One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Essay Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey : Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an intriguing story written by Ken Kesey in 1956. It concerns the study of the institutional processes and functions of the minds of human beings. The narrator of the story is chief Bromden who is a patient in one of the wards in a mental asylum where the inmates were categorized as either chronic or acute. They were believed to be controlled by the ‘combine’ the management of strict personnel, headed by Nurse Ratched or the big nurse as branded by the narrator, the voice of this old woman was enough to keep the male inmates on line. Chief Bromden was pretending to be mute and deaf as a result he was allowed to sweep and mop any part of the floor including where the staff met, since the staff was certain that he could not hear or reveal whatever he saw. He therefore knew most of the secrets that nobody else knew but he lived under the fear of combine-a force that he thought controls the world by spying all what people do. He also thought that the management staff of asylum was part of combine. How the chiefs image of the ‘combine’ explains and describes the way men are controlled on the ward The chief associates ‘combine’ to Nurse Ratched and the entire management of the organization. The woman is in the age group of grand mothers but her personality instills fear in those living around her especially chief Bromden. She controlled everything from a small booth where she determined the fate of the inmates through her voice. She was strict on the enforcement of rules and regulations of the asylum and determines the characters to be punished or appreciated. Although she did not opt to harsh discipline her behavior was that of in-humanizing the inmates because those found in wrong were either sent to the disturbed ward or to the electroshock chamber, those whose bad behavior was persistent would end up at a lobotomy. According to chief’s understanding of the combine, men were controlled by denying them freedom of any kind, including that of movement, speech and thought. This is portrayed when Randle McMurphy came in, he was considered to be a trouble shooter who always undermined the regulations of the hospital by wandering across the hall, singing and argued with the big nurse. Randle McMurphy frequently got into trouble due to his speech advocacy which led to arguments with the management. The fact that the narrator is the only one who was allowed to get to any part of the premise or was at peace with the administration simply because he was considered to be mute and deaf showed that the rights of the inmates were fully grounded. The management knew that chief could not talk or hear what they said therefore they did not find any fault in him. Chief explains that the management assumed that all the inmates were in acute and chronic mental conditions as a result no one could respect their reasoning. Those who tried to prove their rights were put in the category of the chronics hence were entitled any action to discipline them and if proven to be stubborn like Randle McMurphy were lobotomized. The narrator thought that combine had all the powers to spy and control the inmate males. Ratched would ensure that she knows all that happened in the ward so as to reward or punish the troublemakers with subtle shame. The inmates are under some strict leadership of a lady who believes that she can only win them by making them have the hardest time possible as she still caters for her personal interests, for example, they were not offered the best medication or mental health services to help them undergo the rehabilitation process. They were punished by being suppressed to a restrained humiliation in group therapy together with other shaming activities or mind-numbing activities. The worst is that they were not allowed to argue with the authority thus some were punished innocently leading to them being institutionalized or live with the fear of whatever would happen to them. The fact that chief would get into any office and hear all what the leaders were saying made him also to fear or have a bad image of the combine. He heard all agendas of the management staff, including what they were planning on the inmates especially those who broke the rules like McMurphy. How McMurphy resist that control McMurphy was a transferee from a prison to asylum after he was unable to hold the harsh treatments of the police. The police perceived him as having mental problems which needed to be addressed in a mental health service so he was transferred to this organization. All through he made all the efforts to ensure that he always provoked Nurse Ratched by breaking her rules. For example, big nurse did not want the male inmates to have the freedom of moving around the asylum or talking but McMurphy did not follow any of these rules. He wandered around the halls without any other clothe apart from a towel around his waist and talked about anything. He did not believe in defeat or being stopped from doing something he has planned without attempting. For example, in one of the scenes he tries to lift a very heavy shower room control panel and when all his efforts goes in vain he appreciates himself by saying ‘but at least I tried’. This is what drives him as he strives to battle for his rights against the wishes of big nurse. The efforts of McMurphy to overcome the power of Nurse Ratched gave the other intimates the incentive to do things on their own instead of allowing the system of the administration of big nurse to take control of everything. He also had some responsibilities in the organization like running the card table, was the captain of the basketball team, organized a deep sea trip and others like influencing the other inmates to vote for their rights like that of watching scenes on television and trying to figure out the bad characters of their leader with the intention of creating a unpleasant image in the minds of his colleagues. This helped him to influence the other inmates to rebel the rules and regulations set by the administration. McMurphy even argues that he is not voluntarily committed to obey the rules or be forced by the leaders to obey them. The story also explains that he was detained together with the chief and Cheswick for fighting the orderlies who had informed him that the administration had all the power to decide when he can be released or not released. The three were offered the relevant punishment but McMurphy did not give up the struggle for his rights and that of the other inmates. After the electroconvulsive therapy he refaced his appearance and assured the other inmates that the process to subdue him had failed. To assure the management that he had not given up his fight for his rights, one of the nights against the regulations of the organization he sneaked into the station of the nurses and came back with two prostitutes into the ward. He bribed the watchman who allowed them to get in through the window. The inmate together with Billy who had been humiliated by big nurse because of his love for woman had a party with the girls. As McMurphy was escaping with his girl Billy refused and was caught by Ratched the following morning. Billy later killed himself when Ratched said that she would tell his mother. Being bitter of what Ratched had caused Mcmurphy choked her almost to death and injured her neck. She developed some complications with her voice thus she could no longer use it to line the male inmates. Although McMurphy did not end up well because he received a lobotomy from the mistress and later was smothered with a pillow to death by the chief at least he was able to win the oppression of Ratched hence eased the lives of the other inmates. Conclusion One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel which discusses the common processes which takes place in most of the organizations today. Most of the leaders are trying to adapt the authoritarian style of leadership without talking time to think of the consequences it is likely to have on the group being led. The subordinates and the others who are under the authority struggled hard to fight for their rights causing a disagreement or conflicts between the two bodies. Nurse Ratched in this novel was an authoritarian who was leading people with mental problems and denied them all the freedoms. To reciprocate, one of the inmates who did not have the patient of the others decided to break the system and as they struggled to fight for their stand- the leader and the inmate, Ratched was physically injured while the inmate received a lobotomy and lastly died. Bibliography Kesey K. 1962 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Twayne Publishers: Boston Read More