Cuckoo's Nest Sanity Vs Insanity

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Recommended: Literary elements of one flying over the cuckoo's nest

Insane asylums fifty years ago might have proved to be ran by more insane people than the ones who were actually contained. This can be assumed when one reads the very thought provocative novel called One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This excellent read guides us through the narrations of Chief Bromden’s time while being a patient at an Oregon psychiatric ward. Through the course of reading this book, one might find various themes and symbols. Most of these themes can actually prove to be vital towards the final view one will get when finishing the novel. Mr Ken Kesey clearly showed three main ideas when reading this book. The first theme that can be derived from this novel is the role of women. Secondly, the battle between sanity vs insanity …show more content…

These mental patients were all declared insane by the society of that time. Many of these motives for them being declared “insane” would not be acceptable nowadays. Rather yet, one might find that Nurse Ratched herself was more prone to be insane than some of these patients. On one of the pages in the book, a technician proposes the idea that Taber, a patient, should go over to the building and receive more electro shocks just so the hospital doesn’t waste sleep inducing drug he was on. Nurse Ratched replies by saying, “I think that is an excellent suggestion. Maybe after that take him to the electroencephalograph and check his head, we may find evidence for brain work.” Through this statement one might be sickened through what they’ve just read. This educated woman agrees to the idea that a mental patient should receive more electroshock therapies and then be forced to have his head checked for a lobotomy. One can clearly see that this woman does not care for her patients. She enjoys seeing them suffer and go through life threatening surgeries. Litcharts.com published this relevant examanation and said, “In order to determine the difference between sanity and insanity, for instance, some agent of power (society, the psych ward, Nurse Ratched) must first define the boundaries of what each word means. After this definition is decided upon, it can be used to control and categorize people to make them easier to control. The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to "treat" and "rehabilitate" them. But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more punitive and controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratched’s desk to record and reward the men

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