one flew over the cuckoo's nes
Man wakes up. Man goes to work. Man comes home and eats the dinner that his wife made for him. Man goes to sleep. This has been the traditional role of a man for hundreds of years, yet in the 1960's that role was being challenged by a strong feminist movement. Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the 1960's and in it he addressed both the issues of feminism and the role of a man. Through the use of Harding's fingers, Candy on the fishing trip, and Nurse Ratched, Kesey used the weaknesses of femininity to reinforce the traditional role of men. Harding's feminine fingers show his weakness in a way that reinforces the strength of his manhood. His fingers are described as "two beautiful ballet women in white" (pg. 158) . They seem out of place on a man , and their length, and ivory hue are quite feminine. Each time that Harding is shown to have weakness, his hands are focused upon. Either he "[has] a tough time holding his hands still" ( pg. 55), or he "he traps them between his knees" ( pg. 158) in an attempt to hide them. In this way, their femininity is directly linked to his weakness. However, at times of strength and "machismo" his fingers are not mentioned whatsoever, as exemplif
ied by the fishing trip, and the party on the ward. When not confronted by his own femininity, Harding does what a man is "supposed" to do. He takes charge at the party by coming up with a plan to get McMurphy out, and on the fishing trip he helps reel in one of the biggest fish. Once the his feminine fingers are overcome, his masculinity is allowed to flourish, and he is allowed to revert back to the traditional role of leader. Candy's feminine weakness allows the men on the fishing trip to reinforce their roles as men. Candy convincingly plays the role of a typical "damsel in distress" on numerous occasions, and at each interval, one of the men on the fishing trip is given an opportunity to be a man. "The wind had turned cold and mean" ( pg. 205), and Candy was getting uncomfortable. Billy Bibbit plays the hero and gives her his green coat. Once on the fishing boat, Candy has trouble reeling in her fish by herself, and so, a man comes to her rescue again. Despite the fact that she is reeling in a fish, there is no doubting her femininity. "The T-shirt she had on [was] gone" and everybody saw it. At the time that she is revealed to be most feminine, she is also revealed to be weak. Lastly, once the weather gets dangerous, it is revealed that Candy needs a life jacket, and conveniently enough, there are a host of men to prove their honor and
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 909
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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