Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Nurse Ratched:

I hated Nurse Ratched before and I sure do now. Her sneaky little schemes to turn the patients on each other make’s me furious. I’m glad McMurphy broke down the window; it’ll remind the patients that her power is limited and changeable. Although, she made McMurphy stronger than ever, even with the countless electroshock treatments. Proving his desire to remain strong in the face of tyranny. “And he'd swell up, aware that every one of those faces on Disturbed had turned toward him and was waiting, and he'd tell the nurse he regretted that he had but one life to give for his country and she could kiss his rosy red ass before he'd give up the goddam ship. Yeh!” (Kesey, 187) I agree to some extent, that without her there wouldn’t be a book, she makes the book exciting even if her methods are all but pure. Her character stands as a symbol of the oppression woman received during that time and in a way, the society in which these characters live are flipped. While on the outside woman have no rights, in the ward they are the all mighty, all knowing, powerful, controllable force. So yah, we need Nurse Ratched but I still hate her. During the course of the short novel she destroyed three men, two of which died and the other was lobotomised. “What worries me, Billy," she said - I could hear the change in her voice - "is how your mother is going to take this.” (Kesey, 231) I can’t say I enjoyed Nurse Ratched being strangled by McMurphy, but I do think she deserved it. Although, it was the end to the battle since the Nurse had won the war. By infuriating McMurphy to that point and her ability to remain calm throughout it all, she proved that McMurphy’s action didn’t faze her. She proved that rebelling is feeblish and by lobot...

... middle of paper ...

...others. We can choose to do good and help others or we can wrongfully judge them. Relevantly, reading one flew over the cuckoo’s nest is definitely a good choice. It emphasises on the importance of friendship and trust and how we can overcome the evils of society as a whole.

THEMES:

1. False diagnosis of insanity

2. Woman as emasculators/ castrators

3. Society’s destruction of natural impulses

4. Importance of expressing sexuality

5. Power through corruption

LEADERSHIP IN INQUIRY:

1. The men of the ward are limited with free will and choice. What does the book suggest is the consequence of confining men for years?

Works Cited

Unknown, Unknown Unknown. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Goodreads. Unknown, 8 June 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Vitkus, Daniel J., and ﺩﺍﻧﻴﺎﻝ שּׁﻴﺘﻜﺲ. "Unknown." JSTOR. Unknown, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.