One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Essay

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In Ken Kesey's, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” the main character, Chief Bromden, is stuck in a mental institution and is labeled as a vegetable, meaning that he will never be “fit” enough to leave the institution and conform back into society. The novel focuses on Bromden’s internal struggle to accept Randle McMurphy’s rebellious actions toward Nurse Ratched and McMurphy’s urge for the patients to break free from the nurse’s tyranny over the ward. Sia’s song, “Breathe Me” can relate to what Bromden experiences throughout the entire novel regarding to loneliness and and a lack of self-confidence. The lyrics, “Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found” resemble Bromden’s condition because his mental illness, schizophrenia, causes him to imagine fog that supposedly protects him from the insanity in the ward. …show more content…

In the novel, Bromden admits, “"Nobody complains about all the fog. I know why, now: as bad as it is, you can slip back in it and feel safe. That's what McMurphy can't understand, us wanting to be safe" (Kesey 128). The lyric, “Lost myself again and I feel unsafe”(Line 14) from the song ‘Breathe Me” by Sia, relates to the one thing Bromden fears which is escaping the fog and facing reality. When Bromden is alone and trapped in the fog, he is safe because he feels as if no one can control or hurt him. Another example of Bromden’s internal struggle of loneliness and self-confidence occurs when Bromden is comparing himself and McMurphy relating to size. Bromden claims, “No. I’m way too little. I used to be big, but not no more. You’re twice the size of me”(Kesey

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