Examples Of Marxism In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

The World Sucks Okay?! Karl Marx introduced the theory of Marxism in the late 19th century and his ideas are still discussed in contemporary society. Ken Kesey created the world within the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in the 1960s. The psychiatric ward that Kesey’s characters reside in are a metaphor for class structure and society that existed in the 19th, 20th, and even the 20th century. He shows the negative effects of class structure in the world through his characters. The narrator, Chief Bromden, shows the readers the class structures that exist within the ward. Chief tells the readers about the Chronics, the Acutes, and the staff and shows which socioeconomic class system they represent(18). The Chronics represent the lowest …show more content…
The staff meeting that takes places sends a message to the patients that Nurse Ratched and the rest of the staff has a firm grasp on them. Although McMurphy is an Acute, he does not have the chance to leave when he feels ready. Due to his status of being committed, McMurphy’s freedom is based on whether or not Nurse Ratched feels he is ready. During this part of the novel, it becomes apparent to McMurphy and the rest of the staff that their humorous disobedience was not going to do enough in order to guarantee freedom for any of them. By the end of the novel, McMurphy has somewhat accepted his defeat and this is symbolized with his lobotomy. The rest of the patients in the ward begin to have improving mental health, while McMurphy has a weakened sense of rebellion. During McMurphy’s rebellious deterioration, Nurse Ratched only seems to grow stronger by dividing the ward and turning patients against each other by posting their financial status and attacking McMurphy. By attacking the leader of the rebellion, Nurse Ratched is able to become more powerful and gain more control over the patients. Bromden even begins to dislike McMurphy, who he once viewed in a positive light and his tone goes back to being as negative as it was at the beginning of the novel. After receiving electroshock therapy and being lobotomized, it seems that all hope may be lost for the ward, especially McMurphy. Bromden’s decision to suffocate him allowed McMurphy to still keep a small amount of rebellion. The fate of McMurphy may have readers believe that the Revolution failed and that the patients were destroyed by the oppressive state, but McMurphy’s martyr status helped other patients in the ward, especially the narrator, Chief Bromden. His escape from the hospital represents his escape from the oppression and a