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Sane Individual vs. Crazy Institution
In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest there were many questionable tactics and medical practices that the ward used, tactics that in a sane world, would be considered insane and unsuitable practices for humans. The theme that best describes the conflict in the novel is the sane individual versus the insane institution. Realistically speaking it is impossible for a sane individual to exist in an insane environment. This is the exact conflict that is presented in the novel.
McMurphy was sentenced to six months in prison but when he was diagnosed as a psychopath, he was sent to a hospital. McMurphy thought that the ward would have minimal physical labour so he did not disagree with the sentence. McMurphy who is a sane individual was committed to a ward where electro shock therapy, lobotomy, false diagnoses of the patient’s insanity and removal of they’re masculinity are a just a few of the many insane tactics that Nurse Ratched uses to maintain control on the ward. McMurphy who challenges the nurse’s authority ends up sacrificing himself for the other patients when he undergoes EST multiple times to defend George. To show his honest sacrifice he asks for a crown of thorns showing a direct comparison to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The pinnacle in which McMuphy undergoes EST is the point where he submits to the ward because a sane man such as himself in a crazy institution cannot live in unity. After McMurphy’s attack on Nurse Ratched he is punished with a lobotomy which transforms him into a vegetable. The ultimatum that the nurse uses demonstrates how a sane man cannot live in union with an insane institution and so one of the two must be sacrificed.
It is impossible for the insane patients on the ward to ever get well and be able to cope in a society outside the ward. Due to the insane methods on the ward it is impossible for the patients to develop healthy coping skills because the ward...