One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Gender Roles

Although many people do not like to admit it, labeling others is part of the mind’s subconscious, whether it be sexually, racially or by gender. In many aspects, society has taken great leaps towards eliminating stereotyping. Some literature that was written centuries ago such as Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, still contains stereotypical gender roles, while others such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey reflect changes in society. Literature throughout history demonstrates that gender roles are evolving and become an issue of the past.

Although steps have been made towards equality in the aspect of gender, plays such as Hamlet contain views of the past. Hamlet was written in the early 1600’s, which is known as the Renaissance period. In this time period, women were treated differently than they are now. During the

This book demonstrates a set of gender roles for women are the opposite of those seen in Hamlet. Nurse Ratched is described as, “big as a tractor, so big you can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big a load,” (Kesey 5). In this novel, Nurse Ratched is the main antagonist and she is portrayed as much stronger, both mentally and physically, than the men in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; she is far stronger than the women in Hamlet. Around 20 years before One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was published, the famous symbol for strong American women, Rosie the Riveter, became popular. Nurse Ratched’s characteristics resemble those of Rosie the Riveter much more than she resembles the women in Hamlet. During the 1940’s, Rosie the Riveter was fighting against gender role prejudice. In her time, “women also had to determine their role in those industries that had a strong union presence,” (“Women’s Roles” 1). Just like Nurse Ratched, Rosie the Riveter had a solid presence that helped establish an aura of