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

tone.

The understanding of one of the most important aspects of a novel, its narrative voice, is principally shaped by the context behind it. For example, George Orwell’s 1984 makes use of a third-person limited point of view to demonstrate to the reader both the the internal as well as the external understandings of life under a totalitarian regime which the author aimed to criticize. This was due to his experiences throughout World War II and his multiplying hatred for totalitarianism and political authority as a result of the rise to power of dictators such as Adolf Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union around the time of publication. Orwell writes in such a way so as to enable the reader to shift between Winston’s limited perspective to a more omniscient point of view to provide greater context for the occurrences. What is noteworthy is that the reader discovers about the Ministry of Truth through Winston’s viewpoint, so we remain as much uninformed about the nature and workings of the Inner Party as Winston is. The quote, “I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power” solidifies the assumption that the readers do, in fact, only know what Winston does. Orwell’s style of using simple and concise language is the result of his belief that it is the most honest form of communication and a technique to make sure the audience understands the message clearly. This adds to the political critique of the novel as it makes a comment about how little the people are really aware of their governments’ actions.

On the other hand, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is voiced from the first-person point of view of Chief Bromden, a long-term schizophrenic patient at the mental institution. Kesey’s choice to make Bromden the narrator of the novel is a clever idea. Since he is unable to speak, he is essentially an insightful observer- he notices every minute detail without revealing to anyone how perceptive he truly is. However, Bromden often slips into a recurring ‘fog’, is prone to hallucinations, believes that the world is controlled by a machine known as the Combine and as a result, his mental illness establishes him as an unreliable narrator. In Chapter One, he says, "God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It’s hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen". Here, he asserts himself as the narrator and emphasizes on the importance of this story and the difficulty he will face narrating it but also invokes the feeling of trust from the audience as his hallucinations provide a slightly distorted but overall metaphorical rendition of the on-goings at the hospital. This narrative aspect is given greater legitimacy due to the fact that Kesey himself had experience with hallucinations while he was working as an orderly at the Palo Alto Veteran’s Hospital while experimenting with LSD. At that time in the 1950s, people with mental disabilities were given no reliance and little support. This was Kesey’s form of protest against this culture, commenting that it is the society that turns functional people insane by making them feel stupid. Resultantly, from these two literary works, one can assess the importance the understanding of the knowledge of context and time has on the aspects of the novel.

Another significant aspect of any piece of literature that is grasped better by knowing the context and time is the theme.

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.

Winston’s brainwashing in the end signifies the ultimate loss of individual thought as Orwell issues a cautioning against embracing any form of dictatorial authority.

Similarly, in Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this theme is also present.

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

novel and development of the theme. Treatments of the time, such as lobotomies and electroshock therapy, were to satiate the society’s expectations of conformity, not to help them regain back their regular, healthy lives. So, understanding these historical and cultural movements in their respective time periods of publication, the reader can better understand the aspect of this major theme of Individualism versus the Collective Identity.

Finally, the tone of the novel is a noteworthy aspect that can be substantially better understood with some knowledge of context and time in which the novel was written. For example, in Orwell’s 1984, the tone takes on a dark, cynical, and depressing vibe suggesting the book is meant to be Orwell’s forewarning of how horrible life will become if forces of authoritarian governments are allowed to prevail. It is also a functional stylistic tool meant to retain the mood. From the very first chapter, this tone was evident from the descriptions, “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen” symbolizing the unlucky fate of Winston and the people of Oceania with the author’s use of oxymoron to strike the audience and gain their attention. For the most part, the novel also adopts a cautionary tone, constantly reminding the audience that the life portrayed in the novel is one which is very possible if the correct measures are not taken to oppose totalitarianism. It divides the readers in two groups- the ones who read it at the time of publication in 1949 and so could relate with several similar rationing techniques and deprivation from World War II; they were reminded that if they were not careful enough, life may return to that misery and hardship. The second group are the readers in the current time period who are reminded to be grateful for these resources so we do not take them for granted.

Contrastingly, Kesey’s work demonstrates a more sympathetic tone. His depiction of the inmates exhibits their humanity, their self-worth and their capacity to perceive the truth of a situation despite their recurrent inability to grasp reality. He noticeably feels a lot of sympathy, not only towards the patients in the ward, but also the staff. The portrayal of the orderlies and nurses make it seem like their behavior is corrupted as a result of circumstances, not by choice. This is due to Kesey’s own personal and professional experiences as an orderly in a psychiatric ward where he regularly spoke to the patients and decided to publish the novel as criticism against the government’s lack of concern for people with mental disabilities. As a result, the tone of these two works is evidently associated with the context and time of production, and so this knowledge allows the reader a deeper understanding and perspective.

In conclusion, to sum up the aforementioned points, Kesey and Orwell’s writing was considerably shaped by the cultural, social and political climate during which they were written. This is particularly noticeable to their reader in their approach to the development of the narrative voice, the theme of the individual vs. collective identity and lastly the tone in the respective novels. Both authors have created a strong link between their personal experiences and their story. This knowledge of context and time makes it easier for the reader to comprehend the characters and their actions in the literary works.