Kyle Kufrin
Mr. Nicola
Honors CP10
September 27, 2015
Relating My Piece of Literature to Foster
Written about the daily lives of those inside a 1960s psychiatric ward, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest paints a picture in the reader’s head of the ongoing escape patients pursue from their reality inside their ward. Author Ken Kesey uses symbolism to portray psychiatric patient Randle McMurphy’s escape from misery. Religious imagery, coupled with foggy weather and dark humor, lay a groundwork for a driving story element: conflict.
In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy is successfully perceived as a heroic Christ figure. In the beginning of the novel McMurphy is baptized with a shower …show more content…
When Bromden’s mind starts to slip away from reality- stemming from his medication or the fear he has in the ward- he hallucinates. In these hallucinations fog drifts into the ward. He imagines fog machines in the vents and that they are controlled by the staff. Bromden sees the fog as a safe place that he can hide in and escape the evil doings that take place in the ward. "I know why, now: as bad as it is, you can slip back in it and feel safe. That's what McMurphy can't understand, us wanting to be safe. He keeps trying to drag us out of the fog, out in the open where we'd be easy to get at,” (Kesey 7). This is because of the never ending verbal and physical abuse that he receives when out in the open. The nurses see him as an easy target mostly due to his horrendous size compared to those around him. Because of his “deafness” the nurses say what they please about him without hesitating-making Bromden feel even lower than he already feels. When it comes to the entire ward, the fog represents the mood and mindset that Ratched puts on the patients with her strict, brutal routines and treatment. When McMurphy arrives, the patients see him as their leader of rebellion and he drags all the patients out of the fog. “One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest . . . goose swoops down and plucks you out,” (Kesey 272). McMurphy- the goose, swooped …show more content…
Laughter becomes a symbol and an active representation of the men’s freedom. As a Christ figure to the patients, Randall McMurphy is "sent" to heal the patients of the asylum. He shows them that laughing is good, no matter what the situation. He is the healer who gives life to the otherwise hopeless patients of the asylum. This is clearly evident in when McMurphy leads the unauthorized fishing excursion. They laugh, whether it is at each other or at themselves and what they are doing. While on the boat, “everyone catches large fish and gets drunk,” (Kesey 221). This was the patients’ first time out of the ward to themselves and it was really a turning point for them as this was when they first started to re-find
Mr. Nicola
Honors CP10
September 27, 2015
Relating My Piece of Literature to Foster
Written about the daily lives of those inside a 1960s psychiatric ward, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest paints a picture in the reader’s head of the ongoing escape patients pursue from their reality inside their ward. Author Ken Kesey uses symbolism to portray psychiatric patient Randle McMurphy’s escape from misery. Religious imagery, coupled with foggy weather and dark humor, lay a groundwork for a driving story element: conflict.
In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy is successfully perceived as a heroic Christ figure. In the beginning of the novel McMurphy is baptized with a shower …show more content…
When Bromden’s mind starts to slip away from reality- stemming from his medication or the fear he has in the ward- he hallucinates. In these hallucinations fog drifts into the ward. He imagines fog machines in the vents and that they are controlled by the staff. Bromden sees the fog as a safe place that he can hide in and escape the evil doings that take place in the ward. "I know why, now: as bad as it is, you can slip back in it and feel safe. That's what McMurphy can't understand, us wanting to be safe. He keeps trying to drag us out of the fog, out in the open where we'd be easy to get at,” (Kesey 7). This is because of the never ending verbal and physical abuse that he receives when out in the open. The nurses see him as an easy target mostly due to his horrendous size compared to those around him. Because of his “deafness” the nurses say what they please about him without hesitating-making Bromden feel even lower than he already feels. When it comes to the entire ward, the fog represents the mood and mindset that Ratched puts on the patients with her strict, brutal routines and treatment. When McMurphy arrives, the patients see him as their leader of rebellion and he drags all the patients out of the fog. “One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest . . . goose swoops down and plucks you out,” (Kesey 272). McMurphy- the goose, swooped …show more content…
Laughter becomes a symbol and an active representation of the men’s freedom. As a Christ figure to the patients, Randall McMurphy is "sent" to heal the patients of the asylum. He shows them that laughing is good, no matter what the situation. He is the healer who gives life to the otherwise hopeless patients of the asylum. This is clearly evident in when McMurphy leads the unauthorized fishing excursion. They laugh, whether it is at each other or at themselves and what they are doing. While on the boat, “everyone catches large fish and gets drunk,” (Kesey 221). This was the patients’ first time out of the ward to themselves and it was really a turning point for them as this was when they first started to re-find