One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Psychiatry of Oregon. deep in the countryside. The novel is narrated by a half-Indian American known as "Chief", who is a seemingly deaf and mute patient with paranoid schizophrenia. By choosing Bromden as the narrator instead of the main character McMurphy, Kesey gives us a somewhat objective view, as it comes from only one point of view. The story comes from Kesey's own experiences working on the Graveyard shift as a nurse in a mental institution, where he witnessed the bureaucratic workings of the institution and examines the struggle for power and control between the two main characters Randal McMurphy who was admitted for testing after being transferred from the Pendleton work farm where he was sentenced to six months hard labor for statutory rape, but he fakes his mental illness to try to avoid d 'have to do harder work and thinks he can complete the rest of his sentence in the comfort of the mental institution, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the ward who is a mini society with rules , strict regulations and sanctions. Throughout the novel, Kesey deploys a range of literary techniques such as characterization and biblical imagery in order to explore themes of power and control. Before the novel even begins, Kesey subtly introduces the themes covered in the title which is taken from a well-known book. A nursery rhyme that says "One flew east, one flew west, and one flew over the cuckoo's nest" means that there are two distinct groups presented: the geese that fly east and those flying west. These groups go to pole...... middle of paper ...... and as the novel progresses it becomes clear that McMurphy is to be seen as a Christ figure giving us biblical imagery. This is suggested early in the novel in patient Ellis, who has received ECT and is now pinned to the wall with his arms outstretched, as if he is being crucified (which is how the Chief sees it). It is Ellis who tells Billy Bibbit, as the men are about to leave for the fishing trip, to be a "fisher of men", which is what Christ said to the fisherman Peter when he called Peter to be his disciple. The table used for EST care is in the shape of a cross, evoking the crucifixion of Christ. McMurphy takes twelve people with him on the journey, just as Christ had twelve disciples, and he chooses to carry out his mission to free the patients from their oppression in the ward, even at the expense of his own safety...

Essay / One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Psychiatry of Oregon. deep in the countryside. The novel is narrated by a half-Indian American known as "Chief", who is a seemingly deaf and mute patient with paranoid schizophrenia. By choosing Bromden as the narrator instead of the main character McMurphy, Kesey gives us a somewhat objective view, as it comes from only one point of view. The story comes from Kesey's own experiences working on the Graveyard shift as a nurse in a mental institution, where he witnessed the bureaucratic workings of the institution and examines the struggle for power and control between the two main characters Randal McMurphy who was admitted for testing after being transferred from the Pendleton work farm where he was sentenced to six months hard labor for statutory rape, but he fakes his mental illness to try to avoid d 'have to do harder work and thinks he can complete the rest of his sentence in the comfort of the mental institution, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the ward who is a mini society with rules , strict regulations and sanctions. Throughout the novel, Kesey deploys a range of literary techniques such as characterization and biblical imagery in order to explore themes of power and control. Before the novel even begins, Kesey subtly introduces the themes covered in the title which is taken from a well-known book. A nursery rhyme that says "One flew east, one flew west, and one flew over the cuckoo's nest" means that there are two distinct groups presented: the geese that fly east and those flying west. These groups go to pole...... middle of paper ...... and as the novel progresses it becomes clear that McMurphy is to be seen as a Christ figure giving us biblical imagery. This is suggested early in the novel in patient Ellis, who has received ECT and is now pinned to the wall with his arms outstretched, as if he is being crucified (which is how the Chief sees it). It is Ellis who tells Billy Bibbit, as the men are about to leave for the fishing trip, to be a "fisher of men", which is what Christ said to the fisherman Peter when he called Peter to be his disciple. The table used for EST care is in the shape of a cross, evoking the crucifixion of Christ. McMurphy takes twelve people with him on the journey, just as Christ had twelve disciples, and he chooses to carry out his mission to free the patients from their oppression in the ward, even at the expense of his own safety...

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