One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Literary Analysis

Freedom can be obtained through the defiance of society’s expectations to find a sense of individuality. Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is a novel originally published in 1962, which centres on the lives of patients in a psychiatric hospital. Symbolism, one of the many techniques, was incorporated into the novel, to convey the main ideas of freedom, and society versus individual. Motifs and symbols are vaguely different, in a sense that motifs are symbols unique to the novel, whereas symbols are universal; however motifs can be considered as symbols as it also represents the ideas of Kesey’s novel. Kesey’s portrayal of the idea of freedom through the characters’ beliefs of their personal situation shows the reader the†¦show more content†¦The cuckoo’s nest in this case symbolises the ward, and McMurphy and Bromden are the men liberating themselves as they â€Å"flew over†. Although both men â€Å"flew over the cuckoo’s nest†, their pathways were different; Bromden escaped the ward alive, while McMurphy escaped the Combine’s possession. The symbolisation of the nest shows how freedom can have various meanings for different individuals. In the psychiatric ward, laughter is uncommon between the patients, so when McMurphy arrives and laughs despite â€Å"nothing funny going on†(11), the men are â€Å"stunned dumb by him† (11). McMurphy’s laughter is â€Å"free and loud† (11), and before his arrival â€Å"nobody ever dared to let loose and laugh† (13). Laughter symbolises freedom as it allows the men to express themselves, regardless of their imprisonment of the ward. ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ conveys the idea of society versus individual by setting the story in a psychiatric ward, where the â€Å"Combine† (8) represents society, and the individuals are the patients. Prior to the arrival of McMurphy, the other men were oblivious to their unjust treatment, and their ability to rebel against Big Nurse Ratched. Society versus individual as a main idea represents society’s pressure on the patients to conform to norms and the consequences of not doing so. The mechanised society, which Bromden refers to as the Combine, is a motif that symbolises the suppression of individuality to obtainShow MoreRelatedOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Literary Analysis972 Words   |  4 PagesOne Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel written by American author Ken Kesey, and set inside a psychiatric hospital. The story is narrated by ‘Chief’ Bromden, and unravels the events leading to McMurphy’s rebellion against Nurse Ratched in order to achieve his long-term goal of ‘freeing’ the inmates. Throughout the novel, Kesey introduces a number of ideas to the reader such as the oppressive nature of authority and society’s inability to accept difference. 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Character Analysis: Chief Bromden - The narrator/patient of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Chief Bromden is the son of the chief of the Columbia Indians and a white woman. Also, He suffers from paranoia and hallucinations, and received several electroshock treatments for ten years. In the novel, ChiefRead MoreSanity Like One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest1905 Words   |  8 Pages1960’s to the late 1970’s, the concept and interest of mental illness has been studied and discussed in countless different mediums ranging from films that tackled issues of sanity like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to novels that dealt with much darker issues such as schizophrenia in Flora Schreiber’s Sybil. One of the most controversial and talked about productions of the 20th century is Peter Shaffer’s 1974 Tony winning play, Equus, which recounts Dr. Martin Dysart’s encounter and treatment of