One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis
VanWilpe 1 VanWilpe
Professor
English 240
27 September 2013 Hard Rock Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane 1968 One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest 1962 Novel 1975 Film Two artistic forms of expression, like fine wine and a good meal, or shall I say like an aneurysm and a walking china cabinet, as I have chosen here two artistic forms of the brutal reality of the mentally insane and the expression of human nature. I will attempt to explore these two creations and their connection. I will express my interpretation of each works and explain …show more content…
and support its form or structure. Both of these artistic forms are strong expressions about the
“hard cold” realities of human nature. “Hard Rock Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane,” it’s like an allegory of oral tradition. Hard Rock is a legend to all prison inmates and his fame can only travel by word of mouth. Possibly this is why ‘WORD’ is given so much importance in the third stanza. It brings attention to the word ‘WORD’. What is the ‘WORD’? The so called story about Hard Rock! Word has it, he has changed, for the better, as if he changed himself on his own, voluntarily. Which is not the reality of the ‘WORD’. The use of the word
“nigger” gives it it’s edge, the reality of prison life. The author presents many motives, specially through the diction used, to exemplify the tones portrayed by the speaker pertaining to the character of Hard Rock. The perception shared among the inmates, “ not to take no shit/ from nobody” tends to alter as the poem progresses, displaying tonal shifts among stanzas, especially noted by the diction used.
In the first stanza, the character of Hard Rock was depicted and characterized with having VanWilpe 2 animalistic qualities, he was fearless, had “scars,” “split purple lips, lumped ears, welts above/
His yellow eyes…./. This description and possibly all personas in the poem represented by his voice, creates a fearful tone towards the character in explanation because of these qualities. The second stanza which explains the medical procedure done to “tame” such an animal as
Hard Rock. The tone among these inmates can be defined as anticipating the results of the
“WORD. “ Stanzas 3 & 4 also represent anecdotes that established the prison’s populace to be in a state of waiting and anticipating if Hard Rock had changed in any form. The anticipation allowed the reader to assume that the inmates took very much interest in discovering the turnout of his personality after the medical procedure. Even in the fourth stanza, the author identifies the situation of the results of Hard Rocks character. This brings the tone of the stanza to the edge of the anticipation with the new version of his character. In the last stanza the tone of anticipation is shifted to a sense of denial among the inmates as they attempt to swallow the truth of this reality. Hard Rock gave them a sense of freedom as he accomplished what other inmates wished they could do. Hard Rock is symbolic: strong, rough, tough and uncompromising. The first stanza is vividly described. He is their hero who they can live through. But the ‘WORD’ has changed all hope.
That even the toughest of men can be broken. A human spirit should never be broken. The way
Hard Rock’s spirit was broken was the only way to break a spirit, and that is to kill it, Literally!
I do not think the author is trying to justify Hard Rock’s actions, I believe he is expressing the hard cold fact of the repercussions of conformity and the overwhelming powers by which we are made to conform.
At what point do we draw the line on forcible conformity. I am not saying we should allow criminal behavior, by no means, criminal behavior is unacceptable.
Just to think that it was a loud to lobotomize criminals/mentally insane persons into complacency. Human nature can be a scary thought and a hard reality. This world has come VanWilpe 3 along ways. It is unfortunate that evil has to be experienced to the true goodness of things. This poem is psychological, for it examines the emotional dependence of the human psyche has on hope. Given the social conditions of prison life, the isolation and limitation, inmates need these legends to carry on if not for their own sanity. This next artistic form of expression is a classic film based on a novel written in 1962 about the mentally insane inside an institution and its cruelty of human nature and the need for hope and feeling of freedom within. “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is a 1975 American drama film based on the
1962 novel by Ken Kesey. The film was the second to win all five major Academy Awards at that time. It was shot at Oregon State Hospital, in Salem. It was about a recidivist, antiauthoritarian criminal named Randle Patrick “Mac” McMurphy, serving a short sentence on a prison farm, is transferred to a mental institution for an evaluation. Although he does not show any signs of mental illness, he hopes to avoid hard labor and serve the rest of his sentence in a more relaxed hospital environment. The Ward is run by a steely , unyielding nurse named Ratched, who employs subtle humiliation, unpleasant medical treatments and a mind-numbing daily routine to suppress the patients. Randle finds that they are more fearful of Ratched than being focus on becoming functional in the outside world. Randle establishes himself immediately the leader. His fellow patients: Billy the nervous, stuttering young man, Charlie, a man disposed to childish fits, Martini, who is delusional, Dale, a high strung, well-educated paranoid, Max who is belligerent and profane, Jim, the epileptic and the Chief, the silent Indian imposing to be deaf and a mute. Randle and Ratched battle escalates rapidly. Randle constantly calls for votes on Ward policy changes to challenge nurse Ratched. He even steals a hospital bus and takes his fellow patients aboard to a boat and go deep sea fishing and tells them they are not “nuts”, VanWilpe 4
That they are fisherman! And they begin to feel a faint sense of self-determination.
Soon after Randle learns that the Ward has the power to keep him indefinitely. Ratched tightens her grip on everyone. She sends them all to the shock room for electroconvulsive therapy. While waiting each tune, Chief speaks some words to Randle, as we find out
Chief is not deaf or a mute. Randle has also given Chief feelings of self- worth. Randle through this whole story has given something to each of them, making him some sort of a legend in their eyes. It is as if the institution never intended to help them but to keep them there. Things continue to escalate. They were all doing something wrong again and got in trouble and Billy spoke up to Ratched without stuttering. Ratched came back at him saying she is going to tell his mother what he has done, instead of recognizing his improvement, she keeps him in that mental state. Billy goes into panic, starts punching himself, then locks himself in the doctor’s office and kills himself. Randle rages over this, and chokes Ratched nearly to death. Sometime later, the patients in the Ward do a pale imitation of Randles patter. Ratched still recovering from the choking is wearing a neck brace and speaks in a thin, reedy voice.
The patients pass a whispered rumor that Randle has escaped the hospital rather than being upstairs. Later that night Chief sees Randle being escorted back to his bed and initially believes that he has returned so they can escape together, which he is now ready to do since Randle has made him feel as big as a mountain. When Chief looks closely at Randle’s unresponsive face, he is horrified to see the lobotomy scars on his forehead. Unwilling to allow Randle to live like this, he smothers him to death and carries out Randle’s escape plan, as all the other patients cheer him on. VanWilpe 5 Unfortunately Randles reaction gave him a life sentence, whether or not Chief smothered him. Despite Randles devotion for standing up for what is right, he will always be wrong.
He is in an institution for the mentally ill serving out a sentence for raping a girl. In Ratched’s eyes and all the ward’s eyes he is a bad person, just as they treated the rest of the patients in the institution as if there was no cure or hope. They did not even bother with assessing improvement . With that would mean certain disruptions and possibly Ratched feared losing her job. Instead of having a feeling of self- worth and giving back to this world, doing something useful, she was a far worse person than Randle and his crime. Despite criminals stand for what is right, they will always be knocked down. I think even people who do not have criminal records get a feeling inside that makes us feel strong too when witnessing or even watching a movie with events expressed to us of bad guys standing strong for human kind. Just has “Hard Rock” living a life inside prison can take the very life from a man’s soul, surviving for sanity is not an easy thing for everyone. Sometimes just having one person stand out of a crowd can go a long ways for a number of people.
This makes certain persons in charge uneasy, as nurse Ratched with Randle and “Hard
Rock” and his prison guards. To keep law and order, history has proven to be quite inhuman. I find both of these artistic forms to go together quite well. Both are expressions of the hard cold realities of human nature at its worst and its strength.
VanWilpe 6 Works Cited
Hunter P.& Booth A. & Mays K. 2007. “The Norton Introduction To Poetry.” Ch 1. “Hard Rocks Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane.” (pp 32). Published By Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data.
IMDb (1990 – 2013) www.imdb.com/title/tt00734861. “ One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” IMDb.com, Inc
Poets.org (1997). “Hard Rock Returns To Prison From the Hospital For The Criminally Insane.” www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/. The Academy Of American Poets.
Wikipedia. (2013). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo’s_Nest_(novel). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
YoTube . (2008). “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Trailer- Hol- YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wsyjgyd7sa.
Professor
English 240
27 September 2013 Hard Rock Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane 1968 One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest 1962 Novel 1975 Film Two artistic forms of expression, like fine wine and a good meal, or shall I say like an aneurysm and a walking china cabinet, as I have chosen here two artistic forms of the brutal reality of the mentally insane and the expression of human nature. I will attempt to explore these two creations and their connection. I will express my interpretation of each works and explain …show more content…
and support its form or structure. Both of these artistic forms are strong expressions about the
“hard cold” realities of human nature. “Hard Rock Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane,” it’s like an allegory of oral tradition. Hard Rock is a legend to all prison inmates and his fame can only travel by word of mouth. Possibly this is why ‘WORD’ is given so much importance in the third stanza. It brings attention to the word ‘WORD’. What is the ‘WORD’? The so called story about Hard Rock! Word has it, he has changed, for the better, as if he changed himself on his own, voluntarily. Which is not the reality of the ‘WORD’. The use of the word
“nigger” gives it it’s edge, the reality of prison life. The author presents many motives, specially through the diction used, to exemplify the tones portrayed by the speaker pertaining to the character of Hard Rock. The perception shared among the inmates, “ not to take no shit/ from nobody” tends to alter as the poem progresses, displaying tonal shifts among stanzas, especially noted by the diction used.
In the first stanza, the character of Hard Rock was depicted and characterized with having VanWilpe 2 animalistic qualities, he was fearless, had “scars,” “split purple lips, lumped ears, welts above/
His yellow eyes…./. This description and possibly all personas in the poem represented by his voice, creates a fearful tone towards the character in explanation because of these qualities. The second stanza which explains the medical procedure done to “tame” such an animal as
Hard Rock. The tone among these inmates can be defined as anticipating the results of the
“WORD. “ Stanzas 3 & 4 also represent anecdotes that established the prison’s populace to be in a state of waiting and anticipating if Hard Rock had changed in any form. The anticipation allowed the reader to assume that the inmates took very much interest in discovering the turnout of his personality after the medical procedure. Even in the fourth stanza, the author identifies the situation of the results of Hard Rocks character. This brings the tone of the stanza to the edge of the anticipation with the new version of his character. In the last stanza the tone of anticipation is shifted to a sense of denial among the inmates as they attempt to swallow the truth of this reality. Hard Rock gave them a sense of freedom as he accomplished what other inmates wished they could do. Hard Rock is symbolic: strong, rough, tough and uncompromising. The first stanza is vividly described. He is their hero who they can live through. But the ‘WORD’ has changed all hope.
That even the toughest of men can be broken. A human spirit should never be broken. The way
Hard Rock’s spirit was broken was the only way to break a spirit, and that is to kill it, Literally!
I do not think the author is trying to justify Hard Rock’s actions, I believe he is expressing the hard cold fact of the repercussions of conformity and the overwhelming powers by which we are made to conform.
At what point do we draw the line on forcible conformity. I am not saying we should allow criminal behavior, by no means, criminal behavior is unacceptable.
Just to think that it was a loud to lobotomize criminals/mentally insane persons into complacency. Human nature can be a scary thought and a hard reality. This world has come VanWilpe 3 along ways. It is unfortunate that evil has to be experienced to the true goodness of things. This poem is psychological, for it examines the emotional dependence of the human psyche has on hope. Given the social conditions of prison life, the isolation and limitation, inmates need these legends to carry on if not for their own sanity. This next artistic form of expression is a classic film based on a novel written in 1962 about the mentally insane inside an institution and its cruelty of human nature and the need for hope and feeling of freedom within. “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is a 1975 American drama film based on the
1962 novel by Ken Kesey. The film was the second to win all five major Academy Awards at that time. It was shot at Oregon State Hospital, in Salem. It was about a recidivist, antiauthoritarian criminal named Randle Patrick “Mac” McMurphy, serving a short sentence on a prison farm, is transferred to a mental institution for an evaluation. Although he does not show any signs of mental illness, he hopes to avoid hard labor and serve the rest of his sentence in a more relaxed hospital environment. The Ward is run by a steely , unyielding nurse named Ratched, who employs subtle humiliation, unpleasant medical treatments and a mind-numbing daily routine to suppress the patients. Randle finds that they are more fearful of Ratched than being focus on becoming functional in the outside world. Randle establishes himself immediately the leader. His fellow patients: Billy the nervous, stuttering young man, Charlie, a man disposed to childish fits, Martini, who is delusional, Dale, a high strung, well-educated paranoid, Max who is belligerent and profane, Jim, the epileptic and the Chief, the silent Indian imposing to be deaf and a mute. Randle and Ratched battle escalates rapidly. Randle constantly calls for votes on Ward policy changes to challenge nurse Ratched. He even steals a hospital bus and takes his fellow patients aboard to a boat and go deep sea fishing and tells them they are not “nuts”, VanWilpe 4
That they are fisherman! And they begin to feel a faint sense of self-determination.
Soon after Randle learns that the Ward has the power to keep him indefinitely. Ratched tightens her grip on everyone. She sends them all to the shock room for electroconvulsive therapy. While waiting each tune, Chief speaks some words to Randle, as we find out
Chief is not deaf or a mute. Randle has also given Chief feelings of self- worth. Randle through this whole story has given something to each of them, making him some sort of a legend in their eyes. It is as if the institution never intended to help them but to keep them there. Things continue to escalate. They were all doing something wrong again and got in trouble and Billy spoke up to Ratched without stuttering. Ratched came back at him saying she is going to tell his mother what he has done, instead of recognizing his improvement, she keeps him in that mental state. Billy goes into panic, starts punching himself, then locks himself in the doctor’s office and kills himself. Randle rages over this, and chokes Ratched nearly to death. Sometime later, the patients in the Ward do a pale imitation of Randles patter. Ratched still recovering from the choking is wearing a neck brace and speaks in a thin, reedy voice.
The patients pass a whispered rumor that Randle has escaped the hospital rather than being upstairs. Later that night Chief sees Randle being escorted back to his bed and initially believes that he has returned so they can escape together, which he is now ready to do since Randle has made him feel as big as a mountain. When Chief looks closely at Randle’s unresponsive face, he is horrified to see the lobotomy scars on his forehead. Unwilling to allow Randle to live like this, he smothers him to death and carries out Randle’s escape plan, as all the other patients cheer him on. VanWilpe 5 Unfortunately Randles reaction gave him a life sentence, whether or not Chief smothered him. Despite Randles devotion for standing up for what is right, he will always be wrong.
He is in an institution for the mentally ill serving out a sentence for raping a girl. In Ratched’s eyes and all the ward’s eyes he is a bad person, just as they treated the rest of the patients in the institution as if there was no cure or hope. They did not even bother with assessing improvement . With that would mean certain disruptions and possibly Ratched feared losing her job. Instead of having a feeling of self- worth and giving back to this world, doing something useful, she was a far worse person than Randle and his crime. Despite criminals stand for what is right, they will always be knocked down. I think even people who do not have criminal records get a feeling inside that makes us feel strong too when witnessing or even watching a movie with events expressed to us of bad guys standing strong for human kind. Just has “Hard Rock” living a life inside prison can take the very life from a man’s soul, surviving for sanity is not an easy thing for everyone. Sometimes just having one person stand out of a crowd can go a long ways for a number of people.
This makes certain persons in charge uneasy, as nurse Ratched with Randle and “Hard
Rock” and his prison guards. To keep law and order, history has proven to be quite inhuman. I find both of these artistic forms to go together quite well. Both are expressions of the hard cold realities of human nature at its worst and its strength.
VanWilpe 6 Works Cited
Hunter P.& Booth A. & Mays K. 2007. “The Norton Introduction To Poetry.” Ch 1. “Hard Rocks Returns To Prison From The Hospital For The Criminally Insane.” (pp 32). Published By Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data.
IMDb (1990 – 2013) www.imdb.com/title/tt00734861. “ One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” IMDb.com, Inc
Poets.org (1997). “Hard Rock Returns To Prison From the Hospital For The Criminally Insane.” www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/. The Academy Of American Poets.
Wikipedia. (2013). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo’s_Nest_(novel). Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
YoTube . (2008). “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Trailer- Hol- YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wsyjgyd7sa.