One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Essay

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Ken Kesey depicts the women in the book as overpowering. During one of the Group Meetings, McMurphy witnesses Nurse Ratched encouraging the men to tear into Harding and his sexual problems, which leads McMurphy to say, “‘No, that nurse ain’t some kinda monster chicken, buddy, what she is is a ball cutter.people who try to make you weak so they can get you to toe the line, follow their rules, live like they want you to’” (Kesey 60). Describing Nurse Ratched as a “ball cutter” emphasizes her dominating behavior, and gives it a negative connotation, where she also specifically targets men, hence the use of the word “ball” in the name. McMurphy defines a ball cutter as someone who tries to “make you weak so they can get you to toe the line”, which makes Nurse Ratched look emasculating, stealing power from others to ensure they conform to her rules and “live like they want you to”. …show more content…
Bromden’s father used to be able to stand up on his own, which is why he had the ability to “fight it for a while”. However, Bromden’s mother was the one who “made him too little to fight anymore”, showing how her ability to dominate men is so overwhelmingly powerful that it makes them weak and helpless, to the point where his father even “gave up.” The fact that Bromden’s mother is the one that belittles her husband in the scene makes her character extremely overpowering, especially when she is referred to as the reason why his father gives up on

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