One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

1465 Words6 Pages
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, can be seen to be more than a portrayal of the mental health system of the 1960’s, it is a commentary on society. It remains to be a revolutionary piece of literature as it was written as the counter-culture of the 1960’s, with its distrust and dissatisfaction with authority, was emerging. Kesey uses many literary devices to emphasize his idea of the corrupt society of this age. This is most prominently seen through his use of theme, character and style. The themes of the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, illustrates Kesey’s view on society. Madness is an extremely prominent theme throughout the story and can show society’s nebulous line between sanity and insanity. Considerably normal people, such as Billy Bibbit whose “illness” was simply a stutter and a lack of confidence, were so pressured by society’s idea of normal that they volunteered themselves to the asylum. “‘You think I wuh-wuh-wuh-want to stay in here? You think I wouldn’t like a con-con-vertible and a guh-guh-girl friend? But did you ever have people l-l-laughing at you? No, because you’re so b-big and so tough! Well, I’m not big and tough.’” [Bibbit to McMurphy] (Kesey, pg. 168) Patients who spoke their mind and asserted their rights were declared as insane and silenced; this is exemplified by McMurphy’s lobotomy. From the readers point of view Nurse Ratched is seen to be more insane than many of the acute patients, sick with her power and her authority. The character of Ratched is a metaphor for society in general as she persecutes those who are simply different. This prompts the reader to question as to whether the patients are insane, or is society. The theme of power in the novel can also be related to society. Both parties, those lead by Ratched and McMurphy, seek to possess power. In this case however, the power vested in
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