How Does One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest relate to society?

The biggest lesson “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” teaches us is that there is not always one way to treat those with mental health issues. We, as a society, must try our best every day to approach people in the way that is best for them and with the best intentions and offering understanding and inclusion.
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What is the message of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

One of the messages conveyed towards the reader is the importance of freedom against oppression. McMurphy is a prime example of how self sacrifice plays a key role in rebellion. This later inspires Bromden to escape the ward and finally gains his freedom to the real world.
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How is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a social satire?

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest uses Juvenalian satire to illustrate his message that women were beginning to achieve stature and control as they climbed up the proverbial corporate ladder and were making headway in other facets of society.
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What does Bromden's perception of the combine reveal about life and society?

The Combine is what Chief Bromden calls society at large, a giant force that exists to oppress the people within it. The hospital ward is a mere factory for remedying mistakes made within The Combine (within neighborhoods and churches), to re-set peoples' behavior into the “correct” behavior.
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What does One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest symbolism?

In the modern classic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey uses symbolism effectively in order to shape and reinforce the theme of societies corruption of innocent minds throughout the novel. The mental ward combine effectively symbolizes the isolation of the mentally ill.
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Hidden Meaning in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – Earthling Cinema



What does the fog machine symbolize?

The Fog Machine

In this novel, fogs symbolize a lack of insight and an escape from reality. When Bromden starts to slip away from reality, because of his medication or out of fear, he hallucinates fog drifting into the ward.
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What does McMurphy symbolize?

McMurphy represents sexuality, freedom, and self-determination—characteristics that clash with the oppressed ward, which is controlled by Nurse Ratched. Through Chief Bromden's narration, the novel establishes that McMurphy is not, in fact, crazy, but rather that he is trying to manipulate the system to his advantage.
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What does Chief Bromden symbolize?

Chief Bromden, a tall American-Indian mute is the central character that symbolizes the change throughout the text and also throughout society. Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest uses this character that is subject to change as the narrator event though his perceptions cannot be fully trusted.
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What is Chiefs mental illness in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

Chief Bromden presented a long-standing history characterized by the complex features of Schizophrenia.
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Is Chief mentally ill Why or why not?

First Person (Chief Bromden)

Chief Bromden is a Columbia Indian who suffers from schizophrenia. Although he plays a central role in the story, he is largely an observer. Chief is an interesting narrator because he is certainly not unbiased, and his mental illness can also shed doubt on his reliability.
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What themes are explored in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" explores several themes. The novel discusses emasculation, sexuality, social pressure, man and machines, sanity, and insanity.
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What is the core political allegory in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

Through the use of a political allegory in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey conveyed the idea that the government is an oppressive dictatorship in nature, which causes society to bend to its conformist rules.
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What does the nature of McMurphy and ratched conflict reveal about society?

Ratched demands an unquestioning acceptance of societal standards, punishing patients who challenge the daily flow of activities on her ward. By contrast, McMurphy reminds his peers that they all have personalities and inner lives, encouraging them to laugh in the face of authority whenever possible.
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Is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest still relevant today?

Although Ken Kesey wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next" almost a half-century ago, its themes remain relevant today. "Maybe it's not an exact scenario of what we see today," said Paul Guggenheimer who directs the production at Western Iowa Tech Community College.
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What mental illness does McMurphy have?

Each film takes up specific gendered mental illnesses – Susanna is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, seven times more likely in women than men, and McMurphy with Anti-Social Personality Disorder, three times more likely in men than women.
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How Does One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest relate to psychology?

The film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, prompts very important aspect of the human condition. In the movie, the protagonist, Mac McMurphy, is deemed dangerous, so the mental institute tries to suppress him (Kesey). The film highlights various aspects of human conditions like psychology, sociology and philosophy.
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Why does Chief pretend being deaf and dumb?

According to the source novel, he pretends to be deaf and dumb because it allows him to hear the secrets of the people around him.
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What effect did One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have on health care?

What impact did the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest have on health care? Funding for mental health care increased, allowing the point of care to change from community to standardized institutional care. The public and the nursing profession were reminded of patient rights.
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What does Nurse Ratched symbolize?

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.
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What do geese symbolize in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

The geese also represent freedom because they are free to do what they want and go about their own business, without noticing the dog, or the patients in the mental institution. The “good fisherman” who “catches hens” represents the nurse and how she “catches” the men in the mental institute.
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How does McMurphy influence the other patients?

"McMurphy helps the people in the ward find their way back from the fog and return back to the real world" (Lupack). McMurphy's laughter and jokes, along with his personality, cause a great change in the patients of the ward and he helps them cure their "mental illness".
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What does McMurphy's laugh symbolize?

The longer McMurphy is on the ward, the more the men begin to laugh. Laughter becomes a symbol and an active representation of the men's freedom, even though they are basically imprisoned by the ward and by society.
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What does Mcmurphys death symbolize?

McMurphy's death is another allusion. After McMurphy finishes his 'Last Supper', one disciple betrays him. This leads to his crucifixion, mental death through lobotomy and finally his physical demise; with his resurrection portrayed through Chief Bromden.
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Is Nurse Ratched evil?

Ratched was named the fifth-greatest villain in film history (and second-greatest villainess, behind the Wicked Witch of the West of The Wizard of Oz) by the American Film Institute in their series 100 Years... 100 Heroes & Villains.
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Why does the fog make the chief feel safe?

The fog causes Chief to feel safe simply because it acts as an escape mechanism from the reality of the ward. When Chief slips into the fog, he is able to escape Nurse Ratched's torment and powerful rule and find solace due to the safety that the fog brings .
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