One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Research Paper

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Knowledge is the most powerful instrument in this world, but what happens when knowledge begins to be withheld from the future of society? Every child or teen in school right now is the future, everything they learn will eventually go back into society. Youth are the future, and they need as much information as possible in order to keep society running. Keeping this knowledge from them, for example, by banning books, will set them up for failure. An example of this is Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The lessons in this book have the potential to prepare today's youth for their future in ways that may not be expected. Although this novel may have objectionable material, the moral and historical lessons of the book heavily outweigh it. …show more content…
This can be seen when McMurphy refers to Nurse Ratched’s breasts as extraordinary (Kesey 66). While this scene in the book is rather vulgar, it was not added unreasonably. This scene references McMurphy’s power; specifically, how he can use gender to extend his power. This is beneficial to the readers because it educates them on how harmful sexism and sexualization can truly be. To follow up, another example of sexual content in this novel is the moment when McMurphy refers to Nurse Ratched as a “ball-cutter” (Kesey 67). This is in reference to how she treats her male patients. This is objectionable content, however, the use of these terms shows the readers how Nurse Ratched, just like McMurphy, uses gender as a means of power. As said by Leach and Murray, the usage of the term “ball-cutter” throughout the story is used to show how Nurse Ratched uses gender to control her patients (Page 28). This is done not only throughout the book, but in history as well. Reading about this is beneficial for the reader and allows them to begin thinking about the world and what they can do to change
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