Review Of Ken Kesey s One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest

Society’s conventional definitions of sanity and insanity are affected by many different aspects and according to common knowledge, insanity has a direct correlation to mental illness. Likewise, sanity seems to have a direct link to what is considered normal. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey describes the connection that both insanity and sanity have to mental illness and the people that suffer from it. Furthermore, it describes how the people who work in the mental ward are connected to how sanity and insanity are perceived. Kesey makes the reader question the accepted definitions of sane and insane by using the actions of the characters, the personalities of the employees, and the mental ward as a whole. Mental institutions such as the one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest have various patients with various mental illnesses. According to Chief Bromden, a Chronic is a type of patient in the mental institution who has no chance of leaving or being c ured. A patient either arrives as a Chronic or becomes one due to procedures such as lobotomy and electric shock therapy (Kesey, 1962, pg. 15-16). However, this denotation reveals how mentally ill does not necessarily equal insane. While many of the Chronics do have some form of mental illness, their position in the asylum is often a result of the behavior of the people who work there. The Acutes, another type of patient in the mental institution, have little to do with the Chronics because of their fear that theyShow MoreRelatedThe Cuckoo s Effect On Adolescent Minds1440 Words   |  6 PagesKen Kesey s Cuckoo Effect On Adolescent Minds One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest is a staple in American literature; however, the mature elements in the novel make it difficult for certain readers to enjoy. As maturity levels differ for different readers, the novel is not permitted in certain schools. Considering the great value in this novel, there is some controversy as to whether the book should be banned from school curricula. The age of the students studying this book plays an important roleRead MoreDisability Issues in Media: a Comparison4457 Words   |  18 Pagesinstitution in the late 1950s Ââ€" One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975). This film provides a realistic portrayal of institutional living during a time when the medical model of disability theory was the norm. The second film, Born on the Fourth of July, tells the story of a young man, Ron Kovic, and his struggle to make sense of his life after being paralyzed from the chest down while serving in the Vietnam War. This was a tumultuous time in American Society and one that led to a major shift in the