Exiled Without Exception

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Recommended: Discuss how ken kesey uses theme and symbolism in his novel, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest

The 1950’s represented a time of conformity in the United States with new suburbs containing thousands of identical houses and national television that everyone watched together. In films, viewers were bluntly informed of the ways a family should be run. It was rare to see diversion from the expectations of universal solidarity that hung over American life. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey depicts America’s 1950’s culture as a conformist, intolerant and mechanizing force. Kesey’s 1950’s society can banish citizens who have only the smallest differences to the status quo. For example, Harding is a secret homosexual who checks himself into the mental hospital because he knew that society would disapprove of his sexual orientation. Billy Bibbit checks himself into the mental ward because he wants to hide his stutter from the public. Sefelt is an appearance-conscious epileptic who checks himself into the mental hospital to hide, because he must either live with seizures or take an anti-convulsant medicine that makes his gums decay. The patients Harding, Billy and Sefelt which Ken Kesey describes in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have no real problems, yet hide in a mental hospital because society shames them for their traits.
Harding is an educated, middle-aged man who, under the invisible pressure of society, admits himself into the mental hospital because of his homosexuality. For a night, McMurphy lets the mental ward celebrate with hookers, alcohol and drugs. The ward’s patients receive the party well after so many years of dull confinement and rigorous schedules. During the celebration, the release of pent up emotions such as embarrassment and stress is accompanied by the relaxative effect of alcohol. During the fun...

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...al because his sexuality does not conform to the public’s beliefs. However, he’s not mentally ill and he doesn’t have problems, which is cruel because society is punishing new ideas. Billy Bibbit resides in the mental hospital not because he has a problem, but because he cannot stand the abuse of laughter from society due to his stuttering problem. Billy doesn’t have serious problems, yet he is forced to hide in a place meant for people with real mental issues. Sefelt is worried about his physical appearance, but has no way of being visually appealing. He hides in the hospital because of an issue like attractiveness, which shouldn’t be a problem in an advanced society. Ken Kesey shows society is a cruel force that tricks normal humans like Harding, Billy and Sefelt into believing they have problems, causing them to hide in a mental hospital despite having none.

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