Literature is often said to belong to one of four genres: romance, tragedy, comedy, and satire/irony. However, in some cases, a piece of literature can be argued to be placed in more than one genre. A prime example of this is the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. The novel takes readers behind the scenes of what life in a totalitarian-like mental hospital is like through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a schizophrenic Native American man who is perceived to be deaf and mute. Chief Bromden describes everything that he witnesses from the way that the staff treats the patients to other metaphorical aspects of the hospital that are not actually present. Although this novel shows aspects of multiple genres, the genre that it represents
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McMurphy is the new patient on the ward who was transferred from a prison camp. The second that McMurphy enters the ward, everyone feels a change in the atmosphere. McMurphy’s loud and rebellious personality is different to the dull and worn down personalities of the other patients, and he soon becomes an inspiration to help them regain their voices against the Combine. These actions upset Nurse Ratched, the head of the Combine. Therefore by the conclusion of the novel, she has McMurphy lobotomized as punishment for his actions. “We stood at the foot of the gurney, reading the chart, then looked up to the other end at the head dented into the pillow, a swirl of red hair over a face milk-white except for the heavy purple bruises around the eyes” (Kesey 321). A lobotomy is a surgery that was performed in the 1950’s where the surgeon cuts out a portion of the patient’s brain. This was believed to cure mentally ill patients of their illness, but instead, it only worsens their condition. As a result of the lobotomy, McMurphy has officially become a Chronic …show more content…
Throughout the novel, readers can see how badly the patients are being treated by the hospital staff. One key scene from the novel where this is displayed is when McMurphy receives EST. This scene occurs during the aftermath of a fight between McMurphy and Chief Bromden versus some of the hospital workers. The fight results in Nurse Ratched deciding to send both of them up to the Disturbed ward to sort out any issues that they have. “They roll him out on a gurney, still jerking, face frosted white” (283). EST, or electroshock therapy, was a medical treatment that was used in the 1950’s. Similar to the lobotomy, it is no longer a procedure that is used due to doctors coming to the conclusion that the treatment was doing more harm to the patient rather than healing. At the time period in which this novel was written, EST was still in practice. However, in this situation, EST is not being used to necessarily heal McMurphy. It is clear that Nurse Ratched displays a strong dislike towards McMurphy (due to his behavior since his arrival), so her treatments for him are going to be more harsh and can also be used as a punishment for his wrongdoings. The tragic aspect of this is how McMurphy is receiving EST simply as a punishment rather than it being a method of healing him. It is tragic how the staff often will use certain medical procedures as a
McMurphy is the new patient on the ward who was transferred from a prison camp. The second that McMurphy enters the ward, everyone feels a change in the atmosphere. McMurphy’s loud and rebellious personality is different to the dull and worn down personalities of the other patients, and he soon becomes an inspiration to help them regain their voices against the Combine. These actions upset Nurse Ratched, the head of the Combine. Therefore by the conclusion of the novel, she has McMurphy lobotomized as punishment for his actions. “We stood at the foot of the gurney, reading the chart, then looked up to the other end at the head dented into the pillow, a swirl of red hair over a face milk-white except for the heavy purple bruises around the eyes” (Kesey 321). A lobotomy is a surgery that was performed in the 1950’s where the surgeon cuts out a portion of the patient’s brain. This was believed to cure mentally ill patients of their illness, but instead, it only worsens their condition. As a result of the lobotomy, McMurphy has officially become a Chronic …show more content…
Throughout the novel, readers can see how badly the patients are being treated by the hospital staff. One key scene from the novel where this is displayed is when McMurphy receives EST. This scene occurs during the aftermath of a fight between McMurphy and Chief Bromden versus some of the hospital workers. The fight results in Nurse Ratched deciding to send both of them up to the Disturbed ward to sort out any issues that they have. “They roll him out on a gurney, still jerking, face frosted white” (283). EST, or electroshock therapy, was a medical treatment that was used in the 1950’s. Similar to the lobotomy, it is no longer a procedure that is used due to doctors coming to the conclusion that the treatment was doing more harm to the patient rather than healing. At the time period in which this novel was written, EST was still in practice. However, in this situation, EST is not being used to necessarily heal McMurphy. It is clear that Nurse Ratched displays a strong dislike towards McMurphy (due to his behavior since his arrival), so her treatments for him are going to be more harsh and can also be used as a punishment for his wrongdoings. The tragic aspect of this is how McMurphy is receiving EST simply as a punishment rather than it being a method of healing him. It is tragic how the staff often will use certain medical procedures as a