Examples Of Injustice In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Addressing the Inhumane Treatment of Nonconformists

1950’s society is all about conformity. All differences should be shoved down, or corrected, and you should fit the cookie-cutter image of the “Perfect American.” Anyone who does not fit this mold is shunned, treated cruelly, and considered defective. The psych ward in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is full of people who don’t meet these expectations in one way or another. These people are treated as if they can not think for themselves, can not carry out simple tasks on their own, and are incapable of functioning independently. Ken Kesey’s novel should be regarded as a lesson, a reminder, for us to treat all people, like people.

The mentally ill are considered to be completely incompetent. However minor their ailment may be, they are treated as if they are suffering from a terrible disease that prevents them from thinking at all. Ken Kesey shows this as an orderly at the ward tells a patient that he can’t brush his teeth, because it is not 6:45 yet. “It’s ward policy, Mr. McMurphy, tha’s the reason.’ And when he sees that this last reason don’t

affect McMurphy like it should, he frowns at the hand on his shoulder and adds ‘what you s’pose it’d be like if evahbody was to brush whenever they took a notion to brush?’” (Kesey, 93) McMurphy is not a dangerously obsessive teeth brusher, nor does he exhibit obsessive tendencies or pose a threat to himself or other while wielding a toothbrush, so for them to not allow him to brush his teeth when he wants to in the morning is to insinuate that he is incapable of completing daily tasks by himself, even though he is a grown adult. For them to treat him like he can’t function on his own is condescending. Children are allowed to brush their own teeth, and they are just as unstable and dangerous to themselves as McMurphy is.
There are racial issues being addressed in this book also.

1950’s America is quite racist, and you can see that in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. An orderly, when referencing a Native American patient, says, “Inniuns ain’t able to write. What makes you think Inniuns able to read?” (Kesey 225). The way they talk about this patient of a different race is an exemplary example of how Indians were treated during this time. Everybody assumed that Indians were uneducated, illiterate, and dumb, when “In fact, one of my uncles became a real lawyer…” (Kesey 210). Had this patient been white, it would be unthinkable to assume that he was illiterate, but since he is Native American, they all presumed him to be dumb. They act as though your skin color is a determining factor in your intelligence level, and anyone who is Indian is inadequate, and unable to think for

themselves.
The objectification of women was alive and well in the 1950’s as well. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there is a female character named Candy who is not highly respected because she is an attractive woman. When they are on a boat, the loafers continually harass her, despite her obvious disinterest. “Hey, Blondie, did you get ‘em to sign a waiver clearing you with proper authorities?...Maybe you’d better stay with us, Blondie...Yeah Blondie; my relatives wouldn’t sue. I promise, stay here with us fellows, Blondie.” (Kesey 243) The fact that they felt it was acceptable to hassle her, and none of the other men stood up for her, shows that they didn’t believe women deserved to be treated respectably. In their minds, women were there to reproduce and raise kids, and that mindset is extremely offensive. Women are strong, independent, and entirely capable of making their own decisions. The behavior of these men showcased that they treated women as if they were unqualified and unable to be independent of men, and think for themselves.
Ken Kesey was on drugs while he wrote this book, but he used this book to make strong statements about the society around him. The stereotypes in this book show backwards thinking, and give a different perspective on the treatment of society’s so-called outcasts. Those of us who do not fit into the mold that is set out for us cherish the change of thought that has come about in the 21st century, where we finally take Kesey’s advice, and begin to accept differences, and treat all people, like people.