One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Critical Analysis

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest, is the narrative of a former psychiatric patient who looks back at the events leading up to his freedom, the novel shows the true rebellious nature of man against tyrannical rule, and man’s never ending yearning for freedom and inner peace. The narrator Chief Bromden goes through a long period of silence and oppression, until Randall McMurphy is committed to the ward, and brings about a change in attitudes from the oppressed patients. Bromden has been alone for a majority of his time in the ward, and does not see himself as a strong individual, although his large stature and overarching strength over all other patients. Chief Bromden does not wish to ever stand up for himself against Nurse†¦show more content†¦Freud also listed the following results from his studies, dreams can have multiple layers of meaning, nearly all dreams are wish-fulfilling, and all dreams have a unifying motive that accounts for all random i mages and events. Freud concluded that dreams are the way an individual s unconscious mind tries to express itself and that dreams â€Å"may only have a chance of reaching our consciousness if they are somewhat disguised†. Which explains the sometimes absurd and bizarre dreams that someone can get. Sigmund Freud uses the following analogy to explain his theory, â€Å"a political writer may criticize a ruler, but in doing so may endanger himself. The writer therefore has to fear the ruler’s censorship, and in doing so â€Å"moderates and distorts the expression of his opinion†. The writer serves to represent the unconscious mind, while the ruler is the conscious mind that stops an individual from doing certain things. Dreams and daydreams are practically synonymous, except dreams occur when an individual sleeps, and daydreams are when the person is awake, but both allow for the mind to wander, so the theory can apply to both, but Freud mainly focuses on the asp ects of dreams. Chief Bromden has a troubled time in the ward, especially opening up to other patients, he only does so to McMurphy. Early on in the novel he states It wasn t me that started acting deaf, it was people that first started acting like I was too dumb to hear or see or sayShow MoreRelatedOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Critical Analysis1211 Words   |  5 Pages Kenneth Elton â€Å"Ken† Kesey, the author of One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, was an American novelist, essayist, and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950’s and the hippies of the 1960’s Kesey was born on September 17, 1935 in La Junta, Colorado; he grew up in Springfield, Oregon and graduated from University of Oregon in 1957. In 1950, he began writing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest following the completion of a graduate fellowship in creativeRead MoreCritical Analysis Of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest1542 Words   |  7 Pagesperspective of a stranger whom we’ve never met nor seen, but only heard of through the mouth of the enemy’s opinion, will inevitably align with the only version of the story we’ve heard. This sort of bias is found in Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, with Nurse Ratched’s depiction through the narration b y Chief Bromden. The reliability of Bromden’s perspective is questionable, as it is his interpretation of the world, rather than what it actually is. Chief Bromden displays characteristicsRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest And 1984 Critical Analysis1216 Words   |  5 PagesThe two texts studied, 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, both teach the viewer essential lessons about the importance of freedom and the dangers of despotism. 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When reading this novel, the audience sees quite clearly that the world of psychology plays an impactful role in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’sRead MoreOne Flew over the Cuckoos Nest: the Power of Laughter1592 Words   |  7 Pagesof himself. This happens when a greater authority has the power to deny a person of their laughter; which, inevitably, denies him of his freedom. Ken Kesey conveys the idea that laughter and freedom go hand in hand throughout his novel One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. Kesey portrays laughter as a parallel to freedom through various literary symbols and imagery in order to illustrate how the power of laughter can free a man who is under the control of an unjust authority. Through the characterizationRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Speech Act Theory Essay1281 Words   |  6 PagesKen Kesey forms the intricate relationships among the characters in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by the unique use of perspective and speech. 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