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. The first part of the personality is the id, which begins developing from birth. The id is responsible for getting a person’s basic needs met. The id is based on the “pleasure principle”, meaning it …show more content…
The ego is referred to as a “reality principle”, because the child starts to interact with the world during this stage, and becomes more aware or his or her surroundings. This is where a child will realize that other people have desires and needs as well, and he or she understands that impulsive or selfish behavior can lead to harm. The ego meets the needs of the id, while also understanding the reality of the situation. The ego seems to become Chief Bromden’s strongest trait, after McMurphy’s influence on him. Gradually, Bromden begins to follow McMurphy’s ways and fight for what he wants, while still being careful because he understands consequences. One example would be when he first speaks out to McMurphy. It had been years since he had ever said a word, yet he decided to start speaking. It was all because of the influence McMurphy had on him, and he was finally confident enough to feel like he could be heard, however he does not let the ward know he can speak, realizing all the trouble that could get him into. The next step is when McMurphy decides to go on the fishing trip with everyone. He had always dreamed about going outside the ward, and it finally is able to happen. This is the biggest development the Chief has through the story, also being a positive one. Freud believed if a person’s ego was strongest, they were extremely healthy, …show more content…
This part of a person’s personality is made up of morals and ideals that have been placed on a person by society or parents. Freud believed the superego to be equivalent to a person’s conscious, helping people determine between right and wrong. Bromden does not act out because he still is afraid and understands that there are consequences. From the beginning, Bromden fears opposition. He doesn’t like standing up; he would rather just hide and be pushed around. He pretends be deaf and dumb because he feels like he isn’t heard and he never felt that way, and because he doesn’t like feeling that way he just pretends he can’t so can avoid those negative feelings. He just wants to stay out of trouble, however, he begins siding with McMurphy slowly yet steadily, understanding the repercussions but doing it because it feels what is right. Bromden’s superego is what controls him in the beginning, which is understandable once you learn about his childhood. When he was younger, Chief Bromden never felt heard after society basically took his home from him. When he tried to stand up, he was ignored and easily pushed back down. Then, the person he looked up to, his father, was becoming a drunk and was no longer the best role model for him anymore. Ever since Bromden’s childhood experience, he pretended to be deaf and dumb, because he truly felt that way. He would
The author Ken Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado and went to Stanford University. He volunteered to be used for an experiment in the hospital because he would get paid. In the book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Kesey brings up the past memories to show how Bromden is trying to be more confident by using those thoughts to make him be himself. He uses Bromden’s hallucinations, Nurse Ratched’s authority, and symbolism to reveal how he’s weak, but he builds up more courage after each memory.
Gautama Buddha once said, “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.” One’s self esteem is reflected by their actions throughout their lives. Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, depicts how a new patient, R.P. McMurphy, is trying to free himself and his fellow patients from the manipulation of Nurse Ratched. Alongside McMurphy is Chief Bromden, a massive Native American, checking into the ward for being “deaf and dumb.” Chief Bromden is well known for having a low self esteem. Because of observing McMurphy’s reckless actions and carefree personality, Bromden slowly releases himself from his negativity. Bromden’s growth is portrayed to some extent in Milos Forman’s movie adaptation of the movie; however, Forman’s presentation was lacking in detail as opposed to the novel. Because of Forman’s abridging of the film, the viewer’s knowledge of Bromden’s change is limited.
Hunt, John W. "Flying the Cuckoo's Nest: Kesey's Narrator as Norm." Lex et Scientia 13 (1977): 27-32. Rpt. in A Casebook on Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ed. George J. Searles. Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1992. 13-23.
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
The use of theme in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey brings upon the ideas of misogyny, sexual repression and freedom, and salvation from an omnipotent oppressor, through the story of Chief Bromden, who lives in an insanity ward. Even from the beginning pages of the novel, the reader is introduced to such characters as Nurse Ratched, or the “Big Nurse,” who is said to be the dictator of the ward and acts upon the ward with the utmost control. Another branch of the theme of oppressors and salvation that relates to Nurse Ratched, as well as Randle McMurphy, is the idea that they are both representatives of figures based in Catholicism. Sexual repression and freedom is seen with the ultimate punishment in the ward, a lobotomy, being stated as equivalent to castration. Both of the operations are seen as emasculating, removing the men’s personal freedom, individuality, and sexual expression, and reducing them to a child-like state. All of these different pieces of the theme relates to a powerful institution that, because of the advances of the time, such as technology and civil rights for women, is causing men to be common workers without distinctive thoughts that must fit the everyday working mold of the 1950s.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is an inspiring story of patients in a mental ward overcoming its oppressive nature with the help of a new arrival named Randle McMurphy. As Randle exposes the corrupt nature of the ward through manipulation and rebellion, medicated and conformed patients as well as myself begin to question the legitimacy of mental illness and the necessity of ward practices.
Leach, Caroline, and Stuart Murray. "Disability and Gender in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Disability Studies Quarterly 28.4 (2008): n. pag. Disability Studies Quarterly. Web. 13 May 2017. http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/149/149
The mind is possibly the most complex part of humans. Scientists can understand how bones and organs work after careful examination. However, the human mind isn 't exactly a physical thing. Many famous psychologists have created multiple theories on how they believe the mind works. One famous psychologist, Dr. Sigmund Freud, created the theory of the Id, Ego and Superego. This is part of the five theories in his overall theory of the personality. His theory can be best viewed in One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest. The novel is about rebelling against authority and prominently displays theme of individualism versus conformity. A man named R. P. McMurphy is admitted into a mental ward led by matriarch, Nurse Ratched. Ratched runs her ward in a way that not only follows the laws of society but, also emasculates the men in this ward. Thus, McMurphy challenges Ratched 's dictatorship in order to free the
Coined by theorist Sigmund Freud, the psychodymanic approach to therapy revolves around the interaction between the conscious and the unconscious. It is believed that the mind is made up for three entities; the Id, Ego,& Superego. The id is known for its pleasure seeking drive and impulsiveness. Often referred to as the “devil on your shoulder” the id exhibits very little self control and is often linked with the unconscious mind. Driven by sex, violence, and impulsivity, the id has been known to encourage risky behavior that normally would not occur. If the id were dominant, a person would behave in a devious, and socially unacceptable manner. Contrary to the id, the superego acts as the “angel on ones shoulder”. As stated in Day,2008, “when the superego is in charge, we are perfectionistic and uptight and demand too much of ourselves.” The superego acts as the conscience by reflecting social standards learned through observation. When the superego is allowed to take control, it sets such high expectations and demands, that is is too difficult to reach such high standards. The only way to stop the pendulum of the psyche from swinging to either extreme is the presence of the ego. The ego is the mediator between the superego and the id, providing moral reasoning and the principal of reality. The reality principle acknowledge that one must not act out id impulses, but also realizes that one cannot live up to the demands of the superego (Day, 2008). The ego helps moderate between these two extremes with the use of defense mechanisms.
The characters in this novel portray different levels of mental stability. Throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest each of the main characters undergoes a notable shift in their mental states (Rutten). The schizophrenic narrator, Chief Bromden is indubitably insane in the beginning. As the narrator, he gives insight into the inner workings of the hospital. All of what he sees is stated as fact but, it cannot be taken literally since a portion of it is based off of hallucinations and paranoia (Waxler). He states early on "it's the truth even if it didn't happen" (Kesey, 8). He often takes looks back into his childhood. During these flashbacks he describes himself as small and his parents as large. In Chief's mind char...
... to the boys is the fact that as soon as they saw him, there were no more thoughts of killing. The boys had never intended to kill upon their arrival on the island, their intent was to survive and escape. The presence of an adult broke their hard exterior that had been built up around them and made them remember what they had originally wanted. As soon as the officer spoke, the boys, “their bodies streaked with colored clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing on the beach making no sound at all. “ (Golding 200) This point, though it has no relation to the Id, Ego or Superego, is very well linked to the human mind and it’s behavior, as the therapist was easily able to change the intention of the brain with something as simple as the presence as an authority figure. The naval officer needed not even speak before the boys had crumbled back to their old selves.
concept of the Id.” The Id is the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a
“At birth a baby’s mind is all Id - want want want. The Id is the
...o two parts: conscience and ego ideal. Conscience tells what is right and wrong, and forces the ego to inhibit the id in pursuit of morally acceptable, not pleasurable or even realistic, goals. The ego ideal aims the individual's path of life toward the ideal, perfect goals instilled by society. In the pursuit, the mind attempts to make up for the loss of the perfect life experienced as a baby." (Stevenson D, 1966)
2. The root of any issue motivating one to seek counseling dwells upon their need to understand the meaning of the unconscious disturbances causing disruptions in their style of living. The theory states that people are in search of the unconscious meaning to their unhealthy behaviors to gain more insight into and control over their behaviors, urges, and desires.