In the exploration of dystopian literature, the misuse of behavioural psychology as a tool for individual and societal control is a fixed theme, delving into intricate mechanisms that dictate human behaviour. This essay dissects the vast literary landscapes of Anthony Burgess’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ - works exploring psychological manipulation within their respective narratives following both authors experiences. Both novels employ behavioural psychology as a disquieting instrument of control, while examining the impact on individual agency, the societal structures, and the profound implications on the characters imprisoned by these psychological constructs. Burgess and Kesey introduce a plethora …show more content…
The method was inspired by new behavioural theories of the 1960s such as Ivan Pavlov’s theory of Classical conditioning – the idea of learning through association: ‘dogs could be conditioned to associate a neutral stimulus (such as a bell) with a reflexive response (such as salivation) by repeatedly pairing the two stimuli together’ – and B.F. Skinner’s theory of Operant Conditioning – ‘the study of reversible behaviour maintained by reinforcement schedules’. This parallel evokes a critical exploration of the methods used in the novel, their ethical and psychological dilemmas and effects. Burgess’ depiction of The Ludovico Technique can be examined as a deliberate commentary on the consequences that occur when attempting to engineer morality. In the words of the prison chaplain, ‘The question is whether such a technique can really make a man good. Goodness comes from within,
In this paper I will be comparing the visit to the State Mental Institution and the
The imagination is the reader’s most important tool on the path to enjoying a good book. One can only hinder their enjoyment of the story by disregarding the vivid images created by the mind. Nothing can compare to a landscape so exquisite that it would make a cinematographer jealous, or a prison so cold that you can see the inmates’ hot breath. However, some authors offer help for those who are creatively impaired. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the author, Ken Kesey builds such an effective tone, that the shifts in the attitudes of the characters can be detected.
People often find themselves as part of a collective, following society's norms and may find oneself in places where feeling constrained by the rules and will act out to be unconstrained, as a result people are branded as nuisances or troublemakers. In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the author Ken Kesey conveys the attempt McMurphy makes to live unconstrained by the authority of Nurse Ratched. The story is very one sided and helps create an understanding for those troublemakers who are look down on in hopes of shifting ingrained ideals. The Significance of McMurphy's struggles lies in the importance placed on individuality and liberty. If McMurphy had not opposed fear and autocratic authority of Nurse Ratched nothing would have gotten better on the ward the men would still feel fear. and unnerved by a possibility of freedom. “...Then, just as she's rolling along at her biggest and meanest, McMurphy steps out of the latrine ... holding that towel around his hips-stops her dead! ” In the novel McMurphy shows little signs like this to combat thee Nurse. His defiance of her system included
This essay will be exploring the text One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest by Ken Kesey and the film Dead poet’s society written by Tom Schulman. The essay will show how the authors use over exaggerated wildcard characters such as McMurphy and Keating. The use of different settings such as an insane asylum and an all-boys institution. And Lastly the use of fore shading to show how the authors can use different texts to present similar ideas in different ways.
In the 1960’s Ken Kesey, a student of the university of Oregon and Stanford University, became interested in alternative medicine and mental health after participating in a US Military psychedelic drug study. Kesey proceed to work for this same institution. For him it was important to take notes on the individuals in this ward, to draw them even! Kesey had an urge to get to know them, even to understand their story and this is precisely what lead him to his current perspective on society and the conformity which it expects of those who are a part of it. It is in this spirit which he wrote one flew over the Cuckoo’s nest and made a brilliant example of counter culture which to this day stands as a strong criticism to the way which mental health professions can become so corrupt and out of control.
In Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the author refers to the many struggles people individually face in life. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, the novel explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity. With these themes, Kesey makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points include: the effects of sexual repression, woman as castrators, and the pressures we face from society to conform. Through these points, Kesey encourages the reader to consider that people react differently in the face of repression, and makes the reader realize the value of alternative states of perception, rather than simply writing them off as "crazy."
As all movies are created based on a book, there always seems to be changes and conflicting ideas. However, they still have the same main idea to the story line. The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey and the movie directed by Miloš Forman deal with the main idea of society's control of natural impulses. The author/director want to prove that this control can be overcome. Although the movie and the book are very different from each other, they still have their similarities.
One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a movie that portrays a life story of a criminal named McMurphy who is sent to a mental institution because he believes that he himself is insane. While McMurphy is in the mental ward, he encounters other patients and changes their perception of the “real” world. Before McMurphy came to the mental ward, it was a place filled with strict rules and orders that patients had to follow; these rules were created by the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. However, once McMurphy was in the ward, everything, including the atmosphere, changed. He was the first patient to disobey Nurse Ratched. Unlike other patients who continuously obeyed Nurse Ratched, McMurphy and another patient named Charlie Cheswick decided to rebel
Author Ken Kesey effectively reflects the social climate of the 1960s in his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. By creating a fictitious mental institution, he creates an accurate and eye-opening mirror image of repressive modern day society. While its’ both a microcosm and exaggeration of modern day society, Kesey stresses society’s obsession with conformity, while demonstrating that those individuals who reject societal pressure and conformity are simply deemed insane. However, Kesey infuses the power of the individual in his portrayal of the charismatic outlaw Randall McMurphy, and proves that it only takes one to defeat the restrictions of a repressive society.
Mental hospitals shape people, there is no denying that. Put someone in and will they heal and thrive like Susanna Kaysen? Or will they fall victim to the cold hard system like Randy McMurphy? Both films One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Girl, Interrupted demonstrate society’s desire to label and push any unique person who does not fit traditional expectations as mentally unstable. Characters like Nurse Ratchet seem detached and uninterested in their patients throwing medications around that most likely ended up hurting their patients rather than helping them just to hold the ruse that they are trying. If medical professionals all acted solely on personal gain then there would be no need for them, mental illness should not be regarded differently from a broken leg, the patient’s well-being should always be the top priority.
Throughout the sixties , America- involved in the Cold War at this time- suffered from extreme fear of communism. This caused numerous severe changes in society ranging from corrupt political oppression, to the twisted treatment of the minority. Published in 1962, Ken Kesey ’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest , manages to capture these changes in the variety of ways. Kesey’s novel incorporates some of the main issues that affected the United States during the early and mid 60s. The government had no limits and was cruel to those who did not fit into society, including the mentally ill. The wrongful treatment of the people caused an eruption of rebellion and protest- thus the Beatnik era was born. The novel, written during this movement, sheds light on Kesey’s personal opinion on this chaotic period in US history . The treatment of mentally ill patients, the oppressive government, and uprising in the 1960s inspired Kesey while writing his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Fred Wright, Lauren's instructor for EN 132 (Life, Language, Literature), comments, "English 132 is an introduction to English studies, in which students learn about various areas in the discipline from linguistics to the study of popular culture. For the literature and literary criticism section of the course, students read a canonical work of literature and what scholars have said about the work over the years. This year, students read One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, a classic of American literature which dates from the 1960s counterculture. Popularized in a film version starring Jack Nicholson, which the class also watched in order to discuss film studies and adaptation, the novel became notable for its sympathetic portrayal of the mentally ill. For an essay about the novel, students were asked to choose a critical approach (such as feminist, formalist, psychological, and so forth) and interpret the novel using that approach, while also considering how their interpretation fit into the ongoing scholarly dialogue about the work. Lauren chose the challenge of applying a Marxist approach to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Not only did she learn about critical approaches and how to apply one to a text, she wrote an excellent essay, which will help other readers understand the text better. In fact, if John Clark Pratt or another editor ever want to update the 1996 Viking Critical Library edition of the novel, then he or she might want to include Lauren's essay in the next edition!"
Societal influence can often lead one to the misconception of personal mental instability, this is evident in both two works by Ken Kesey and James Mangold. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey a charismatic criminal, Randle McMurphy is forcefully admitted to a state asylum despite his perfectly healthy mind. His minimal interaction with a supervising doctor reveals the complicated attitude the film takes towards mental illness. Throughout the film, the mental state of McMurphy continues to be questioned as he rebellion escalates with hospital authorities. Similarly, in a Girl, Interrupted directed by James Mangold, a conclusion is made upon Susanna Kaysen after she is interviewed for only 20 minutes. These 20 minutes resulted in her stay in a mental asylum for two years. She finds herself stuck between choosing the inside world or facing the reality on the outside. After facing numerous criticisms, both resources showcase a different point of view for readers. One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest
Prior feels the effects of homosexuality both mentally and physically. He struggles under the simulacra disease and under his AIDS. AIDS was seen as an effect of being gay, disease begets disease. In this framework, there is the influx of religious language. Gay men are diseased because they deviate from what is natural. AIDS is a plague sent to make them extinct. Fiona Rambsy Harris writes, “the punishment for this societal pollution in the eyes of the Right is biblical; after all, plagues were, in scriptural terms, sent down from Heaven to punish the transgressive” (410). The Right refers to political and social conservatives (the people who ran the nation at the time). Gay men were thought of as “societal pollution” not only because of
According to psychologist, Sigmund Freud, there are three main parts that make up a human’s personality: the id, ego, and superego. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the narrator of the story, Chief Bromden, represents each of these traits. In the beginning, Bromden only thinks of himself as any other crazy man, who no one pays attention to, but throughout the story Bromden develops mentally through all three stages of Freud’s personality analysis, maybe not in Freud’s preferred order, but he still represents them all.