Power In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, is a work of literature containing the theme of individuals mentally imprisoning themselves when in reality, they are not physically imprisoned. The novel is narrated by a resident patient, Chief Bromden, who pretends to be deaf and mute within the mental hospital. Bromden mentally believes he is weak in the face of authority, when in reality he is physically capable of rebelling. In the mental institution a new resident’s, Randle Patrick McMurphy, arrival begins to disrupt the balance previously placed upon the ward by the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. Through countless acts of uprising there is a constant struggle for power between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, while McMurphy slowly instills hope into

In the novel, Billy Claims in a group session, “And even when I pr-proposed, I flubbed it. I said ‘Huh-honey, will you muh-muh-muh-muh-muh…’ till the girl broke out l-laughing,”(page 136). When Billy proposed to a woman he wanted to marry, he stuttered and lost confidence in himself because he did not have his mother’s approval. It was stated previously in the text, that Billy’s mother, a close friend of Nurse Ratched, claimed she did not know of this girl Billy liked. Due to the control Billy’s mother has upon Billy’s life, he constantly seeks his mother’s approval in all aspects. Also in the novel, the narrator describes the relationship between Billy Bibbit and his mother through a detailed romantic scene. The novel states “…Billy lay beside her and put his head in her lap and let her tease at his ear with a dandelion fluff. Billy was talking about looking for a wife and going to college someday. His mother… laughed at such foolishness,”(page 294-295). Billy Bibbit’s inability to speak is caused due to his lack of confidence, which results from his overbearing mother. Her control on his life is evident when she dismisses any ideas of him getting married and possibly leaving her. In addition, Billy’s

McMurphy is a sane mane who chose to stay at the institution rather than live on a work farm, to serve the rest of his 6 month sentence. His past history of hostility, disobedience against authority and arrest for statutory rape is caused by his experiences in the army as well as his adolescent sexual encounters. In one specific scene in the novel, during the first group session for McMurphy, the doctor reads “McMurry, Randle Patrick. Distinguished Service Cross in Korea, for leading an escape from a communist prison camp. A dishonorable discharge, afterward, for insubordination…and one arrest-for rape,” (page 45). McMurphy’s history of disobedience can be caused by his deep rooted distrust for authority, stemming back from his imprisonment in Korea. This distrust authority manifests when he is at the mental hospital when he is attempting to overthrow the authority of the ward, whom is Nurse Ratched. Furthermore another past experience which manifests throughout McMurphy’s life is the incident when he first lost his virginity. McMurphy explains the event by stating, “The first girl ever drug me to bed wore that very same dress, I was about 10 and she was probably less… But this little whore - reached down and got her dress off the floor…” (Page 257). McMurphy’s relationships with young women and his treatment of women as if they are inferior are caused by his