I think that society is as cold, ruthless, efficient and oppressive as it is in Ken Kesey’s Novel. My reasons for this is from looking at current issues in the World today and in the past.
A thing today where society is being cold are the issues with gay marriage. Homosexuals are being prevent from being married because of “Proposition 8”, where it is another person’s choice if a homosexual can marry. This is looked at from a Heterosexual point of view because to them “there is something wrong with being gay”. In some cases Homosexuals get “gay bashed” and oppressed, but they’re only human. This is similar to Kesey’s model because McMurphy is being prevented from getting something also, which is his freedom. It is Nurse Ratchet’s choice whether McMurphy leaves or not, not his own. She knows there isn’t something wrong with him, she only wants mess with him and oppress the voluntary accutes if they choose to follow McMurphy.
Another thing where society was being ruthless is slavery. Slaves were not looked at as people but materials, items, and property and not treated as humans. If they did not do what they were told they were tortured or punished. Inside the ward, the accutes and McMurphy would be punished with EST or a lobotomy if they got out of line and missed behaved.
Another thing that society is cold in is when an advertisement comes on television and they try to sell you an item that “works like a miracle” to help you fix a problem you might have or improve yourself in some way by lying to you. In McMurphy’s world this applies when Nurse Ratchet says that McMurphy isn’t mentally cured, so for him to get better he should stay at the ward until she thinks he’s ready.
A way in which society tends to be cruel is when the government tries to control people in the rest of society by force and setting up these rules that limits freedom and things that people do. This can apply in McMurphy 's
Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(novel) http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/cuckoo/