Importance of Humor and Laughter in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
"There are three things which are real: God, human folly, and laughter. Since the first two pass our comprehension, we must do what we can with the third."
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, humor is present in a very powerful form. Normally, insane people don’t have the capacity to laugh or find the humor in something as we "normal" people do. They live tragic existences, wandering day by day in the bland, depressing world of an asylum. They have forgotten how to live because they are under the authoritative rule of the head nurse, and under the behavioral influence of drug doses and bossy orderlies. The patients have no real existence of their own, and they are essentially lifeless. As the Lord works in mysterious ways, Randall MacMurphy is "sent" to heal the patients of the asylum. He shows them that to laugh is good, and laughing at yourself can sometimes be the best medicine. He is the comic healer who gives life to the otherwise hopeless patients of the asylum. MacMurphy seems to have an affinity for laughter. In essence, it is an escape for him- it makes him feel good, and most importantly, it radiates to his friends, and helps heal them.
This book is about so many things, it is hard to stay on one topic for any length of time. In order to focus on the laugh and laughing as a healing agent, I would like to look towards other influential writers and thinkers to tie together laughing and healing. First, let’s see what laughter is according to Meriam Webster: laughter- n. a cause of merriment. Using this simple definition, we can assume that laughter can come from any form of merriment or emotion like triumph, contempt, relief, and almost any other emotion there is. It is easy to picture in your head different underlying emotions in laughter; the sinister laughs of witches and ghosts, the insincere, fake laughs you hear after pointless, humorless attempts at jokes on the six o’clock news, to the silent laughs of mimes and clowns that fill the people around them with a happy feeling. These are all examples of what laughter is and how it is used. But why do we do it? What in nature created the laugh and made it so successful?
Additionally, this essay would be a good read for those interested in the topic of sexuality, gender and culture or anyone studying anthropology. This essay contributes to understanding aspects of California history that is not primarily discussed. The reader gets and insight on two different cultures, and the effects of them merging together -- in this case, the cultures of the Spaniards and Indians. I believe that this article supports Competing Visions as the text also discusses how “the object of the missions was to convert the natives to Christianity as well as to Hispanicize them…” and both touch upon the topic of the rapes of
In Linda Lee’s case, her son was one who was smart but never really applied himself and then when it came time to go to college he was ill-prepared and had no clue about what to do with himself; however, with how “America is obsessed with college” (Lee 3) it isn’t really his fault that he wasn’t prepared but more of a lack on the educational systems part. During high school, you are pushed to take what classes best
In paragraph 2-4 he first argues that statistically it 's not logical for people in the bottom 40% of their class to go college because they most likely drop out. Then he argues that its a waste of time to go to college then drop out because they’ll usually not even have learned anything. Lastly, he argues that even if they d go to college, once they graduate it’s still unlikely they’ll find a job that their degree was worth.
Although modern science has allowed us to develop many complex medicines, laughter is still the strongest one available in the real world and in the book. Laughter proves to be a strong medicine in more ways than one and is completely free, allowing anyone to use it at anytime. It allows us to connect socially with people, it can be used as a way of overthrowing power, and it is good for your health. As Randle McMurphy showed in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, laughter can lighten the mood in the darkest situations.
... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, uses laughter as a measure of psychological well-being. The lack of laughter strays away from normalcy, whereas regular laughter makes everything seem normal. Before McMurphy arrives on the ward, every second of time the patients spend is strictly monitored and far away from the standard of normal. Without laughter, McMurphy starts to lose sight of sanity.
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!"
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy often uses the power of laughter to overcome what is going on in the world around him. Laughter lightens the feeling in the book, and at times gives it a warmer feeling. It also helps develop, and shape the characters throughout the entire story.
1. Many people have multiple reasons why they want to be able to help others in their everyday jobs. My attraction to being a Speech Language Pathologist is because I want to be able to people overcome their speech problems. As a Speech Language Pathologist I want to be able to help people that have speech problems, overcome this problem and be able to be independent without needing the help of myself or other people that are trying to talk to them. I personally know their feelings and have actually been in their shoes to know how frustrating life can be trying to talk and have someone else talk for you.
The spectrum of therapeutic techniques available within the health care continuum is very complex and varied. From traditional medicine, to holistic remedies, and anything in between, nurses have a rather large arsenal at their disposal when it comes to treating the patients that are under their care. Humor as an alternative therapy has long been understood as a proven means to aid in the recovery process. “With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health” (Smith & Segal, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss situations in which humor would be a viable alternative therapy
Laughter is a therapeutic form. In the novel One flew over the cuckoo’s nest by Ken Kesey laughter represents freedom and an escape from nurse Ratched’s restrictions.
In the pilot we are introduced to Dr. Robert Jekyll, the grandson of the original character from the novel. With this change, the television series is set in a more industrially advanced 1935 London as opposed to the horse-drawn-carriage era. We are immediately given visual references of split personalities. The opening
Many people tend to set goals. They can set goals for their personal life, academics, or even for their professional lives. You can literally set a goal for pretty much anything you can imagine. I believe that people should set goals, they help you stay focused and want to do better for the future. Goals change all of the time though, because of a lot of different reasons, maybe you found that one thing just really is not what you want to do with your life, so you find something else to do. To me that is just how life is, my goals will most likely change as I am getting older and trying to find what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Dexter’s laboratory is an old show and this may contribute to why it was able to get away with what is now blatantly obvious stereotypes and sexism. I do believe that media is beginning to push for more woman involvement in science based shows, such as Bernadette and Amy in the Big Bang Theory. Although many shows, Big Bang Theory included, still likes depict stereotypes surrounding science and scientist. Hopefully, when the media changes how science and scientist are portrayed people will get a better understanding of what science is really
However there is a plethora of data available that comes from anecdotes, and while this data is not as concrete as the quantitative data from studies it is still worth noting (4). One example of this comes from Howard Bennett who claimed that the patient he had seen, and had made laugh were less anxious and frustrated in the hospital situation, and they were more likely to listen to his advice (2). Now while this is not official due to the lack of a conclusive study there does seem to be support for ideas like this, such as from an anonymous article written in Nursing Standard in 2010. This article written by an anonymous pediatric nurse stated that when a clown came to visit children in the hospital their tolerance for pain went up while their average time in the hospital went down. The article also claimed that respiratory rate, temperature, and blood pressure were lowered in patients that received a visit from the clown, and thus it can be the author believes that humor therapy is beneficial .(7) An article written in the same magazine by George Winter agrees with this conclusion, but for different reasons. He believes that humor therapy is good due to the positive effect if can have on the patient to medical staff relationship. (9) This doesn’t seem to be a one-off conclusion though, because a journal called Pediatric Nursing published a piece by Rick Majzun in which it stated that normal hospitals could learn from childrens hospitals, because children hospitals tend to have more laughter going on inside them, and that this allows for patients to easily connect to their doctors. Furthermore the articles states that this method should be pursued due to the fact that it is cheap compared to the other kinds of more expensive methods to try and improve relations between the patient and staff(10). Humor
Laughter is an important part of a healthy mind and body. When you laugh, you secrete a chemical that automatically boosts your mood and improves your physical health. After a good laugh, you will often find that your problems no longer seem so huge, causing you to have a positive attitude. The great thing about being a person who laughs a lot is that laughter is contagious. When you laugh, people around you will generally feel better, and pretty soon everyone will be happier and more spiritually connected.