One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest The significance of the title can be interpreted in this quote. The story is about a struggle in a psychiatric ward, where many “cuckoos” reside, “Ting. Tingle, tingle, tremble toes, she’s a good fisherman, catches hens, puts ‘em in pens… wire blier, limber lock, three geese inna flock… one flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest… O-U-T spells out… goose swoops down and plucks you out.” This is where the title comes from, the cuckoo’s nest being the psychiatric ward and McMurphy being the goose who plucks “you” out. The author of this book is Ken Kesey, also author of Demon Box and Sometimes a Great Notion. Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado. He graduated from the University of Oregon, and later studied a Stanford. Kesey was head of a group called The Merry Pranksters, who traveled around the country staging happenings. Kesey’s playful attitude is reflected in the main character, McMurphy, who is often pulling pranks in the psychiatric ward. The oppression of society is a big theme in the novel. The narrator (Chief Bromden) often reflects on how the Combine is taking over. The Big Nurse is never happy unless there is complete order in her ward. She often holds group meetings, in which she belittles her patients to where they are merely rabbits, and not men. Often, when a patient would act inflammatory, she would place him in Disturbed. There was always the threat of Electro-shock therapy, and even lobotomy. The only way to get out of the ward was if you gave up your personality and conformed to her rules. Most of the patients who are in the ward were forced there because of the oppression they faced outside of the hospital. Chief Bromden’s father was the chief of his village. The government was trying to push him off his land, and although he tried to maintain his way of life, his people