When maintaining order there must be oppression; people will have no freedom without a little chaos. Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is about the struggle between order and chaos. It is always the strong ones who eat the weak. In the novel the mental institution is described as a big machine. Throughout the novel the nurse and her assistants operate the machine to keep it running efficiently. Coincidently, the patients cause problems for the machine, particularly McMurphy who wants to tear it apart, but fails dreadfully. The machine operates by humiliation and oppression and eventually wins in the end by killing people. Kesey ultimately proves that institutions that run on fear happen to be more powerful than the individual, through
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Everyone ended with what they started. Even though McMurphy was in control, the men were still considered as players showing that they are still a part of the game. As a result, it caused the men to smile and boost their self-esteem. McMurphy’s strategies were different than the Nurse, and this caused their rivalry. The chief mentions, “We must not let McMurphy get our hopes up any different, lure us into making some dumb play” (Kesey 101). Showing readers the threat Nurse Ratchet is towards the patients. The nurse gets the patients to turn back to her point of view, and playing seemed to be a dumb choice compared to her grand scheme. The article a chink in McMurphy’s Armour said “It is commonly believed that One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is an anti-establishment novel, but McMurphy's motives in defying the establishment, as epitomized by his attitude towards Miss Ratchet, may issue from his antagonism to female power. Some instances suggest that McMurphy's gender biased encounters with Nurse Ratchet and the inmates may be considered as part of the capitalist patriarchal ideology he is believed to oppose.” (Pashaee, Roshanak) In this passage, Roshanak talks about how Murphy’s rebellious ways are what caused more destruction. Nurse Ratchet sees someone who wants to tear everything down, so she automatically becomes an enemy. She acts on McMurphy’s “bad” behaviour causing more death and …show more content…
Rather than cleansing himself in water, he was purified by entering the ward because he was stripped of his differences in the world and formed friendships with the patients that were deemed insane as he was. Around the second chapter, readers notice that Ellis is nailed to the wall in “ the same shape, arms out, palms cupped with the same horror on his face – in the same condition when he last got out the “shock shop” (Kesey 16). This imagery foreshadows McMurphy also dying in a similar manner. This implied that both Ellis, and soon McMurphy will die. The Institute could not have handled McMurphy; that is why they had to treat him, by giving him a
Everyone ended with what they started. Even though McMurphy was in control, the men were still considered as players showing that they are still a part of the game. As a result, it caused the men to smile and boost their self-esteem. McMurphy’s strategies were different than the Nurse, and this caused their rivalry. The chief mentions, “We must not let McMurphy get our hopes up any different, lure us into making some dumb play” (Kesey 101). Showing readers the threat Nurse Ratchet is towards the patients. The nurse gets the patients to turn back to her point of view, and playing seemed to be a dumb choice compared to her grand scheme. The article a chink in McMurphy’s Armour said “It is commonly believed that One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is an anti-establishment novel, but McMurphy's motives in defying the establishment, as epitomized by his attitude towards Miss Ratchet, may issue from his antagonism to female power. Some instances suggest that McMurphy's gender biased encounters with Nurse Ratchet and the inmates may be considered as part of the capitalist patriarchal ideology he is believed to oppose.” (Pashaee, Roshanak) In this passage, Roshanak talks about how Murphy’s rebellious ways are what caused more destruction. Nurse Ratchet sees someone who wants to tear everything down, so she automatically becomes an enemy. She acts on McMurphy’s “bad” behaviour causing more death and …show more content…
Rather than cleansing himself in water, he was purified by entering the ward because he was stripped of his differences in the world and formed friendships with the patients that were deemed insane as he was. Around the second chapter, readers notice that Ellis is nailed to the wall in “ the same shape, arms out, palms cupped with the same horror on his face – in the same condition when he last got out the “shock shop” (Kesey 16). This imagery foreshadows McMurphy also dying in a similar manner. This implied that both Ellis, and soon McMurphy will die. The Institute could not have handled McMurphy; that is why they had to treat him, by giving him a