One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

"One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest" (7) - who would have thought a mere excerpt from an olden time children’s folktale could be used to summarize the interactions of society in its entirety. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the meaning of this epigraph effectively resonates throughout the tale of Randle P. McMurphy, a cunning, gambling man whose defiant actions rattle the inner-workings of an oppressed mental institution, eventually leading to his fatal downfall. His story is seen through the eyes of fellow mental institution patient, Chief “Broom” Bromden, an overly large, half-indian whose narration consists of an array of delusions and paranoia fueled thoughts. Kesey uses One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to depict how the individuality of everyday people is so highly repressed by those who represent authority, which requires anyone whose behavior disagrees with what is considered the norm must essentially be castrated of such traits at any means necessary.

Bromden’s ever present silence and attempt at invisibility leads to the postulation of him being deaf and dumb, highly contrasting protagonist McMurphy’s loud, confident, in-ignorable presence that upon arrival instantly challenges the standards and rules instilled by head nurse, Miss Ratched. Inferring that Kesey kept the above child's folk tale in mind when creating these extreme character contrasts, McMurphy and his disobeying actions could be said to represent the group of people whose direction opposes that of the oppressive Miss Ratched, leaving the final direction of over the cuckoo's nest to Bromden, who eventually escapes the confines of the mental ward. Miss Ratched's hold on the ward is a strong one, as she "wields a sure...

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...present as well. Consider a local police department, keeping watch over their designated area, maintaining order. A person is found to have committed an act that defies the laws set by the department, requiring some form of action by the authorities to take place, this is just. But when authority turns to abuse of power, and measures are taken that can be viewed as immoral, there is a corrupt link in the system. Miss Ratched was the corrupt link. Her hunger for power and lust for control lead to the brain death of an innocent man, simply because he did not follow up to her standards. It is essentially true that “our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak” (54), proving the rabbits of the world to truly be helpless to the wolves.

Works Cited

Kesey, Ken. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.” Harlequin, 1962. iBooks.