One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Not too many books take you into the world of mental illness. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey does. It is told through the eyes of a mental patient named Chief Bromden. He is a northwest Indian, who is disturbed with hallucinations about machines taking over the world he knows. The mental hospital is in Oregon; a Nurse Ratched, has machine like control of everyone and everything in the ward. The only hint of her humanity is the fact that she posseses very large breasts, which she keeps tucked away under her neat-as-a-pin white uniform. The Chief has been there the longer than anyone except for Ratched. He uses this to his advantage by making the other people in the ward think he is deaf and dumb.Life in the ward is quiet until a new patient is admitted. His name is Radall Patrick McMurphy and he is a redheaded brute who smells of sweat, work, dirt and dust. He starts in by disrupting everything familiar in the ward, the silence, the admitting showers, and the way the black boys bully the patients around. He quickly makes friends with everyone including the Chronics who are vegetable like patients. McMurphy is a gambling man who insist that he wanted to come to the ward for an easier life than the one he had at work
McMurphy uses all his inner powers to kill the Nurse's power over the patients. His main power is humor. Humor hasn't been used against Ratched because she doesn't understand it. McMurphy gives the patients strength by making them laugh and showing them a good time. Ratched can't fight against the humor because there really wasn't anything wrong about it. McMurphy didn't use force until he and Chief fought against the black boy. When they use some other power than humor Ratched could strike back. I think this story is a very good one. The character McMurphy is very charming, smart, funny and imaginative. He brings the ward and the book to life with his ability to undermine the rules and regulations of the hospital. He brings the patients hope that they may have something to look forward to when they wake-up in the morning. He does what the other patients want to do, but are too afraid. They know they will get punished if they try, but McMurphy has a sly way of doing something without another knowing that what he really is doing is something totally different. For instance, he is singing in the shower, "Oh, your parents don't like me, they say I'm too poo-or; they say I'm not worthy to enter your door." He does this to one, lift the spirits of the patients, and two, to unravel Ratched without her knowing. On the trip away from Ratched the patients grow stronger and more capable, but the Chief notices McMur
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Approximate Word count = 958
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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