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Discuss how ken kesey uses theme and symbolism in his novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Discuss how ken kesey uses theme and symbolism in his novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Discuss how ken kesey uses theme and symbolism in his novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
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Recommended: Discuss how ken kesey uses theme and symbolism in his novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 film based on the book of the same name written by Ken Kesey. It stars Jack Nicholson as the protagonist, Randal McMurphy. In the movie, McMurphy is portrayed as the Hero who, while obviously not a perfect role model, the audience is supposed to root for and side with. Throughout the movie, one of the main points is whether our 'hero' is actually mentally ill or is putting on an act in order to escape his prison work sentence. While I feel that the director and the author actually intended the character to be faking, I believe that there is a good case to be made for McMurphy to have undiagnosed Antisocial Personality Disorder.
Antisocial Personality disorder is a mental disorder that is characterized by a pattern of irresponsible, exploitive, and guiltless behavior with tendencies to fail to conform to the law and exploit and manipulate others for personal gain. It is diagnosable if the who patient shows these signs is at least 18 years old, there is a conduct disorder before they were 15 years old, and their behavior is not simply the result of Schizophrenia or a manic episode. This diagnosis is usually based on a
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psychological evaluation, the personal and medical history of the patient, and whether or not the patient shows the symptoms listed in the DSM-5. While the movie does not provide us with McMurphy's childhood or much of his past, both his actions and what the psychiatrists tell us about him throughout show that his behvior fits with the disease's characteristics. The Character of Randal McMurphy can best be described as an antihero. During the meeting with the psychiatrist at the very beginning of the movie, we are told all we need to know about his backstory: that his initial crime was the statuatory rape of a fifteen year old girl and he has since been arrested five times for assault. In this scene he shows absolutely no remorse for his actions and in fact jokes about them and diminishes their severity. His main goal in the film is to free himself and subsequently the other residents from the percieved tyranny of Nurse Ratched. While this seems altruistic, ultimately all of his rebellion seems to come more from his own desire to escape and sleep with women. He is also shown to be extremely manipulative at several points during the movie. He tries to change the work schedule just so he can watch the world series, persuades a night guard to allow women and alcohol into the ward, and easily lies to the fisherman when he and the other patients steal the fishing boat. The result of McMurphy's rebellious actions are mostly negative.
After the suicide of Billy, McMurphy has an agressive outburst and nearly kills Nurse Ratched. As a result, his ultimate 'treatment' was to be lobotomized and then mercy killed by the one resident who actually took his lessons to heart. While he was there the other patients flocked to him and were taken in by his charm, but once he is gone they seem to go right back to where they were at the beginning of the movie. In real life, there is no prescribed medicine specifically for Antisocial Personality Disorder. The doctor may prescribe drugs to treat the symptoms, but cannot actually treat the cause. The only known way to treat this disorder is through psychotherapy, and even then it is not always effective if the sympotoms are too
severe. In conclusion, Randal McMurphy is a very interesting character. He is loud, crude, and easily angered. Even his most kind acts seem to stem directly from his own selfish need for instant gratification. The movie constantly brings up the question of whether or not he is faking some sort of mental illness to escape a work sentence. Antisocial Personality Disorder is not an easy illness to diagnose, especially not for a fictional character, yet after looking a bit deeper into McMurphy's behavior it is suprisingly easy to fit him into the characteristic mold of a 'sociopath'. Though in the end, it is hard to say whether he is actually suffering from a disorder or is just a terrible person.
The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey tells a story of Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of a mental institution, and the way her patients respond to her harsh treatment. The story is told from the perspective of a large, Native-American patient named Bromden; he immediately introduces Randle McMurphy, a recently admitted patient, who is disturbed by the controlling and abusive way Ratched runs her ward. Through these feelings, McMurphy makes it his goal to undermine Ratched’s authority, while convincing the other patients to do the same. McMurphy becomes a symbol of rebellion through talking behind Ratched’s back, illegally playing cards, calling for votes, and leaving the ward for a fishing trip. His shenanigans cause his identity to be completely stolen through a lobotomy that puts him in a vegetative state. Bromden sees McMurphy in this condition and decides that the patients need to remember him as a symbol of individuality, not as a husk of a man destroyed by the
In the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, directed by Milos Forman, the character of Randle McMurphy is portrayed as being a reckless and carefree man who eventually becomes a symbol of strength and determination in the mental hospital that the film takes place in. This film shows how an individual that can start off with an insignificant and unimportant purpose, but then becomes improved by the environment that they are placed in that they establish ambitions and aspirations that radically impact both themselves and others around them.
In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, the character of Randle P. McMurphy undergoes a gradual journey towards self-destruction. His actions go from the minuscule, such as changing minor ward policies, to the act of trying to strangle Nurse Ratched. All of his actions, minor and major, lead to his self-destruction. He continues this behavior even after he discovers he's only hurting himself with his actions.
Some people are what you may call "normal", some are depressed, some are mentally ill, and some are just plain old crazy. In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, written by Ken Kesey, the author shows how people can act so differently and have different ways of dealing with their problems. The story is narrated by Chief Bromden who is thought to be deaf and dumb. He tells of a man by the name of R. P. McMurphy, who was a con man, and was convicted of statutory rape. He told the officials that, "she was 18 and very willing if you know what I mean."( ) He was sent to a work farm, where he would spend some time, working off his crime. Since he was so lazy, he faked being insane and was transferred to a mental ward, somewhere near Portland, Oregon. On his arrival he finds some of the other members of the asylum to be almost "normal" and so he tries to make changes to the ward; even though the changes he is trying to make are all at his own expense. As time goes on he gets some of the other inmates to realize that they aren't so crazy and this gets under the skin of the head nurse. Nurse Ratched (the head nurse) and McMurphy have battle upon battle against each other to show who is the stronger of the two. He does many things to get the other guys to leave the ward. First he sets up a fishing trip for some of them, then sets up a basketball team, along with many smaller problems and distractions. Finally Nurse Ratched gives him all he can handle and he attacks her.
Barbaric treatments for mental patients such as lobotomies and electric shock therapy were often used in mid-twentieth century psychiatric wards. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, set in one of these wards, is a fictional novel about committed mental patient R. P. McMurphy and his power struggle with the emasculating Nurse Ratched. The mastermind behind this novel, Ken Kesey, was a prominent figure in American counter-culture who struggled with figures of power during his lifetime as well. Ken Kesey reflects his life in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in various ways including the setting and the hallucinogenic experiences he shares with the narrator.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest remarkably demonstrates the individual’s battle to maintain a sense of uniqueness from society. In the novel, McMurphy fought to save the patients of the asylum from the efforts of Nurse Ratched (society) to take their self-respect and force them to sacrifice their individuality. Life is full of contradictions and people who maliciously force ideas upon others of what is normal and acceptable. While McMurphy won the battle against Nurse Ratched, it was not the war; society still threatened the world in Kesey’s novel as it threatens the world of dreams and possibilities
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 on 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 it’s 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. McMurphy’s evident superiority among the other patients in the hospital immediately established his power and authority over the other patients.
The first part of the disorder that needs to be explored is the symptoms. “The essential feature of Antisocial Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).” Some examples of this are that people with this disorder frequently commit acts that could be grounds for arrest (but they do not always get arrested), mutilation of small animals in childhood, or the beating of ones spouse or child. A person with this disorder usually seems to have an artificial charm and can be very manipulative, which may have led to many of the murders in the headlines above. Another key feature of this disorder is that individuals suffering from this disorder tend to be irresponsible, especially in the workplace and finances. The individuals tend to fail at keeping a job for very long and cannot keep track of their spending. Another key feature of the disorder is that the individual usually doesn’t care about the safety of themselves or others. This behavior ...
Moran, P. "The epidemiology of antisocial personality disorder ." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 34.5 (1999): 231-242. Print.
As he tries to conform to the ways of the hospital, he actually becomes more like the patients that he detests. In one last attempt to escape from the hospital, McMurphy uses his cunning wit and skills as a con man to persuade the orderly into opening a window to allow two women into the ward. As the nigh progresses and he has the perfect opportunity to flee he realizes the hospital is the only safe place to stay. Due to Randal McMurphy rebellious ways and non-conformist ideas, the hospital performs a lobotomy, which during the time of this movie, w...
Antisocial Personality Disorder, also informally known as psychopathy/sociopathy, is a disorder where people elicit manipulative behaviors and lack morals. This includes disregard for rules, violence, superficial charm, promiscuity, a superiority complex, and difficulty forming attachments. This is said to be caused by genetics as well as modeling, or watching other people perform this kind of behavior. 3.3% of Americans are diagnosed with Antisocial Personality disorder. It’s 70% more common in males than females and is seen greatly in
While some may argue that Mcmurphy displayed a considerate level of aggression and had several outbursts, I’d say all those instances were caused by his surroundings rather than his internal psyche. I believe that given an environment like this, most of the people would react the similar to Mcmurphy. For instance, Mcmurphy was put through a lobotomy because of his outburst and violence subjected at Nurse Ratched. However, the reason behind his behavior was the false accusation of being responsible for Billy Bibbit’s suicide. The accusation was made by Nurse Ratched who herself was responsible for the loss. [Pg 318] Deceitfulness is another symptom of Antisocial Personality Disorder, which maybe attributed to Mcmurphy’s character. While some would say Mcmurphy is all about his own pleasure and profit, I believe that his character is larger-than-life. Contrary to Nurse Ratched, he makes everybody in the ward feel lively and encourages them to hold the grip of their lives. He organizes a fishing trip which turns out to be utmost pleasurable for the
First, Anti Social Personality Disorder is a mental condition that can cause a person to think and behave in a destructive manner. “Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is characterized by a pattern of socially irresponsible, exploitative, and guiltless behavior. ASPD is associated with co-occurring mental health and addictive disorders and medical comorbidity.” (Black, 2015) People with ASPD have a habit of antagonizing and manipulating others but also have no awareness for what is right and what is wrong. One tends to disregard the feelings and wishes of others. “ASPD typically begins during childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.” (Kivi, 2012) ASPD usually is noticed around 8 years old, but it is categorized as a conduct disorder. Though children can be treated in what doctors may think is ASPD, children will not be completely diagnosed with the title of ASPD until at least 18 years of age. In time those with ASPD behavior usually end up turning criminal.
Similarly, in “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” Metallica references the aggressive treatments performed by a mental institution as a means for both curing the sick and inspiring rebellion. The singer declares, “they think our heads are in their hands / But violent use brings violent plans / Keep him tied, it makes him well / He's getting better, can't you tell?” A mentally ill man refers to the violent methods with which he is treated as the inspiration for his equally “violent plans” to revolt against his oppressors. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy decides to challenge Nurse Ratched after discovering how she manipulates the patients into attacking one another during Group Therapy. He recognizes the effect she has had on the other men and refuses to be influenced by her