Preview

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1080 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
As medical advances are being made, it makes the treating of diseases easier and easier. Mental hospitals have changed the way the treat a patient's illness considerably compared to the hospital described in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
" Please understand: We do not impose certain rules and restrictions on you with out a great deal of thought about their therapeutic value. A good many of you are in here because you could not adjust to the rules of society in the Outside World, because you refused to face up to them, because you tried to circumvent them and avoid them. At some time – perhaps in your childhood – you may have been allowed to get away with flouting the rules of society. When you broke a rule you knew it. You wanted to be dealt with, needed it, but the punishment did not come. That foolish lenience on the part of your parents may have been the germ that grew in to your present illness. I tell you this hoping you will understand that it is entirely for your own good that we enforce discipline and order." (Kesey 188). This comment made by the " Big Nurse" in the story implies that she is telling the patients that the reason they have this disease is that they want to receive punishment when they did wrong or to attract attention to themselves. In no way is this the case with schizophrenia. The patients did not develop this illness because of lack of discipline from their parents or because the wanted attention. This dreaded disease is one that is unexplained and a cure is has yet to be found, although there are ways to treat the illness at the present time.
Every year one hundred thousand young Americans are diagnosed with the disease schizophrenia (Carman Research). Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is associated with unnatural behavior or thinking . The disease usually affects people during the late adolescence stage or early adulthood, typically during this time they develop the symptoms linked to the disease.
The most

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    On this day, Chief is spared electroshock therapy in the Shock Shop. Instead, Big Nurse puts him in Seclusion where he suffers at the hands of the African-American orderlies. When he comes out, he sits in the day room and witnesses the admission of a new patient.…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1975 director Milos Forman met with screenplay writers Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman; thus creating the critically acclaimed and groundbreaking film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; with the aid of several crew members and a star studded cast including such greats as Jack Nicholson (R.P. McMurphy), Danny Devito (Martini), and Christopher Lloyd (Taber) in his debut film. Winner of five Academy Awards, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has both masterful direction and editing as well as superb acting. R.P. McMurphy is a free-spirited, middle-aged man who tries to con the system by claiming he’s mentally ill so to avoid prison time. Immediately he makes his presence known, and starts trouble in all the wrong places. Gambling rings, rowdy and rambunctious behavior, non-approved fishing trips, and overnight parties just to mention a few. During his stay he builds close relationships with most of the other patients, especially Chief Broman; while making enemies with the staff, in particular, the head nurse. Possibly one of the most chilling and heartless villains to ever grace the screen, Mrs. Ratched rules her patients with an iron fist. She clearly takes advantage of the power she has, and likes the structured daily routine. When McMurphy finally can’t take the oppressive tyranny any longer he plans one last hurrah before his departure. He sneaks in women and alcohol, and wakes up all the patients in hopes to show them a good time. After much drunken debauchery they pass out before he can leave; when he wakes there is a disgruntle Mrs. Ratched to answer to. After a series of graphic and ruthless events McMurphy tries to strangle the life from Mrs. Ratched and is detained. Later we see Chief Broman lying in bed, and then two men assisting McMurphy into his bed. When Chief sneaks over and tells McMurphy that he is finally ready to leave, he notices two rather large incisions located on the top of his head. Completely…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Ken Kesey’s book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, he creates an interesting comparison between society and its goal to have those who are striving to be in society conform to a uniform mold. Kesey does this through the use of the Combine, a symbol of society as a culturally unifying force. Bromden, a patient in the ward and the narrator of the novel, creates this Combine is his mind to explain the function of power how it is used to then control others. This machine controls the “insane” men within the novel through corrupt means and thus poses an interesting idea of who is actually sane. Ultimately, the Combine is a machine created by society to force those who are believed to be insane to become sane in order to function in society, yet this machine is corrupt and thus causes readers to question the sanity of society.…

    • 1690 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest. Dir. Milos Forman. Perf. Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher. Warner Bros. 1975. Film…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are three major conflicts in the novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo 's Nest, by Ken Kesey. Both internal and external in nature their causes, effects, and resolutions are explored in great detail.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mental hospital in Cuckoo’s Nest is home to only a few “lunatics” the rest simply have problems adapting and functioning with society. The main character is R.P McMurphy who is transferred from the Pendleton Work Farm to the mental hospital. The head nurse Ms.Ratched is a character who represents authority. The arrival of McMurphy with his personality and rebellious ways interrupt the hospitals stability, by questioning authority. Creating rivalry between the two and unfolding the traumatic story.…

    • 547 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nurse Ratched is notorious for her desire to exercise complete control over the men who are under her jurisdiction on the psych ward, both as patients and as employees. In doing so, Nurse Ratched becomes a metaphor for the entire mental institution, the government, society at large or any and every powerful institution that exists to regulate, control, and categorize groups of people. The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to "treat" and "rehabilitate" them. But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratched’s desk to record and reward the men for betraying each other's secrets are all ways to force people to obey, not to make them well. There is no recreation outdoors. There is little exposure to the outside world. All activities and therapy sessions are scheduled with precision, and to deviate from that schedule is to be a nuisance to Nurse Ratched. This is…

    • 971 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    AO1 Activity 4

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. There is not yet a known cause for…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Schizophrenia is a complex brain disorder. Like many other illnesses, schizophrenia is believed to result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. All the tools of modern science are being used to search for the causes of this disorder.…

    • 1660 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Schizophrenia is a very serious mental disorder, if not one of the worst. This is one of the least misunderstood as well as one of the hardest to cope with. In my opinion Schizophrenia is similar to heavy drug use only without, of course, the heavy illegal drug use, The symptoms of both are often the same; paranoia, hallucinations, self-destructive behavior, and delusions are a few of the many things that a person suffering from Schizophrenia may have to deal with. Schizophrenia is not only hard on the patient but also on their friends and family.…

    • 1888 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    4. Society views mental illness in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest with shame. Immediately when people saw the patient’s uniforms they were treated badly. The medical establishment views mental illness as people that need to be fixed. There are no conflicting viewpoints.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that generally appears in late adolescence or early adulthood - however, it can emerge at any time in life. It is one of many brain diseases that may include delusions, loss of personality (flat affect), confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis, and bizarre behavior.…

    • 1357 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental disorder. The fundamental attributes of the infection incorporate cognitive hindrance, which then affects personal satisfaction in professional and social circles. The breaking down of the personality and loss of cognitive capacity are a particularly difficult challenge for both the patient and his or her family. The cases of schizophrenia are found all through the world in all cultures, regardless of whichever culture and the levels of education. The onset of the disease typically happens between the ages of 15 and 30 (Brichford, 2012). This mental illness affects both men and women around the same rate. Increased risk of suicide and the health problems cause the low life expectancy, which is 10-12 years less than in people without schizophrenia (Brichford, 2012). With that being said, schizophrenia is a serious social and medical issue accompanied with severe cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disorders.…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1975 a director by the name of Milos Forman released his film called “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, which in my opinion was an interesting and great film. While conducting some research to see what was going on during the release of this film I discovered that prior to the film we have not too long ago finish fighting in the Vietnam War. After viewing the film multiple times, I started to pick up on the fact that it was more gear toward being in control verses actual mental illness of the patience. There were even times were one could see how it only took one person to exert power that went against the strict rules that were implemented in the mental hospital. In this paper I will be analyzing the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The understanding of mental illness today since the early 1900s has changed significantly. In the 1900s, people still had no real understanding of what caused mental illnesses, let alone how to treat the disease. The disease was feared and was seen as incurable. Mentally ill patients would be sent to asylums, and as a form of treatment they were tortured. Until in the later 1900s, it was discovered that certain factors and drug therapy could be a treatment to cure the mentally ill. Today there are various forms of treatment and treatment settings for the different mental illnesses that help to benefit the patients’ condition.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays