One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Literary Analysis

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The judgment of the individual is what draws the line between truth and lie, reality and fantasy. Everyone views the world through their unique lenses, but for some people, those lenses and views define their personality. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest introduces characters such as Chief Bromden and Nurse Ratched who experience completely different worlds from the patients and staff who live and function in the same ward as them. Due to their uniquely distorted ideas of the world, these characters influence their versions of reality rather than real life. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the characters’ identities are shaped by the soundness of their worldviews, which directs the course of the power dynamics in the world. As Nurse Ratched …show more content…
11). The adage is a adage. Many of his statements cannot be taken literally due to his mind style, and when he states ideas about Nurse Ratched “[working] hinges in her elbows and fingers” or her “wheels and gears, cogs polished to a hard glitter” (Kesey 55, 7), his eyes are seeing metaphors as a way to cope with his mental condition rather than prosthetics or machine parts actually on her person. The greater he fears the Combine, the more twisted his visions of machinery become. After witnessing the chaos that McMurphy brought to the once-orderly hospital and seriously considering going on the outing, Bromden remembers more of his childhood, and “was kind of amazed that [he’d] remembered that. It was the first time in what seemed. like centuries” (121). His recollection of the childhood moment when he was ignored represents a major turning point, since he had never reminisced so coherently about an event from before the hospital. Along with recalling memories from before the terror of the hospital ward, Bromden also experiences less contorted perceptions of the machinery metaphor as his impression of the real world grows stronger. Eventually, he finds his worldview more stable and can exert his original physical strength and power once …show more content…
The more they believe in themselves and their personal truths, the more influence they exert on others. McMurphy’s arrival and antics throw Nurse Ratched’s system out of place to such a degree that he even convinces Turkle, one of her aides, to assist the patients. The power dynamics tilt as McMurphy finds a purpose and Nurse Ratched starts questioning hers. Chief Bromden’s physical strength remained the same throughout the novel, but he could only fully utilize it once he stopped perceiving himself as weak. The final winner of the power politics between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, between humanity and the Combine, and between Bromden and the machinery, ultimately was decided by whose world views and beliefs wavered the least. Works Cited for: Kesey, Ken. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Penguin Putnam, 1992. http://www.penguin.com/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin/penguin Krasny, Marianne E. “Identity.” Advancing Environmental Education Practice, Cornell University Press, 2020,
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