The One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis

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Ken Kesey’s, “The one Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is truly an original novel that will keep you on your toes. This novel is told by a man, Chief Bromden, who acts mute and deaf inside a mental hospital. Bromden is a very reliable narrator because he is very observant. Chief then goes on to describes the main nurse, nurse Ratched, as a lady who uses her power to take advantage among the patients. Bromden then introduces the novel's protagonist -- McMurphy. McMurphy is a rebel who enters the hospital and tries to interfere with nurse ratched’s corrupted system. Yet the patients in the hospital and bromden try to tell McMurphy that Nurse Ratched can't be beat. Considering that Nurse Ratched has the power of authority and McMurphy only has his …show more content…
McMurphy was the ‘new kid’ so to speak at this hospital yet he was very loud and came off to be as a ‘troublemaker’ and a ‘rebel.’ Right off the bat Nurse Ratched knew what kind of man McMurphy was and so did all the other nurses. In fact Miss Flinn, a nurse in that establishment, was talking to Nurse Ratched about McMurphy and was asking her what they were going to do about him. Then that was when Nurse Ratched began to tell Miss Flinn that in “in some years back [they] had a man, Mr. Taber, on the ward, and he was an intolerable ward manipulator. For a while.” (Kesey 28) The fact that Nurse Ratched said “For a while”(Kesey 28) implies that she put a stop to Mr. Taber’s actions therefore this time would be no different. Wyzant resources supports my claim by stating: “McMurphy is a natural born con-artist and rebel who detests all authority. As a partying risk taker, his energy is spent circumventing the rules. He leads a revolt against the establishment with a recruited band of psychos. His battle cry, “Hey guys, let’s have a little more self-determination. What do you say?” He wins a few battles, but ultimately makes the final …show more content…
Kesey uses a control panel from the hospital as a source of symbolism. The control panel first came out in the novel when McMurphy bets money among the patients that he can lift the panel. The fact that a control panel is heavy and sturdy info trays in the novel that all her power can wear one down because it takes strength to lift something so heavy and it drains all your energy away. Especially if you try so hard and don't accomplish your goal. This shows the conflict between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy. Nurse Ratched has so much authority that overpowers McMurphy's abdominal will. When McMurphy could not lift the panel from the ground he turns to the patients and tells them, “But i tried, though.”(Kesey 125) symbolizing that even though he may not have been able to beat Nurse Ratched at her corrupted game he did not lose without trying. Kesey closed his novel with the control panel once again. Once Chief ends McMurphy's life Scanlon, a patient, lets Chief know that he is aware of what had happened because he was awake and he had heard everything. when chief was done scanlon tells Chief , “Was I you, chief, I'd breeze my tail outta here.”(Kesey 323) then chief replied, “Oh yeah, just like that. Just ask’em to unlock the door and let me out.” (Kesey 323) sarcastically but scanlon reminded him about the “very
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