1 Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest contains profanity, as well as many mature topics and themes. These include references to gambling, rape, prostitution, homosexuality, assault, murder, suicide, alcohol/drug use, and sexual molestation.

2 Warning Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest contains profanity, as well as many mature topics and themes. These include references to gambling, _____, prostitution, homosexuality, assault, murder, ________, alcohol/drug use, and sexual molestation.

3 Key Facts: Allegorical novel Written in late 1950s Published 1962First person Narrator—Chief Bromden Told as a flashback after his escape Setting—mental hospital, Oregon Protagonist—Randle P. McMurphy ALLEGORY—An allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself

4 Review: What is an allegory>An allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself

5 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestGenre: Fiction Tone: Primarily pessimistic; moments of optimism. “They’re out there.” Chief Bromden (pg. 3). This establishes paranoia of the novel’s 1st person narrator, Chief Bromden. Tone; “They’re out there.” Chief Bromden (pg. 3). This establishes paranoia of the novel’s 1st person narrator, Chief Bromden. “The Combine”, This is Chief’s word to describe the machine-like nature of the asylum system. But it’s not just the asylum that’s governed by this machine—it’s the entire world. He can hear its hum in the walls. Often, Nurse Ratched represents the authority of the Combine; she is the public face of an inhumane system.

6 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest“The Combine”, This is Chief’s word to describe the machine-like nature of the asylum system. But it’s not just the asylum that’s governed by this machine—it’s the entire world. He can hear its hum in the walls. Often, Nurse Ratched represents the authority of the Combine; she is the public face of an inhumane system.

7 Theme: —the central idea or ideas explored by a literary work.

8 Themes: Struggle for power/control Women as CastratorsThe Power of Laughter STRUGGLE FOR POWER/CONTROL— WOMEN AS CASTRATORS—Except for the prostitutes (shown as good), women are portrayed as threatening and terrifying. Patients suffer emasculation or castration at the hands of Nurse Ratched and the hospital supervisor (a woman). Fear of women is rampant (Billy’s fear of his mother who treats him like a baby as cause for his suicide; Bromden’s mother portrayed as domineering—father took mother’s name; hospital run by women who have the power over the men; Nurse Ratched lobotomizing McMurphy, taking away his individuality and freedom). – SparkNotes.com THE POWER OF LAUGHTER—Nurse Ratched’s ability to dominate the patients is a result of her controlling their laughter. McMurphy notices that, “the first thing that got to me about this place, that there wasn't anybody laughing. I haven't heard a real laugh since I came through that door, do you know that? Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing. A man go around lettin' a woman whup him down till he can't laugh any more, and he loses one of the biggest edges he's got on his side. First thing you know he'll begin to think she's tougher than he is. . . (Kesey 65).

9 Themes (contd.): Imagination vs. Reality ViolenceSelf-sacrifice vs. Selfishness Courage Freedom vs. control Individuality sacrifice Euthanasia Imagination vs. Reality; Chief Bromden believes himself to be weak in spite of obvious physical strength.

10 Motifs: —recurring elements that develop and inform the major themes.

11 Motifs: Invisibility Power of Laughter Reality vs. imaginaryBromden’s deaf and dumb act Fog Hallucinations Power of Laughter Reality vs. imaginary INVISIBILITY—Bromden trying to be as invisible as possible by pretending not to understand or hear what is going on around him. The references to a fog that hides and keeps him safe. INVISIBILITY—Hallucinations about hidden machines controlling patients. McMurphy smashing through glass that he presumably can’t see. POWER OF LAUGHTER—McMurphy’s is the first genuine laughter on the ward in years. None of the patients can laugh or smile. Bromden remembers the power of his father’s laughter when mocking government officials. After the fishing trip, Harding, Scanlo, Dr. Spivey, and Sefelt are all able to laugh—showing their recovery. REALITY VS. IMAGINED SIZE—Bromden describes people according to the size of the power/control they have. Despite his height, Bromden is cowed by Nurse Ratched. Bromden states how his mother is twice the size o he and his father. With McMurphy’s help, Bromden overcomes the belittling and is “blown back up to full size” as he regains the self-esteem.

12 Symbolism: —use of objects to represent things such as ideas and emotions —something that represents itself and something else

13 Symbols: The fog machine The white whales on McMurphy’s boxer shortsThe electroshock therapy table THE FOG MACHINE—clouds vision, obscures sight. Bromden sees the fog as a safe place, free of life’s reality. –SparkNotes.com THE FOG MACHINE—Ratched wants to keep the patients in the fog, but McMurphy drags all the patients out and forces them to look at realities. MCMURPHY”S SHORTS—White Wales on black satin equal Moby-Dick and the untamed nature that conflicts with a controlled institution. –SparkNotes.com ELECTROSHOCK TABLE—equates with crucifixion. It is shaped like a cross, with straps across the wrists and over the head. It performs the function of destroying lives and making public examples of those who rebel against the ruling powers. –SparkNotes.com

15 Characters Acutes: Hope for a cure Chronics: No hope for cureChronics are classified as Walkers (can still move independently), Wheelers (in wheelchairs), or Vegetables ( unable to do anything for themselves). Acutes: Harding, Bibbit, Sefelt. Chronics: Bromden, Ellis, Ruckly, Colonel Matterson

16 Setting Mental hospital somewhere in Oregon; late 1950Combine; the ward is a factory for the Combine. Point of view; First Person. Chief Bromden.

17 Conflict Conflict: person vs. person. “The System”, person vs. selfMcMurphy begins to challenge Nurse Ratched’s authority and rally the patients together. The hostility between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched escalates (rises) into an all-out power struggle. McMurphy begins to challenge Nurse Ratched’s authority and rally the patients together. The hostility between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched escalates (rises) into an all-out power struggle.

18 Foreshadowing: The story of Maxwell TaberElectroshock therapy table shaped like a cross The deaths of Rawler, Cheswick, and Billy Bromden’s dreams and hallucinations THE STORY OF MAXWELL TABER—A former patient who stayed in Nurse Ratched’s ward before McMurphy arrived. When Maxwell Taber questioned the nurse’s authority, she punished him with electroshock therapy. After the treatments made him completely docile, he was allowed to leave the hospital. He is considered a successful cure by the hospital staff. FORSHADOWS—McMurphy’s lobotomy and Bromden’s departure. ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY TABLE—foreshadows McMurphy’s “sacrifice” and resulting death. DEATHS—foreshadowed McMurphy’s demise. BROMDEN’S DREAMS—foreshadow what happens next to the patients.

19 Types of Characters: Flat or Static Characters— Round Characters—Minor characters who do NOT undergo substantial change. Round Characters— Major characters who encounter conflict and are changed by it.

21 Billy Bibbit: Acute….31 years old Stutters Paranoid ImmatureDeathly afraid of his mother Shy and impressionable Looks up to McMurphy Commits suicide Billy voluntarily placed himself in the hospital because he is afraid of the outside world. (--SparkNotes.com) Other characteristics; intimidated, controlled, and made to feel guilty by his mother; commits suicide.

23 George Sorenson: Chronic Big SwedeFormer seaman; recruited to captain the fishing excursion Nicknamed “Rub-a-Dub” because of his cleanliness fetish Obsessed with cleanliness.

24 Dale Harding: Acute A college-educated patient who voluntarily entered the institution A homosexual Dominated by his wife He checks himself out of the ward Harding has difficulty dealing with the social prejudice against homosexuality. The development of Harding’s character identifies the success of McMurphy’s battle with Nurse Ratched to the point where he checks himself out o the ward. This departure makes it easier for other cured patients to leave. (--SparkNotes.com)

25 Maxwell Taber: A former patient before McMurphy arrivedLike McMurphy, Taber questioned the nurse’s authority Made docile by the electroshock therapy Permitted to leave Used as an example to other patients Taber is considered a successful cure by the hospital staff. (--SparkNotes.com). Subjected to “treatment” after questioning what was in his medication.

27 Rawler: A patient on the Disturbed wardCommits suicide by cutting off his testicles Castration is SYMBOLIC of the routine emasculation to which the patients are subjected.) EMASCULATION means castration or removal of the testicles of a male human being or animal. Also means to weaken somebody; to deprive of effectiveness, spirit, or force. “A guy sitting in the room someplace I can’t see is talking about a guy up on Disturbed killing himself. Old Rawler. Cut both nuts off and bled to death, sitting right on the can [toilet] in the latrine [bathroom], half a dozen people in there with him didn’t know it till he fell off to the floor, dead. "What makes people so impatient [to die] is what I can’t figure; all the guy had to do was wait.“ (Kensey, 129).

28 Doctor Spivey: Mild-mannered doctor Addicted to opiatesEasily cowed; dominated by patients Often supports McMurphy’s unusual plans for the ward Chaperons patients on a fishing trip.

29 Warren, Washington, Williams, and Geever:Hospital aids Hired because they are filled with hatred Completely submissive to Nurse Ratched Castration is SYMBOLIC of the routine emasculation to which the patients are subjected.) EMASCULATION means castration or removal of the testicles of a male human being or animal. Also means to weaken somebody; to deprive of effectiveness, spirit, or force.

30 PROTAGONIST— ANTAGONIST—The main character and one the author wants you to cheer on. ANTAGONIST— Villain or character that causes trouble for the character the author wants you to support.

31 Anti-hero: ANTI-HERO—Character whose actions or morality may be flawed, yet he/she is not a villain. The Anti-hero accomplishes a useful deed or even does good deeds, so the audience supports him/her even though there are no traditional heroic qualities.

32 Randle P. McMurphy: Thirty-five years old, built, with red hair, a scar on his face and tattoos on his body Transferred from a work farm Diagnosed as a psychopath, but he is not really insane Loud, confident, laughter Outgoing and uninhibited McMurphy represents sexuality, freedom, and self-determination—all contrary to the institutionalize controlled by Nurse Ratched. He is not crazy, but is trying to manipulate the system to his advantage. His self-sacrifice on behalf of the ward-mates mirrors Christ and the martyrdom achieved by sacrificing his freedom and sanity.

33 Anti-hero Qualities: Accused of Statutory Rape Five fightsVulgar/sexual comments Racist behavior Insults Dr. Harding Uses the men Self-serving ANTI-HERO—Character whose actions or morality bay be flawed, yet he/she is not a villain. The Anti-hero accomplishes a useful deed or even does good deeds, so the audience supports him/her even though there are no traditional heroic qualities.

34 “Big” Nurse Ratched: The head of the ward; middle-aged; former army nurse Very harsh and controlling Hires staff if they are submissive, and easily controlled A former army nurse, Nurse Ratched represents the oppressive mechanization, dehumanization, and emasculation of modern society—in Bromden’s words, the Combine. Her nickname is “Big Nurse,” which sounds like Big Brother, the name used in George Orwell’s novel 1984 to refer to an oppressive and all-knowing authority. Bromden describes Ratched as being like a machine, and her behavior fits this description: even her name is reminiscent of a mechanical tool, sounding like both “ratchet” and “wretched.” She enters the novel, and the ward, “with a gust of cold.” Ratched has complete control over every aspect of the ward, as well as almost complete control over her own emotions. In the first few pages we see her show her “hideous self” to Bromden and the aides, only to regain her doll-like composure before any of the patients catch a glimpse. Her ability to present a false self suggests that the mechanistic and oppressive forces in society gain ascendance through the dishonesty of the powerful. Without being aware of the oppression, the quiet and docile slowly become weakened and gradually are subsumed. Nurse Ratched does possess a non-mechanical and undeniably human feature in her large bosom, which she conceals as best she can beneath a heavily starched uniform. Her large breasts both exude sexuality and emphasize her role as a twisted mother figure for the ward. She is able to act like “an angel of mercy” while at the same time shaming the patients into submission; she knows their weak spots and exactly where to peck. The patients try to please her during the Group Meetings by airing their dirtiest, darkest secrets, and then they feel deeply ashamed for how she made them act, even though they have done nothing. She maintains her power by the strategic use of shame and guilt, as well as by a determination to “divide and conquer” her patients. McMurphy manages to ruffle Ratched because he plays her game: he picks up on her weak spots right away. He uses his overt sexuality to throw her off her machinelike track, and he is not taken in by her thin facade of compassion or her falsely therapeutic tactics. When McMurphy rips her shirt open at the end of the novel, he symbolically exposes her hypocrisy and deceit, and she is never able to regain power. (--SparkNotes.com)

35 Antagonist Qualities:No World Series. No changes. Belittles the patients. Makes patients worried. Offers no solutions to the problems. Uses threats. Causes trouble for the main character. Emotionally emasculates the patients.

36 Lobotomy: Surgical procedure severing the nerve fibers connecting the frontal lobes to the thalamus as a relief of some mental disorders. Treatment An estimated 50,000 lobotomies were performed in the US in the 1930s and 40s electroconvulsive therapy was introduced in the 1930s (used mainly to treat depression) psychiatric drugs became available in the 1950s. Before this, the only other treatments for the severely mentally ill were incarceration and physical restraint . By today’s standards, conditions in the mental hospitals of the past were unimaginable. Many patients were severely agitated, extremely violent, and incontinent. The hospitals were dirty, overcrowded, and understaffed. Many severely ill patients benefited from lobotomy with decreases in violence and agitation. Lobotomy often caused serious adverse effects, including disturbances of mood and personality, euphoria, poor judgment, impulsivity, loss of initiative, intellectual deficits, and seizures.

37 Plot The plot culminates when Ratched forces McMurphy to under go a lobotomy. Lobotomy leaves him unresponsive and uncommunicative. Bromden suffocates McMurphy and then finds the strength to escape.

38 Electroconvulsive Therapy:A medical treatment for severe mental illness in which a small amount of electricity is introduced to the brain. The purpose was to provide relief from the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression, mania, and schizophrenia. The most common risk are disturbances in heart rhythm. Broken or dislocated bones occasionally occur. (--http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/electroconvulsive+therapy)

39 Works Cited http://sparknotes.com