Similarities Between The Bell Jar And One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Superior Essays
Gender War Through Writing
It is obvious that people have the tendency to favor the gender that they identify with over the other, and often put the two against each other. The common assumption is that children usually portray this bias behavior, and as they get older, they grow out of it. Although this is the stereotypical belief, this behavior does not always die off with childhood, instead sticking with some throughout their entire adulthood, leaving those to choose to act upon it, some through writing. The Bell Jar and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are two novels written with the theme of madness. The Bell Jar is written by Sylvia Plath, a woman with a female protagonist. Ken Kesey, a man, wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with
…show more content…
He portrays her as an evil manipulator, with only bad intentions for her patients. This is obvious for the readers and the patients who consist of all men. The narrator, Bromden, seems to have the best understanding of her, and her intentions, describing them saying, “What she dreams of there in the center of those wires is a world of precision efficiency and tidiness like a pocket watch with a glass back, a place where the schedule is unbreakable and all the patients who aren’t Outside, obedient under her beam, are wheelchair Chronics with catheter tubes run direct from every pant leg to the sewer under the floor,” (29). Bromden explains them as if her job wasn’t to care for the patients in the ward, but instead assert power of them. Her main method to gain this power is through manipulation, which tends to break down the patients of the ward. They live in constant fear of her, yet they realize what she is doing to them. One of the patients describes his personal experience to the protagonist, McMurphy, saying, “‘No. She doesn’t need to accuse. She has a genius for insinuation. Did you ever hear her, in the course of our discussion today, ever once hear her accuse me of anything? Yet it seems I have been accused of a multitude of things, of jealousy and paranoia, of not being man enough to satisfy my wife, of having relations with male friends of mine, of holding my cigarette in an affected manner, even- it seems to me- accused of having nothing between my legs but a patch of hair- and soft and downy and blond hair at that! Ball-cutter? Oh, you underestimate her!’” (64). Even though he only includes one main female character in his novel, Kesey still antagonizes women through his writing, describing them as manipulative and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Aides speak to him in a controlling manner and "he don't just submit with a weak little yes." Over time his attitude isn't appreciated and is noted by the woman in charge ,Nurse Ratched, so she makes it her mission to break down this man no matter what it takes. McMurphy being the gambling man he was happily took on the challenge of trying to break Nurse Ratched. He even makes up a bet with all of the patients wagering that "he can get the best of that woman. " This begins a very long battle of trying to see who would break first but it starts a lot of progress with the development of the patients because they all begin to follow McMurphy's lead and this is where we begin to see him as a Christ figure.…

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is the story of a young, vivacious college student who struggles with her everyday college life and her successes. It leads her to over-work her mind and have a nervous breakdown. The novel is a journey through the mind of the young college girl, Esther Greenwood, and her slow descent into insanity. It is an intriguing insight at how the mind works, or in Esther’s case, turns against her. Esther is a young college student who has had much success is her life.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    This critical essay is comprised of a collection of several critiques, all of which discuss the themes, structure, and explore different critical approaches to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. More specific analysis of particular characters is also included, as well as discussion of the influences Kesey experienced while composing the novel, and the effectiveness of the moral conflicts presented. A collection of varying analyses and approaches aids in substantiating whether the novel is a classic, as they present diverse perspectives. Discussion of Kesey himself, and how his experiences influence the message and style utilized also effect whether this novel can accurately be considered a classic by Sainte-Beuve’s definition.…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, is a brilliantly written novel that shows his view of the world. Kesey uses a quiet and overlooked upon character named Chief Bromden, to show his point of view of the ward. The ward is ran by a Matriarchy. A Matriarchy is something that is ruled or ran by women. As you know, the book was published in the 60’s, and men and women had to strongly different views of political power.…

    • 1702 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Not Far From Strange There is really something in common on the book “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand and “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia plath. They both practice literature and writing. “Cyrano de Bergerac” is about a nobleman (cyrano) serving as a soldier in the french army. He has many talents within him poetry, musician and a remarkable duelist. He has an extremely large nose which prevents him from expressing his love to his cousin Roxanne.…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ken Kesey was born on September 17, 1935 in La Junta California, was raised in Springfield, Oregon.. He also was seen as an important wrestler at the University of Oregon and after he graduated he received the fred lowe scholarship from the University as well. With it he received an literary education from a graduate program at Stanford . In the 1960s, Kesey had worked in a psychiatric hospital ward as a janitor and had also participated in a experiment with the army testing the effects of mind altering drugs and wrote down the effects and experiences . Both of those exposures led to the writing of the book One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and the book after Sometimes a Great Notion.…

    • 2043 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo ’s Nest follows a psychiatric hospital and the arrival of a new, boisterous patient named Randle Patrick McMurphy. The story is told from the point of view of Chief Bromden, a very tall, schizophrenic man who has been at the ward for ten years. Bromden and the rest of the patients, along with the staff at the ward, feel emasculated by the head nurse, Nurse Ratched.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Everyone, including herself, believes that she is the top of the ward and that everyone needs her to be there to help with decisions and problems, but in reality she is just bringing everyone else down and she is not needed. Nurse Ratched and the power she craves over the men in the ward…

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Depicted by Kesey is the substantial impact outward perceptions have on the foundation of one’s identity. As an individual succumbs to these labels, they are further drawn in, thus confirming their outward identity. Chief Bromden did not choose to act deaf and dumb, but rather fell victim to the cagey ideal crafted for him by others. It wasn’t until he had met McMurphy that he regained the strength to break the mould, and begin reshaping the way he perceived himself and was perceived by…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Sylvia Plath’s novel, ‘The Bell Jar’, scrutinises how both women, the unnamed narrator and Esther, become mentally unstable. Both protagonists exploit their real life situations in their story and novel to emphasise how being a woman living in a patriarchal society has caused mental breakdowns. Moreover, they make attempts to explore and understand their suffering of depression and the possible ways to overcome it. The short story is a reflection of personal experience in which Gilman identifies herself with the unnamed character.…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    In consequence, the novel also cautions that if men were to allow females to remain in positions of power, they would become weak and inferior like women supposedly are. The aforementioned message is in reality harmfully misleading and chauvinistic. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ultimately promotes a misogynistic perspective on the roles of genders in society, and it is necessary to contemplate and discuss the stereotypes, female characters, and climax of Kesey’s novel to understand its undeniable implications. Why did Kesey write this novel? During the 1950s women were regarded as housewives while men were seen as economic providers for the…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having an altered perception of the world, Ken Kesey created the captivating novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In his novel Kesey has constructed a world within a psychiatric ward, which becomes a microcosm of society. In this world the assumed deaf and dumb Chief Bromden, and other timid patients are heavily controlled by Nurse Ratched, an authority apart of the powerful and dehumanising combine. Through figurative language, foreshadowing and motifs readers are warned about the influence of societal expectations can have, particularly on a person’s power, sexuality and individuality, and thus Kesey ultimately leads us to question what it means to be human and an accepted member of society. Through the unreliable and delusional narration of Chief, who believes his experience on the ward was ‘the truth even if it didn’t happen’, Kesey allows us to see how societal expectations may affect a person’s…

    • 1044 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She tears down the patients and convinces them that something is wrong with them instead of helping them overcome their issues. Most patients on the ward can leave voluntarily, but the Nurse Ratched inflicts so much self doubt…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The survival of the human race does not depend on women nurturing their children and men providing for their families. Despite this, people seem adamant on keeping the old gender stereotypes, but taking a new twist on them for their own benefit. Some evidence for this can be found in the dialogue of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Some characters are adamant in their old fashioned beliefs in the roles of the genders, but others try fervently to break out of the chains binding them from their gender.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Awakening and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, the main female characters, Edna and Jane, represent the difference in gender, suggesting females are overpowered…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays