Mccarthyism and the One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Vincent Sham
Text & Context
Prof. Grisafi
Final Paper
McCarthyism and the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the characters of Nurse Ratched and Bromden Chief both serve as social commentary of the government of the 1950s. Nurse Ratched represents the control and dominance of the government in the 50s, and Bromden Chief represents the oppression of non-white people by the government and McCarthyism. McCarthyism was a tool that was used by the government at that time in order to scare and manipulate citizens. Similarly, Nurse Ratched symbolizes McCarthyism because she instills fear and exerts control over the patients in the mental ward.
Nurse Ratched’s character represents the famous senator, Joseph McCarthy. Specifically, Nurse Ratched’s practice of rewarding patients who spy on one another is just like the practice of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the practice of arbitrarily accusing a person with any ties to the Soviet Union of being a communist. In the U.S., communists and some other popular liberals were marginalized in the 1950s. The government suspected that there were spies in the U.S. who sold the secret to the Soviet, resulting in the Red Scare. Moreover, people began to think that others around them might be Soviet spies, and there could be no trust among one another. Since the Soviet Union was communist party, the U.S. government suspected that people who supported communist belief or talked about communism would be considered spy, and they would be ostracized or even persecuted. This persecution was fueled primarily by Senator McCarthy and the practice of McCarthyism. McCarthyism rewarded those who were “loyal” to America, and those who spied on potential communist. In the same way, Nurse Ratched’s rewarding of patients who spy on another parallels this aspect of McCarthyism.
In the story, Nurse Ratched is a coercive and manipulative character. She controls the people in the ward including
Text & Context
Prof. Grisafi
Final Paper
McCarthyism and the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the characters of Nurse Ratched and Bromden Chief both serve as social commentary of the government of the 1950s. Nurse Ratched represents the control and dominance of the government in the 50s, and Bromden Chief represents the oppression of non-white people by the government and McCarthyism. McCarthyism was a tool that was used by the government at that time in order to scare and manipulate citizens. Similarly, Nurse Ratched symbolizes McCarthyism because she instills fear and exerts control over the patients in the mental ward.
Nurse Ratched’s character represents the famous senator, Joseph McCarthy. Specifically, Nurse Ratched’s practice of rewarding patients who spy on one another is just like the practice of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was the practice of arbitrarily accusing a person with any ties to the Soviet Union of being a communist. In the U.S., communists and some other popular liberals were marginalized in the 1950s. The government suspected that there were spies in the U.S. who sold the secret to the Soviet, resulting in the Red Scare. Moreover, people began to think that others around them might be Soviet spies, and there could be no trust among one another. Since the Soviet Union was communist party, the U.S. government suspected that people who supported communist belief or talked about communism would be considered spy, and they would be ostracized or even persecuted. This persecution was fueled primarily by Senator McCarthy and the practice of McCarthyism. McCarthyism rewarded those who were “loyal” to America, and those who spied on potential communist. In the same way, Nurse Ratched’s rewarding of patients who spy on another parallels this aspect of McCarthyism.
In the story, Nurse Ratched is a coercive and manipulative character. She controls the people in the ward including
Cited: Kesey, Ken. One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest, a Novel. New York: Viking, 1962. Print. Fried, Albert. McCarthyism: The Great American Red Scare : A Documentary History. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print. Shelton, Christina. Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason. New York: Threshold Editions, 2012. Print. Fixico, Donald Lee. "Termination and Relocation." Termination and Relocation: Federal Indian Policy in the 1950s. N.p.: Suzanne J. Crawford, 2005. Print. Guelzo, Allen C. Lincoln 's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print. Waxler, Robert P. "Abstracts." The Mixed Heritage of the Chief: Revisiting the Problem of Manhood in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest. ' Male Bodybuilding: The Social Construction of a Masculine Identity. Robert P. Waxler, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.