Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Essay

Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Ken Keseys use of symbolism in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest transforms the novel and the hospital within the novel a microcosm of society, a battle between the sane and insane, the conformist and the non-conformist. Randle McMurphys arrival influenced the lives of almost every person, whether patient or employee. Whether or not his motives and actions were moral or good-hearted is difficult to conclude, however. On one hand, he undoubtedly saved the patients from losing their souls, so to speak, to Nurse Ratched and her ward. Without him, they would not have been able to stand up for themselves or grow a sense of self-appreciation and competence. On the other hand, there was a price to†¦show more content†¦As more and more newspaper clippings went up describing wrecked boats, McMurphy started to mock these warnings, coaxing more and more patients into going on the trip. Before McMurphy came to the ward, such rebellious trips would never have happened, even if they wanted t o go. McMurphy?s initiative and leadership paved the way for so many others. McMurphy?s death shows the ultimate sacrifice that he is willing in order to make his friends aware of the suffocating environment that they choose to live in. When he fights Washington, the worker that sprayed soap on Sefelt despite knowing that he always refused to bathe with soap, he showed how much he has evolved during his stay in the hospital. No profit awaits him by protecting Sefelt. He also knows that if he does attack him, Nurse Ratched would almost certainly destroy him. He does it simply because he knows that no one else was about to step in and help. McMurphy?s punishment, electroshock treatment, killed the one thing that he was so proud of ? the control he had over himself. One could argue that McMurphy was a Christ figure, a martyr that died for his followers. There are many references to Christ and the Bible in the novel. He takes twelve people on the trip, reminiscent of the twelve disciples. The table used for the electroshock treatment is built in the shape of the cross,Show MoreRelated Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Essay1199 Words   |  5 PagesKen Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest The theme of this story â€Å"One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest† according to Daniel Woods is â€Å"Power is the predominant theme of Ken Keseys One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest: who holds power, who doesnt, who wants it, who loses it, how it is used to intimidate and manipulate and for what purposes, and, most especially, how it is disrupted and subverted, challenged, denied and assumed† (http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/cuckoosnest/essays/essay1Read More Point of View in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest2256 Words   |  10 PagesPoint of View in Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The choice that a novelist makes in deciding the point of view for a novel is hardly a minor one. 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There are four ways of Ken Kesey’s using of â€Å"woman† as a subject: Superiority of male sexuality over female authority, matriarchal system that seeks to castrate men in the society, mother figures as counterpartRead More Christ-like McMurphy in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest1379 Words   |  6 PagesChrist-like McMurphy in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Ken Kesey utilizes Jesus Christ as a constant symbol throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The protagonist of the story acts as a model and leader for other characters in the book, just as Christ was for his disciples. It is appropriate that such a leader would be closely associated with a powerful, and worshiped figure. Keseys use of Christ associates the ideas or theories in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest with the bibleRead MoreHumor in the Halls of an Asylum in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest763 Words   |  3 Pages Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, portrays humor in a powerful, obvious form. Usually, mentally-unstable people do not understand what it means to laugh and simple do not see humor in the everyday things other high-functioning people do. Their lives, lived tragically, consist of them wandering the cold bland hallways of the asylum. Forgetting how to live, they permit the harsh watch of the head nurse. The patients seem lifeless because they do not comprehend what life is. Since theRead More McMurphy is Not a Christ Figure in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest1329 Words   |  6 PagesMcMurphy is Not a Christ Figure in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest      Ã‚  Ã‚   Literary fiction is littered with references to Christianity. It is very obviously a large and influential force in the western world so it is hardly surprising that a novel such as One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, which is so questioning of our society and moral values, should be so full of references to what is arguably the basis of these values. What the question asks, however, is if the character of McMurphyRead More The Use of Laughter as Medicine in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest777 Words   |  4 PagesThe Use of Laughter as Medicine in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest For years, it has been said that laughter is the best medicine. In Proverbs 17:22 it says, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Imagine being in a place where medicine takes the place of laughter. This is the environment the patients at an Oregon psychiatric hospital in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1962) experienced before the arrival of a new patient. Chief Bromden, who is presumably deafRead MoreThe Role of Men and Women in Ken Keseys One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest1181 Words   |  5 Pagesall aspects of life. While this may be an appealing notion, it is nonexistent in society. Strong men are seen by women as abusive and dominating, while strong women are seen by men as castrating and emasculating. The text of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in many ways, conforms to the structure of conventional male myth and asks the reader to accept that myth as a heroic pattern. From a masculinist perspective, it offers a charismatic hero in Randle Patrick McMurphy, a figureRead MoreEssay about Book Review of Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest676 Words   |  3 Pages English Book Review 1 Title: One flew over the cuckoos nest Author: Ken Kesey Editor, nr. of pages, year published: Published by the Penguin Group, 310 pages, first published in 1962 Summary: The scene is laid in a mental hospital. The narrator is an old Indian, called Chief Bromden, he plays deaf and dumb and he doesnt really take part in the action. The story starts when Randle Patrick McMurphy is admitted to the hospital. McMurphy is no ordinary patient, hes actually a bit too sane toRead More Control Leads to Destruction in Ken Keseys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest817 Words   |  4 PagesDestruction in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, by Ken Kesey, is about patients and doctors in a mental institution.   The author talks a lot about what goes on in this institute.   The main points in this book deal with control, be it the character of McMurphy who is unable to handle control, or Nurse Ratched the head nurse on the ward whose job requires her to be in control. The world of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is dark; it is