What is the meaning of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

Flying over the cuckoo's nest is probably a way of expressing that someone is crazy (think back to elementary school when you'd call people "cuckoo" as an insult). The character who goes crazy in the end of the book isn't the narrator, Chief—by the closing of the novel he's remarkably sane.

What is the message behind 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.

What is the meaning of One Flew Over?

The idea that "one flew over" the cuckoo's nest refers to the fact that one person in this movie is going to escape from the mental hospital. For most of the movie, you would assume that it's going to be McMurphy who escapes. But in the end, we realize that it's actually Chief Bromden who gets away.

Is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a true story?

The novelist Ken Kesey based the character of Nurse Ratched, the villain of his 1962 novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” on a real person—a nurse whom he once met while working the night shift in a psychiatric facility in Oregon.

Why did McMurphy get a lobotomy?

McMurphy is given a lobotomy for his attack on Nurse Ratched. When he is returned to the ward after the operation, he is a vegetable. That same night, Bromden suffocates McMurphy with a pillow.

Hidden Meaning in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – Earthling Cinema

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.

What mental illness did Randle 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.

Was McMurphy faking at the end?

In walks Randall Patrick (Mac) McMurphy, a con man faking insanity to avoid incarceration, who locks horns with Ratched and becomes hellbent on causing an uprising among the patients in the ward.

Are lobotomies still done?

Today lobotomy is rarely performed; however, shock therapy and psychosurgery (the surgical removal of specific regions of the brain) occasionally are used to treat patients whose symptoms have resisted all other treatments.

What happens to Nurse Ratched at the end of the book?

Ratched ending

He escapes with the deranged Charlotte in Dr Hanover's old car. Ratched catches a glimpse of him on the road and realises he has become a danger to her life. The series then skips three years and now Ratched is living with Gwendolyn who is now on a path to remission.

Why does Chief suffocate McMurphy?

The others would be devastated to see Mac wandering around with dead eyes and a scarred forehead. So Chief decides to take matter into his own hands and to give Mac back his freedom, saying "I wouldn't leave you here this way" and smothering him.

Why did McMurphy sacrifice himself?

Under the invisible but heavy pressure of the other patients' expectations, McMurphy makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that Ratched cannot use Billy's death to undo everything they have gained. By attacking Ratched and ripping her uniform, he permanently breaks her power but also forfeits his own life.

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.

Why is Nurse Ratched mean?

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.

Is Nurse Ratched a psychopath?

In the book and the film of “One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”, Nurse Ratched was not a psychopath, she was an unbelievably mean, sadistic person. The original Nurse Ratched's actions during the story show us that something terrible must have happened in her past to make her this way.

What was Nurse Ratched's first name?

And the actress playing the ultimate authority figure, Nurse Ratched, was Louise Fletcher. Now, almost half a century later, Nurse Ratched has been given a first name - spoiler alert, it's Mildred - and a backstory.

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.

What is the fog in Cuckoo's Nest?

The Fog Machine

Fog is a phenomenon that clouds our vision of the world. 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.

What happens to Chief Bromden at the end?

By the end of the novel, the fog has cleared, and Bromden has recovered the personal strength to euthanize McMurphy, escape from the hospital, and record his account of the events.

How does McMurphy know that Bromden is not deaf?

McMurphy discovers Chief isn't deaf when he tells him an orderly is coming to tie him into bed and Chief responds immediately. The story of Santa Claus indicates that the Combine is able to change even the most innocuous and innocent individual from a happy, full-bodied and bearded individual into a conformist.

What does McMurphy 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.

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.

What happens to McMurphy after Cheswick dies?

However, after Cheswick commits suicide, McMurphy realizes that Nurse Ratched's control is a life-and-death matter. At that point he steps up his rebellion. Punishment with electroshock therapy only serves to strengthen his will and preserve his spirit from Nurse Ratched's manipulation.

What was the famous line from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

“But it's the truth even if it didn't happen.” “In this country, when something is out of order, then the quickest way to get it fixed is the best way. ” “Anointest my head with conductant.

Why was chief in the mental institution?

Chief Bromden: The novel's half-Native American narrator has been in the mental hospital since the end of World War II. Bromden is presumed by staff and patients alike to be deaf and mute, and through this guise he becomes privy to many of the ward's dirtiest secrets.