One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest free essay sample

Mr. Ansaldo CSU ERWC Period 2 30 November 2012 Wrongful Doing One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey is a book in which the patients of an insane asylum rebel and try to â€Å"break† their leader, Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched is basically the form of government in the institution and the patients do not like how she is controlling them so they find ways to make her crack. Kesey shows similarities between the Declaration of Independence and what is going on in the book, McMurphy and the other patients are trying to replace the authority in the ward just as the people have America have the right to do with the government. McMurphy tries to get Nurse Ratched to crack and show her weakness. He tries anything and everything to make her explode so people see she isn’t as strong as she looks. Big Nurse finds ways to gain control over the patients in the ward but doesn’t always succeed as Ken Kesey explains when he says, â€Å"The Big Nurse’s eyes swelled out white as he got close†¦This was supposed to establish her rule once and for all† (201). We will write a custom essay sample on One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Big Nurse â€Å"Nurse Ratched† isn’t able to control McMurphy which means she isn’t in complete control of all the men on the ward and this angers her. If she can’t control this one man she doesn’t have complete control which helps McMurphy and the other men get one step closer to replacing her. There are times when Nurse Ratched under estimates what she is dealing with, such as other colleagues being on the side of the men in the ward. Not all of the workers are afraid of Big Nurse nor do they obey her every command. The doctor for example, disregards what she says and does what he feels is necessary. When Nurse Ratched says they can’t go on the fishing trip, the doctor replies by saying, â€Å"Good deal of paperwork I can get done on the boat† (234). The doctor disregards the Nurse’s authority and doesn’t give her a chance to respond to what he had told her, therefore stripping away more of her power. The doctor not listening to the Nurse’s wishes makes her powerless and a powerless leader is not a leader at all. The Nurse now has to find other means of gaining control of the ward. When trying to gain control, Big Nurse is continually stopped by McMurphy so she begins to find ways around him in order to gain the control she desires. No matter how many tactics she tries it seems as though she will not succeed at gaining control. Nurse Ratched feels as though attending a meeting and voicing her opinion will give her an advantage, the situation is described as, â€Å"Big Nurse tried to make her play in the group meeting†¦ McMurphy was there at the meeting and he beat before she got good and started† (263). By not being able to give her input, Nurse Ratched slowly loses more power over the men on the ward. McMurphy is slowly but surely stripping the Nurse of the power she has over the ward. It seems as though McMurphy has succeeded in taking power away from Big Nurse but this might not be as true as it seems. The Nurse begins to gain back some of her control over the ward by defeating her only opponent, McMurphy. To defeat someone there isn’t always a call for hostility, at times it might help to â€Å"kill them with kindness† in other words, be nice to them until they crack. Kesey shows an example of this when he writes, â€Å"The Big Nurse talks to McMurphy soft and patient about the irresponsible thing he did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (280). Nurse Ratched is trying to convince McMurphy that he has indeed done something bad. By making him look bad she gains more control over the ward especially over those who look up to him for â€Å"defeating† her. The people have the choice to replace there â€Å"government† or control system if it is not leading them the way they believe the leader should. In order to replace the leader there has to be enough people to help with getting rid of them and the person have to have done something that is completely wrong. They can try to replace the leader but might not always succeed. One flew over the cuckoos nest free essay sample Have you ever wondered the difference between sanity and inanity? The difference might not seem to big when you think about it but in all reality, being sane is almost looking at completely normal compared to being insane, and having many too just one mental illnesses and seeing complete non normal. Reading One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and listening to Eyln Saks, Ted talk you can see how insanity can effect ones life. Just because you are diagnosed with a mental illness does not make you completely insane. In both stories, the main characters are diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the story One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Chief Bromden is a diagnosed schizophrenic. Bromden pretends to be deaf so the nurses of the asylum dont bother him. He is the longest-residing patient and keeps a lot to himself. While pretending to be deaf, leads him to the knowledge of secrets about the ward. We will write a custom essay sample on One flew over the cuckoos nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although he has a lot of mental distractions from his past, the new patient, Randal McMurphy has created new problems for the ward to go through. McMurphy thinks he can step up and try and ruin nurse Ratched. Little does he know she is a stronger woman than he thinks. Being the nurse in the ward she has all the control over the patients, and she makes the rules. That doesnt stop McMurphy though, he tries once more, and fights nurse Ratched one last time. After sneaking prostitutes into the ward and getting the patients drunk, nurse Ratched guilt tripped the patients and threatens on patient into committing suicide. McMurphy then pushed nurse Ratched into putting him in lobotomy. When he gets back to the ward, the chief cant watch him go years like himself in the ward, so he kills McMurphy and escapes the ward. This is an amazing example of how insanity looks. Bromden has no control over himself, he has been in the ward for years and still has problems that he cant control. Even though he spent a lot of time to himself. He may think he could handle being in the outside world, but claims he doesnt have the guts, this is an example of how he wouldnt be able to stay sane enough to be alone, he feels safe Im the ward. In Elyn Saks speech, she wanted to make it clear that just because she has what is considered a mental illness, does not make her any different than a normal human being. While Saks was younger and being hospitalized many times, she was told that she wouldnt be able to do what most adults are able to do such as, keeping a job, live on her own, getting married to a loving partner, and so on. She then proved everyone wrong. This is where her story comes into play. She has proved that just because she has a mental illness does not mean that she cant do what her heart desires. While her success has a lot to do with the help of treatment and medication, she has over come and learned to accept the fact that she has schizophrenia. Elyn Saks is a great example of some sanity. She is capable of living on her own it took her many times in the hospital to learn that she can do it on her own but feels safe in the real world. In both stories they both had mental break downs and were hospitalized as though one was hospitalized a lot longer, it shows the difference between sanity and insanity. Elyn Saks had a grip on herself. She can handle and accept that she has schizophrenia and can reach out for help, when she needs it. Chief Bromden cant control himself and need to be in the asylum, under the super vision of the nurse. It is the doctors hands to try and get the patients with schizophrenia to develop relationships and engage them in meaningful work. It is important for patients to find their own way of coping to manage their diagnosis and find a quality of life to aim for. So just because you are diagnosed with a mental illness that is no reason that you should feel that you are not like other human beings. Although some may need more support than others, Elyn Saks speech is a great motivation to those to just have a nice reminder that you are human, and there is no such thing as being one hundred present normal. Everyone has flaws but with the right help and support, you can push though them and see the real meaning of life. One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest free essay sample An Amazing Film After watching the stunning 1975 film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I realized that this film has a meaningful message of individualism. Psychologist B. F. Skinner believed, that psychology should observed behaviors that could be measured and verified (Hockenbury and Hockenbury 8). Skinner also argued that behavior is a simply influenced by the environment (P. 19). I do believe that from the 1970’s until the present day this film has influenced many people and societies. It has made people realize the importance of understanding human behavior and its mental processes. For many decades psychologists have been studying the human brain and human behavior and for some of them the performance of a lobotomy was in past years a solution to mental illness problems. However, lobotomies are still being performed at many mental institutions throughout the country, and I personally believe that this is a crucial way to treat patients with mental illness. We will write a custom essay sample on One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As an example, in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, doctors performed a lobotomy on Randall Patrick McMurphy in order to solve his behavior problem, but it only changed his life in a negative way, making him a vegetable. Psychologists should have tried a different procedure before even proceeding with such a practice. Maybe they should have considered the practice of Psychoanalysis to understand the causes of McMurphy’ behavior. Sad but true, it was too late for McMurphy to get himself out of this mess and he did not have the opportunity to try any other program that might would have helped him. Randall Patrick McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson was forced to choose an alternative place facility for medical testing after having been convicted of recidivist criminal, statutory rape, and assault. He appears to be an insane patient but obviously he was only faking, and with this kind of behavior he makes me realize that he might need help. He obviously thought that everyone in the mental facility was a joke for him, and that he could fool them all by making them think he was insane. It seems that McMurphy has had an attitude problem for years, especially when it comes to people that has authority over him. A good example of his behavior was his arrogant attitude towards Dr. Spivey, the main psychologist doctor of the ward and nurse Mildred Ratched, the main nurse of the facility, because they both weren’t convinced of his mental problem. With this particular behavior I can relate McMurphy’s attitude with one of the branches of psychology, such as is the school of Psychoanalysis. According to Sigmund Freud, he developed an intriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes if behavior that were unconscious, or hidden from the person’s conscious awareness Fred’s school of psychology called psychoanalysis, emphasized and determining behavior and personality that people like McMurphy can be related to. It also seemed that personal control could be a part of McMurphy’s mental disorder. McMurphy had no personal control over stressful situations and this could explain a lot of his behavior. McMurphy was sent out to a mental hospital, instead of a different facility such as prison, but on the other hand he also seems to express positive emotions, self-confidence, and feeling of self-efficacy, in which makes him having a sense personal control as well. According to the textbook Discovering Psychology, the perception of personal control in a stressful situation must be realistic to be adaptive (P. 88). McMurphy was a manic free spirit that encourages better self-steam for mostly voluntary inmates, by trying proving a point to them, that â€Å"in life is always better to try doing something than just listening to someone else to tell you what to do in life†. McMurphy seemed to have a good relationship with his inmates, with women from the outside, and always looked like he w as in a good mood, but this behavior was also a part of his mental disorder. McMurphy’s character has an id personality in which is the most primitive and difficult to explain. The id instinctual drive for his character is â€Å"The Death Instinct†, which Freud called Thanatos, because its destructive energy that is reflected in aggressive, reckless, and life threatening behaviors, including self-destructive actions, in this case putting the patients life at steak. An example of this action is driving away the stolen hospital’s bus, going into a harbor, and taking possession of a fishing boat without any authorization. Who does something like this? Only a person with possible mental issues such as McMurphy put his fellow patients into a life-threatening situation. However, McMurphy also had ego defense mechanism such as repression because of his impulses and thoughts to act towards any situation. He may have developed this defense mechanism from previous traumatic events, past failures, embarrassments, or disappointments in life. As the book explains that the use of defense mechanism is very common. Many psychologically healthy people temporarily use ego defense mechanisms to deal with stressful events. Using ego defense mechanism is often a way of buying time while we consciously or unconsciously wrestle with more realistic solutions for whatever is troubling us (P. 404). On the other hand, I can understand his prosocial behavior, because he seemed to help the patients, whatever the underlying motive was. But is not necessary altruistic because he helped them out of guilt, to gain something, recognition, reward, or having the favor returned, as he demonstrated in the beginning of the film, trying to use chief Bromden to escape from the ward. As the movie continued, his personality changed in the way that he became an altruistic person, but this time it seemed like he was helping the inmates to become stronger and more independent with no expectations of personal reward or benefit and being motivated purely by the desire to help them in their needs. An example of this action is the message McMurphy had for them in the tub room, â€Å"live free or die†, and â€Å"that escape still possible even from the most had circumstances†. Nurse Ratched was the powerful person in the facility. She humiliates the patients in every therapy session by bringing up their own fears, and she seems to use it as a weapon to control them. Nurse Ratched became a tyrant over the patients and at the same time McMurphy instigates the group by telling them he will defeat her in a week. McMurphy wants to make sure that nurse Ratched looses control of her patients, as she constantly suppresses her patients by humiliation, as she demonstrates it with Billy Bibbit. Bibbit seems to be afraid of his mother, and nurse Ratched uses his mother to intimidate him. Nurse Ratched seems to be using an improper technique of psychotherapy to treat her patients. Psychotherapy refers to the use of psychological techniques to treat emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems (P. 548). Also, psychotherapy helps patients to overcome their problems and emotions, not to make it more difficult for them as she seemed to do it every day by using intimidation. In my opinion, the first thing that I would have done to help McMurphy is trying to gain his respect and trust and work on his personal and mental behavior using psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. I would also suggest using Raymond Cattell’s questionnaire to evaluate and have an idea on assessing personality of McMurphy. With McMurphy and probably other patients, I feel the staff should have had more patience. Each and every case obviously should be handle differently, but in McMurphy’s case, I personally feel that this is the type of patient that doctors have to use psychology to become very close to him. Also, I feel the nurse Ratched almost seemed not to truly care about individual treatments. Finally, my goal of therapy would be help him overcoming his behavior issues. Helping him wave his fears away, by the relief symptoms of attitude against control. I think group therapy is a great treatment for his attitude problem, like nurse Ratched said â€Å"The time spent in the company of others is very therapeutic while time spent brooding alone only increases a feeling of separation†. I do believe the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was a great example of the sadness that is related with mental illness. However, it’s amazing how most people with psychological symptoms and behavior issues do not look for mental help like Randall Patrick McMurphy. Works Cited Hockenbury, Don. , and Sandra Hockenbury. Discovering Psychology. 4th ed. New York: NY, 2007. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Dir. Milos Forman. Perf. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. United Artist, Nov. 19, 1975. One flew over the cuckoos nest free essay sample She d- did. He looked around him. And M-M-McCarthy! He did And Harding! And the-the- the rest! They t-t-teased me, called me peg. 302) They m-m-made me! Please, M-Miss Ratchet, they may-may-Mayl(Keyes peg. 302) McCarthy is shown as a martyr like Jesus was because the patients really dont become free until he dies. Before the treatment Is administered to him McCarthy climbs on the table without help and spreads his arms out to hit the shadow. A witch snaps the clasps on his wrists, ankles, clamping him Into the shadow (Keyes peg. 272) When the graphite salve is put on his temples and they tell him its a conductance he says Emollients my head with conductance. Do I get a crown of thorns (Keyes peg. 272) They also give him a rubber hose to bit on, Just as Christ was given a sponge soaked in vinegar to suck on. As Christ saved mankind from sin and taught them to have hope in an eternal life. We will write a custom essay sample on One flew over the cuckoos nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page McCarthy saves the patients from the repressive society and teaches them to have hope in themselves. In conclusion, those were my reasons of why I think that the Christ imagery in this book is effective. Firstly, when the fishing trip was planned and McCarthy went with Bits turning on McCarthy near the end by admitting that he was part of Mushroom plan was like Judas admitting that he was involved with Jesus. Thirdly, towards the end of the story McCarthy is a martyr Just like Jesus because the patients arent free until he dies. That is how Christ imagery is effective in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest free essay sample But McMurphys revolution against Big Nurse and everything she stands for quickly turns from sport to a fierce power struggle with shattering results. With One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Kesey created a work without precedent in American literature, a novel at once comic and tragic that probes the nature of madness and sanity, authority and vitality. Greeted by unanimous acclaim when it was first published, the book has become and enduring favourite of readers. Throughout the Novel it becomes apparent that the ward is actually a microcosm for 950s society. Through this Kesey displays a variety of his opinions through themes.These themes allow Kesey to show the reader the inadequacies and misdirection of the then societies ideologies and how our filtered society has made every citizen a slave to authority. The themes displayed by Kesey include Sexual freedom versus sexual repression, independence versus acquiescence and finally selfishness versus selflessness. We will write a custom essay sample on One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One theme presented in one flew over the Cuckoos nest is that of Sexual Repression vs. Sexual Freedom. One of the prevailing motifs of Keseys novel involves the metaphorical contrast between clamped-down sexual mores and freewheeling, instinctive, natural sexual freedom.The conflict is represented by the war between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. The Big Nurse represents a frigid, controlled sexuality, an attempt to button up natural instincts and resist impulse through conscious order. She cannot, however, disguise her huge breasts, which show through her uniform no matter how much she covers up. McMurphy, the symbol of total sexual abandon juxtaposes her. An example of sexual freedom versus sexual repression is seen through the presentation of the two types of females throughout the novel. Females are presented in two groups, either as prostitutes or nurses. The prostitutes who are sexually open are presented as the trustworthy and admirable females, whilst the nurses, who subdue their sexuality represented as the villainous tyrants. At the end of the novel, McMurphy frees nearly all the main characters sexuallybringing a prostitute for fellow inmates, encouraging the men to rediscover the emasculated souls theyve surrendered to Nurse Ratchedhe must pay for his free sexuality by losing a part of his brain. Kesey suggests that fully unfettered sexuality is too dangerous for modern society to tolerate.Another theme presented in One flew over the cuckoos nest is Independence vs. Acquiescence. Throughout the novel, we consistently root for the inmates to find freedom, either through a mass escape or by overthrowing the regime and winning a new order in the institution. This is all subverted, however, when McMurphy discovers that he and Scanlon are the only two involuntarily committed inmates. The rest of the inmates are there by choice. They would rather be quiescent followers, surrendering themselves to institutional oppression, than independent in a society where they do not quite fit and may not be able to function.McMurphy sees emasculation as the prime reason for the choice to stay. The Nurse has found a way to mentally castrate each and every one of the inmatesincluding Rawlins, who commits suicide by physical emasculation. McMurphy may perceive that the best way to free the other men is to expose Nurse Ratched as flesh and blood rather than an inevitable oppressorsomeone with her own flaws and pains. McMurphy attempts to work within the Nurses system, trying to out manipulate and outfox her with his various schemes. But ultimately, the only way to change the acquiescence of his fellow inmates is to lead by example. He feels presure to acquiesce and avoid pain, but he choose to follow his independent spirit, which explodes in brute force when he rips the Nurses clothes open. This act prevents the rest of the inmates from ever seeing her as merely the robotic hand of authority. She has a body now, and they can no longer follow her blindly, understanding that she is just as mortal as they are. A third theme presented in one flew over the Cuckoos nest is Selfishness versus selflessness. McMurphy’s character is worth considering in comparing the drives for selflessness and selfishness.When McMurphy enters the hospital, he has the goal of causing chaos in order to disrupt Nurse Ratcheds carefully designed schemes, which quash the inmates spirits. At first it seems that he does so primarily for amusement, or in order to establish himself as Top Dog and ensure that he has the power in the ward. He also consistently fleeces the other inmates in gambling games. Over time, however, we suspect that money, power, and amusement are not—or are no longer—his primary motivation for taking on Ratched. He develops a sincere desire to resuscitate these fallen, empty, drained souls.In one of the most significant moments of the novel, when he is frustrated that the men are not trying to get out, he throws all their money back at them, in a demonstration that he cares more about them than self-interest alone would dictate. Once McMurphy realizes that he might never get out, being involuntarily committed subject to Ratcheds will, he for a while follows his self-interest. But this is temporary, for he ultimately sacrifices himself in order to allow the inmates to see their chance for escape from the ward in both body and soul.In conclusion, the novel One flew over the cuckoos nest by Ken Kesey displays a variety of themes. Often most shown in the ward a microcosm for society are Keseys analysis and personal opinion of the 1950s community misdirection of its priorities and his struggle to conform to their ideologies. These include sexual repression versus sexual freedom, independence versus acquiescence, and finally selfishness versus selflessness. All these themes display Keseys personal beliefs but also how our perception of right and wrong may not always be accurate.