information. contributing to the mood and understanding of the story. In the movie.
patients who would get out of hand in the sessions. I thought that was nurse
She is very strict and very gossipy and later becomes Scout and Jem 's guardian in a way.
The use of theme in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey brings upon the ideas of misogyny, sexual repression and freedom, and salvation from an omnipotent oppressor, through the story of Chief Bromden, who lives in an insanity ward. Even from the beginning pages of the novel, the reader is introduced to such characters as Nurse Ratched, or the “Big Nurse,” who is said to be the dictator of the ward and acts upon the ward with the utmost control. Another branch of the theme of oppressors and salvation that relates to Nurse Ratched, as well as Randle McMurphy, is the idea that they are both representatives of figures based in Catholicism. Sexual repression and freedom is seen with the ultimate punishment in the ward, a lobotomy, being stated as equivalent to castration. Both of the operations are seen as emasculating, removing the men’s personal freedom, individuality, and sexual expression, and reducing them to a child-like state. All of these different pieces of the theme relates to a powerful institution that, because of the advances of the time, such as technology and civil rights for women, is causing men to be common workers without distinctive thoughts that must fit the everyday working mold of the 1950s.
can see his importance in the title of the play; he is named in the
Loma is known to be bossy, jealous, and has a poor temper. She wants to be an actress or a writer, and she acts against her dead end marriage with her husband, Campbell Williams.
When it comes to manipulation many view it as a negative aspect in life. Although people view it as a negative aspect, they continue to manipulate words and actions to get what they want. Ken Kesey applied manipulation in the book to reveal the positive and negative sides of manipulation. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a controversial novel that describes the inner workings of a mental institution.
The play is set in the 1950’s, and it has two narrators, called Voice 1 and Voice 2, which act as dramatic devices and move the play along in space and time.
Hazlitt, William. "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays: Hamlet." Essays in Criticism. Second ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992. 164-169.
Nurse Ratched gains much of her power through the manipulation of the patients on the
many of the cases he has taken on, and the people he has represented. One story he focuses on in
as he is moody throughout the first act and is not able to come out of
Now more than ever we live in a world of power struggles but in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey brings the attention of this struggle to a more controversial setting. The book is placed in a mental institution called Combine. A key part to understanding Kesey’s message is understanding his history. He was a nurse in a mental institution which inspired this book because of his own personal observations and experiences. That means that his purpose is not just logical but very much comes from the heart. Another key part is the time period. During the early 1960s America was in the space race. There was a strong power struggle then as well between capitalism vs communism. They also were in a stage of reform in which the idea
the role of a narrator. One role he takes on in the play is the voice