Similarities Between 1984 And One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

In literary works, writers commonly reflect the cultural, social, political or historical context of their country and the condition of that time period. The context serves to be both influential and inspiring on major literary aspects of the novel, especially if they are socially critical in nature like George Orwell’s 1984 where Winston wrestles with the Party’s oppressive force in Oceania and Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest where Bromden narrates the battle of wills between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched in a mental institution. A solid understanding of the context behind the creation of a piece of literature can give the reader an enhanced appreciation for the distinctive aspects of the novel such as the narrative voice, theme and

In both the novels, there is a strong and recurrent theme of Individualism versus the Collective Identity. In 1984, Winston continually tries to assert his individual personality against the collective character that the Party demands him to adopt. The Party’s aim is to demolish all sense of independence by psychological manipulation schemes- same dull uniforms for all, same unappetizing food, same dilapidated housing. There is the Two Minutes Hate to generate collective rage and the Thought Police to eradicate free thought. However, Winston writes in his own private diary, engages in forbidden sex with a coworker, and only believes in his version of reality as an effort to retain his individuality. In the novel, a line states, “Being in a minority, even in a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” Orwell makes use of Newspeak in this quote to emphasize on the fact that even though Winston was holding on to his individualism, his use of the Party’s language signifies the slow but sure breaking of his resistance and should serve as foreshadowing to the audience. The context of production is once again Orwell’s critique of the totalitarian regimes such as Hitler and Stalin and how they retain power through the use of propaganda and alarm.

Each of the men who are admitted at the institution have some sort of ‘fault’ that makes them atypical. As a result of been made fun of for these characteristics, they hide away from society inside the mental institution to escape the pain of being individuals. Nurse Ratched's most threatening instrument is preying on the group mentality of the patients in order to generate fear and self-hatred. Her steadfast rule is that patients are not allowed to be by themselves and must stay groups at all times. This is because she is aware that only in the privacy of their own room can they evaluate and develop the strength of will and character to go against her authority. The way in which the Nurse gives out orders is commanding in a sense that the tone and reaction from the patients give the audience the sense of impending doom. The one character who does show a strong sense of individualism and disobedience against Nurse Ratched, McMurphy, ends up getting destroyed. The context behind this theme is very significant in the fact that it involves a major cultural phenomenon of the 1950s- the Beat Generation. When in the United States of America there was safety in conformity and anyone who went against the mainstream opinion was ridiculed, the Beats (including Kesey) began this counterculture revolution. They protested for freedom from repressive authority and this is evident in Kesey’s writing of the