In On the Road, Jack Kerouac places Sal Paradise, the narrator, to the side so that the narrative focuses on Dean Moriarty. It is only through the use of this narrative structure that makes it evident to the reader how much the narrator idealizes the hero. Through a subjective narration, it becomes apparent that Sal believes Dean knows how life is supposed to be lived. Moreover, this narrative framework allows the juxtaposition between the narrator and the hero to be illuminated thus allowing the reader to fully visualize how much the narrator admires and glamorizes masculinity. Evidently, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest makes use of the same narratology but has his narrator, Chief Bromden, achieve the goals that Sal ultimately …show more content…
Although Sal in On the Road is inevitably central to the novel, in a unique shift, Dean is the novel’s principal protagonist. One of the most significant scenes in the book is when Sal retells the conversation that occurs between Dean and Corso. Sal feigns being asleep so that he spends “the whole night listening to them like a man watching the mechanism of a watch,” thus literally and metaphorically positioning himself as someone who is present physically but is more interested in the story of another person (Kerouac 50). Moreover, it is significant that it is Dean, and not anyone else, who realizes that Sal has “been awake all this time” because it showcases the intimate emotional relationship between the two men (Kerouac 50). It is clear that Sal believes there to be a bond between the two and it is this bond that contributes to his admiration for Dean. This scene also functions as a symbolic representation of how Sal believes Dean understands him in a way that no other person does. In fact, Sal establishes himself as a follower by stating, “I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved” (Kerouac CITE). His interest in Dean’s madness is central to the …show more content…
He evidently models the narrating framework established by Kerouac. Chief Bromden, like Sal, relies on performance and pretends to be “deaf and dumb,” thus inadvertently granting him access to all of the details that take place in the ward (Kesey 3). Yet, it is his sole interest in McMurphy that dictates his story. Additionally, the reader is also presented with a similar symbolic moment where the narrator establishes an emotional connection to the hero. When the Chief notes how McMurphy, the heroic figure of the novel, is “not fooled for one minute by [his] deaf-and-dumb act” he is surprised because it is the first time anyone has paid him any attention (Kesey CITE). Considering that this is the first time the two meet, it is also apparent to the reader that the Chief regards McMurphy as different from everyone else for his ability to see through the performance and thus, automatically attributes a heroic quality to him. Although the two novels utilize a similar narrating structure, they differ in the way the narrators idolize the
Bromden, the narrator, always vies himself as small, even though he’s actually a large person. To him, McMurphy is big, which he says metaphorically. In the passage, McMurphy makes the patients big: “It started slow and pumped itself full, swelling the men bigger and bigger. I watched, part of them, laughing with them- and somehow not with them. I was off the boat, blown up off the water and skating the wind with those black birds, high above myself…” (Kesey 249-250). People who are small are weak and powerless, like Bromden and the patient’s, scared and willing to submit to power. Meanwhile, people who are big, like McMurphy, are confident and not afraid. McMurphy made the men “bigger”, more powerful, just by laughing and giving them confidence. All in all, the metaphor and contrast between being big and small reveal how McMurphy made them stronger and more confident just by being
Chief Bromden’s character development is extremely limited in the movie adaptation, because director Milos Forman took out one of the most crucial details of the novel: Bromden’s first person narration. The movie lacked in any references to Bromden’s philosophy of society and had nothing about his back-story, an important aspect of what made him the person he was at the beginning of the movie. Of course, it would’ve been a pain to film an entire movie from one person’s point of view, much less include narrations and backgrounds. Overall, despite the film’s outstanding ability to match the novel’s original storyline, Ken Kesey does not depict Chief Bromden’s growth in a successful, accurate, and admirable way.
In my opinion the main theme of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is conformity. The patients at this mental institution, or at least the one in the Big Nurse’s ward, find themselves on a rough situation where not following standards costs them many privileges being taken away. The standards that the Combine sets are what makes the patients so afraid of a change and simply conform hopelessly to what they have since anything out of the ordinary would get them in trouble. Such conformity is what Mc Murphy can not stand and makes him bring life back to the ward by fighting Miss Ratched and creating a new environment for the patients. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest represents a rebellion against the conformity implied in today’s society.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest takes place in a mental institution in the Pacific Northwest. The narrator of the novel is Chief Bromden, also known as Chief Broom, a catatonic half-Indian man whom everybody thinks is deaf and dumb. He often suffers from hallucinations in which he feels that the room is filled with fog. The institution is dominated by Nurse Ratched (Big Nurse), a cold, precise woman with calculated gestures and a calm, mechanical manner. When the story begins, a new patient, Randall Patrick McMurphy, arrives at the ward. He is a self-professed 'gambling fool' who has just come from a work farm at Pendleton. He introduces himself to the other men on the ward, including Dale Harding, the president of the patient's council, and Billy Bibbit, a thirty-year old man who stutters and appears very young. Nurse Ratched immediately pegs McMurphy as a manipulator.
Within the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, two of the main themes are borders and marginalization. These themes are found within the various characters within this story, which lead to readers being able to clearly see the effects of this marginalization. Throughout the story, readers see a female-tyrant rule over those below her in a hierarchical setup. This leads to a clear separation of male and female characters. In this novel, the author is able to convey a sense of separation as well as slight misogyny with his use of borders and margins.
As medical advances are being made, it makes the treating of diseases easier and easier. Mental hospitals have changed the way the treat a patient’s illness considerably compared to the hospital described in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Cuckoos Nest There is much strength associated with both speech and silence. One can use either to their advantage in a power struggle. In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Randle Patrick McMurphy and Nurse Ratched employ the power of speech, and Chief Bromden uses the power of silence until the end of the novel when he gains the power of speech. These cases prove that the greatest power is not held in speech or silence alone, but in the effective combination of the two. Many people believe verbal communication to be a very powerful way of expressing themselves.
McMurphy’s dereliction of Nurse Ratched’s rules not only provides entertainment for Bromden and the other patients, but also acts as an impetus for their own rebellion.... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Fassler, Joe. A. "The Endless Depths of Moby-Dick Symbolism."
Viktus, Daniel J. "Madness and Misogyny in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest." Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics Madness and Civilization 14 (1994): 64-90. Web. 12 May 2017. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~leila/documents/VitkusonKesey.pdf
Sutherland, Janet R. "A Defense of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NEst." English Journal 61.1 (1972): 28-31. JSTOR. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. .
Fred Wright, Lauren's instructor for EN 132 (Life, Language, Literature), comments, "English 132 is an introduction to English studies, in which students learn about various areas in the discipline from linguistics to the study of popular culture. For the literature and literary criticism section of the course, students read a canonical work of literature and what scholars have said about the work over the years. This year, students read One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, a classic of American literature which dates from the 1960s counterculture. Popularized in a film version starring Jack Nicholson, which the class also watched in order to discuss film studies and adaptation, the novel became notable for its sympathetic portrayal of the mentally ill. For an essay about the novel, students were asked to choose a critical approach (such as feminist, formalist, psychological, and so forth) and interpret the novel using that approach, while also considering how their interpretation fit into the ongoing scholarly dialogue about the work. Lauren chose the challenge of applying a Marxist approach to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Not only did she learn about critical approaches and how to apply one to a text, she wrote an excellent essay, which will help other readers understand the text better. In fact, if John Clark Pratt or another editor ever want to update the 1996 Viking Critical Library edition of the novel, then he or she might want to include Lauren's essay in the next edition!"
In the book One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey the use of Christ imagery is overall effective. One of the first images was the fishing trip planned by McMurphy because only twelve people went and Jesus took twelve disciples with him on a fishing trip. Billy Bibbits turning on McMurphy near the end by admitting that he was involved in McMurphys plan was like Judas admitting he participated with Jesus. Towards the end of the story McMurphy is a martyr just like Jesus because the patients aren’t free until he dies. Those are a few examples of how Kesey uses Christ imagery in his book.
Chief Bromden, known as Chief Broom, is a long-term patient that serves in the psychiatric ward due to his schizophrenic condition. Because of his condition, he creates many hallucinations. For example, he believes that he can hear mechanical operations behind the walls of the psychiatric ward. In discussion of Chief Bromden, one controversial issue has been whether or not he is a heroic figure because of his hallucinations, failing to address the real events in the novel. On the other hand, many contend how Chief Bromden is a hero utilizes his surroundings and observations to overcome his psychosis. I believe that Ken Kesey portrays Chief Bromden as a figure who completes the hero’s journey because he overcomes his own psychosis and decides to express himself and live his own life.
Many social issues and problems are explored in Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Perhaps the most obvious complaint against society is the treatment of the individual. This problem of the individual versus the system is a very controversial topic that has provoked great questioning of the government and the methods used to treat people who are unable to conform to the government's standards.
An exceptionally tall, Native American, Chief Bromden, trapped in the Oregon psychiatric ward, suffers from the psychological condition of paranoid schizophrenia. This fictional character in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest struggles with extreme mental illness, but he also falls victim to the choking grasp of society, which worsens Bromden’s condition. Paranoid schizophrenia is a rare mental illness that leads to heavy delusions and hallucinations among other, less serious, symptoms. Through the love and compassion that Bromden’s inmate, Randle Patrick McMurphy, gives Chief Bromden, he is able to briefly overcome paranoid schizophrenia and escape the dehumanizing psychiatric ward that he is held prisoner in.