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One flew over the cuckoo's nest analysis
A fly over the cuckoo's nest analysis
Introduction if I know why the caged Bird sings
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Oppression in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou In the process of compiling the literary works I intended to include in this project, I began to notice a common thread that connected the works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that I generally choose to read. That common tie that binds these books together is that they all seem to center, in one form or another, around the theme of oppression. Perhaps this is because I have some deep psychological need to diffuse the power struggles I experience within myself by gleaning insight from the pages of someone else’s experience. Or, perhaps it is merely because I have a predisposition to “root for the underdog”. Regardless of the reason, be it simple or complex, almost everything I read seems to engage a “David and Goliath” scenario. Take for example, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. There is no doubt in my mind that the mental institution that comprises the primary setting of the narrative is intended as a metaphor of societal oppression. This symbolic novel relays the story of an inmate standing up against the powerful forces that operate a psychiatric hospital, but it represents much more than just a classic case of “man versus the establishment”. The questions raised by Kesey are almost as chilling as his descriptive tales of inmate abuse. Kesey compelled me to ponder just how thin the line is that separates insanity from sanity, and treatment from control. Representing a heroic struggle of personality against an institution of mindless conformity, I found “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” to be one powerful piece of literature. Similarly, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which I first read the summer after I graduated high school, is a tale of oppression that translates into a deeply moving novel chronicling the ups and downs of a black family in the 1930’s and 1940’s. A myriad of historical and social issues are addressed, including race relations in the pre-civil rights south, segregated schools, sexual abuse, patriotism and religion. Autobiographical in nature, this tumultuous story centers around Marguerite Johnson, affectionately called "Maya", and her coast-to-coast life experiences. From the simple, backwards town of Stamps, Arkansas to the high-energy city life of San Francisco and St. Louis, Maya is assaulted by prejudice in almost every nook and cranny of society, until she finally learns to overcome her insecurities and be proud of who she is.
As presented in many fictional text such as Kindred, Wild Seed and The Appropropriation of a Culture “control” or “power” can be deemed the underlying influence to the concept of oppression and unjust treatment of others due to their race or social status. These fictional texts graphically detail the experiences of African Americans and how they came together as a community when facing the inevitable both in slavery and during the Jim Crow era. There are many other texts that describe the improper regulation of control and what can happen when one race or group has too much. One novel entitled Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of a wife who was sentenced to prison after shooting her husband in self-defense after he had contracted rabies and turned violent. Another novel entitled Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor details racism in America during the Great Depression (Goodreads) Despite the slavery era and modern day being two different periods of time, there are still some unresolved issues and situations in which revolve around the idea of racism and oppression. However, unlike back in the day African Americans are able to learn about their heritage and ancestors as well as receive an education so that they may acquired the knowledge necessary to diminish the destruction caused by oppression and dilute the poisonous effects of
The novel, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou is the first series of five autobiographical novels. This novel tells about her life in rural Stamps, Arkansas with her religious grandmother and St. Louis, Missouri, where her worldly and glamorous mother resides. At the age of three Maya and her four-year old brother, Bailey, are turned over to the care of their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Southern life in Stamps, Arkansas was filled with humiliation, violation, and displacement. These actions were exemplified for blacks by the fear of the Ku Klux Klan, racial separation of the town, and the many incidents in belittling blacks.
As the play progresses, the reader may start to believe Hamlet “insane” act, but throughout the scenes, Hamlet shows that he knows right from wrong, good from bad, and his friends from his enemies. Hamlet shows that he still has power and control over his actions. As Elliot says “Hamlets madness is less than madness and more feigned”. Hamlet is portraying that of a mad man, in order to be free from questioning, thus allowing him have an easier path towards revenge. You can see this when Hamlet says “ I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw” (2.2.368-369) . This is an example of the “wing and whirling words” which Hamlet uses a few times throughout the play, with which Hamlet hopes to persuade people he is crazy. These words sh...
Blake, William. "The Marriage of Heaven Hell." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake. 'Ed'. David V. Erdman. New York, NY: Random House, 1982. Print.
As a black woman in the 1930's and the 1940's, little power or ever respect was given. There had been no civil rights movement and Jim Crow laws and segregation were still in effect. Blacks, in general, especially women, were not given a felicitous education because it was illegal to acquire or obtain books during that time period. Maya Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was deeply shaped of her coming of age during the depression that caused her separation, the racism and discrimination she experienced living in the south, and the abuse she endured which formed her discernment of men.
In Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the author refers to the many struggles people individually face in life. Through the conflict between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, the novel explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity. With these themes, Kesey makes various points which help us understand which situations of repression can lead an individual to insanity. These points include: the effects of sexual repression, woman as castrators, and the pressures we face from society to conform. Through these points, Kesey encourages the reader to consider that people react differently in the face of repression, and makes the reader realize the value of alternative states of perception, rather than simply writing them off as "crazy."
"And Pecola. She hid behind hers. (Ugliness) Concealed, veiled, eclipsed--peeping out from behind the shroud very seldom, and then only to yearn for the return of her mask" (Morrison 39). In the novel The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, the main character, Pecola, comes to see herself as ugly. This idea she creates results from her isolation from friends, the community, and ever her family. There are three stages that lead up to Pecola portraying herself as an ugly human being. The three stages that lead to Pecola's realization are her family's outlook toward her, the community members telling her she is ugly, and her actually accepting what the other say or think about her. Each stage progresses into the other to finally reach the last stage and the end of the novel when Pecola eventually has to rely on herself as an imaginary friend so she will have someone to talk to.
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
If any person can be credited for creating the obsession of beauty that Pecola builds it is Pauline (Pecola’s mother). Pecola experiences many insecurities and it can definitely be said that many of these are because of the way that Pauline acts in society and around Pecola. It was stated in the story that Pauline would always go to the movies and rate the characters on their beauty. This is one example that shows the obsession that Pauline has with beauty and looks. This rubbed off on to her daughter and that is where Pecola received her lack of self-esteem. It is clear that Pecola idolizes the ideals of being beautiful. It is interesting that Pecola is not the person telling the story in this book, and it is Claudia instead. It seems that the author wants the reader to build an immense amount of sympathy for Pecola because it would just be less effective if Pecola was telling the story. If it Pecola that was narrating in many parts then it would be more difficult to see her as a "total victim".
The Emperor’s counsel said, “She’s a woman. She will never be worth anything.” Then the Emperor stepped in and told her that she has saved them all. He bowed to her and the troops, counsel, and the people who were there to celebrate the troops all bowed to Mulan. She has earned the respect and honor she deserved. However, in order to get her respect she had to go extreme measures to do so. Mulan didn’t want respect or gratitude. She just wanted to save her father. Then her simple wish of keeping her father safe took an unexpected turn and she became a war hero. Men need to realize that women are capable of doing so much more than child bearing. Women can do what men can do and even better at
Walker, Pierre A. Racial protest, identity, words, and form in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Vol. 22. West Chester: Collage Literature, n.d. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
Throughout the history of English literature, William Shakespeare delved into the mental component of humanity, and the disputed consequences that arise from this human mentality. The most famous revenge tragedy play, Hamlet, is an excellent illustration of Shakespeare’s study of human nature. In Hamlet, the arguable issue of Prince Hamlet’s mental health makes the readers to have two conflicting beliefs: one that shows support for a feigned madness, and the other one that stands up for an unfeigned madness. Madness is defined as an “Extreme anger, excitement, or foolishness.” (“Madness”), and “Ideas or actions that show a lack of good judgment and careful thought.” ("madness"). At the start of the play, Prince Hamlet’s plan is to pretend to be mentally ill, so that he is able to cover up his true intentions to inflict vengeance on his father’s killer. It seems clear from the theater piece that Prince Hamlet has indeed turned to true madness by believing in his own performance in the end.
In movie version of Mulan as well as the book by Maxine Kingston, the elements of immolation, holding one’s tongue, respect for ancestors and parents, and stereotyping in the Chinese culture are present. All of these elements come together to create two similar stories of a woman warrior out to bestow honor upon her family. Still, for something as simple as family honor, is all the trouble of the quest for a small bit of greatness worth it?
According to history in China, women had arranged marriages and were forced to marry the man her father chooses. The father had the final say on who his daughter would marry as women’s opinions were not taken into judgment (William, 2017). Females were not important to Chinese society, males were strongly respected and had higher “value”. When we look back at the Disney’s Mulan, “Fa Li, where is your daughter? The Matchmaker is not a patient woman”, Mulan is late arriving to her match maker session. The ballad of Mulan displays no evidence where Mulan goes to a matchmaker or even gets married. When it comes to the inaccuracies showcased in Mulan, there is one that is more prominent than others, women’s punishments. Referring to the Disney movie, women’s punishments are expressed incorrectly. Mulan goes to war in place of her father when she did not receive permission from her parents. “You shouldn't have to go!”… “Mulan is gone!” This is stating that Mulan left without consulting her parents first. Although, in the ballad of Mulan, there is no clear evidence that even her identity was discovered whilst she attended war, so there is no possibly that she had her life nearly taken away by a general. It is said that in ancient Chinese law, women who disobey their parents must be cut into pieces as a
Pecola Breedlove is another example of the damage brought on by submitting completely to a standard of beauty. Pecola gradually becomes more and more fixated on reaching the standard of beauty, and she is never satisfied. Pecola feels that beauty is the only way to solve all of her problems. She feels that if she becomes beautiful, her parents will no longer fight, her family will not be poor, and her father will no longer be a rapist. Pecola reached this mindset through minor and extreme events in her life. One of the subtler of these events is her purchase of a Mary Jane candy bar. When Pecola approaches the shopkeeper to buy some candy, the man does not even bother to look at her. To him, she is so sub-human that he does not feel that she deserves to be acknowledged with a glance. Although this does not seem important to the man behind the counter, Pecola picks up on and understands all of his movements and thoughts. She knows that he does not even recognize as a human being worth looking at, because she is ugly. This reinforces her attitude that beauty is the only way to gain any respect from others. Pecola's meeting with Geraldine is also an example of the basis for her attitudes. When Pecola is seduced into Junior's house, and he kills his cat, Pecola is thrown out by Geraldine, Junior's mother. Geraldine thinks that Pecola killed that cat because Pecola does not fit the standard of beauty.