One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Counterculture Analysis

Change is possible: A demand for change in psychiatric institutions

Kesey’s novel, One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, touches upon an essential dilemma of misdiagnosis of patients and the need for change during the 1960s.
First and foremost, Kesey wanted to incorporate an imperative problem in society, the problem of misdiagnosing patients. During the 1950s and 60s, the population in psychiatric institutions was at an all time high. Professionals believed in cruel, painful, and inhumane treatment methods to cure a patient's’ insanity. The Lobotomy method, as Kesey explains as “chopping away part of the brain” (193) was a common method of treatment. Also, electroconvulsive therapy became a dominant practice. Some methods made the patients worse, …show more content…
So-called “rebels” wanted a change to this issue, but they were also associated with the counterculture. The counterculture was frowned upon because most were were highly involved with experimenting with new drugs. Drug usage, including LCD, became very popular in the early 1960s. If you were part of the counterculture you were considered different. During this time period, if one did not follow traditional beliefs, one was considered different. For example, in the novel, Harding’s sexuality preferences is just one example of being “different”. The other men in the ward have also been defined as crazy because they are different. McMurphy was trying to explain to the other patients Harding explains how society always bully a class of people, “it was the feeling that the great, deadly, pointing forefinger of society was pointing at me-and the great voice of million chanting, ‘Shame. Shame. Shame.’ It's society's way of dealing with someone different” (Kesey 308). Kesey wants readers to acknowledge that being homosexual, was considered out of social norms. People wanted to fit in, follow traditions and were very scared of any sort of change. It was not generally accepted to be different. People were not oblivious to the fact of misdiagnosis. However, nobody wanted to stand up and state their own beliefs and opinions. People like the feeling of tradition and did not like the feeling of …show more content…
But usually a couple of the flock gets spotted in the fracas, then it’s their turn. And a few more gets spots and gets pecked to death, and more and more. This accurately represents how society turns on people and they make people feel different” (Kesey 65).
The peckin’ party one example of no respect towards the patients. Nurse Ratchet makes fun of the mentally ill and always calls one person out proven perfectly through the bullying of Harding.
During John F. Kennedy’s presidency, many movements and acts were put into place to reduce mental institutions and create private hospitals, and to use more humane way of treatments. Employment of controlling staff, like Nurse Ratchet, decreased. A dramatic change occurred.
Kesey’s overall message shows the time-consuming task of change is possible. Throughout the whole novel, McMurphy was the only individual that wanted change. It was obvious that change was needed; but all the patients was too scared to stand up. This shows the perfect analogy of society during the 1960s. People were scared to stand up, and join the counterculture, because they were scared of change and tradition. They didn’t want the metaphorical finger, or peckin’ party, to be on

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Counterculture Analysis

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