One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Language Analysis

In One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, Ken Kesey uses first person narration by a secondary character using a subjective tone. By using an unstable perspective of a schizophrenic Indian, Bromden, results in ambiguity leading the readers to make decisions on which parts of the plot are real and which are hallucinated. Sentence structure and machine imagery help emphasise the ambiguity of the novel by placing the reader through the mind of Bromden. Through using these techniques Kesey mystifies the plot which makes the reader to ponder over whether the plot is real or hallucinated.
An unreliable perspective is used through the text, employing a narrative voice which results in ambiguity, leading the reader to think about the reality of the novel.
Bromden has been on the ward “longer’n anybody. Longer’n any of the other patients” (page 14) stating this makes it known to the reader that he has had these conditions for a long time, making it understandable that the text is not all reliable. Due to his disturbed reflections of what occurs on the ward ‘they pull the nails when it’s time to eat or time to drive him in to bed when they want him to move so I can mop the puddle where he stands’ (page 13) the action and significance of the novel is judged. An unreliable narrator, holds a distorted view of the events leading to inaccurate storytelling, giving the readers the ability to offer their own interpretations of the plot. Chief also mentions ‘I been silent so long now it’s gonna roar out of me like floodwaters … you think this is too horrible to have really happened… It’s still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen” (Page 9 ) clearly stating to the reader that there is a chance he may be unreliable and the events which occur may not be believable. Through using an unreliable narrator Kesey makes the reader ponder over the reality of the novel.
The sentence structure utilised leads the reader to question the trustworthiness of the narrator as the language Bromden uses is non-standard, showing the reader of his interior monologue, which shows that the way he perceives is unusual.
‘When they hate like this, better if they don’t see me’ (page 1) is suggested that sees hate as a psychological condition and does not think of hate to relate to something or someone. It is also seen that Bromden presents ‘factual events’ that the reader would most likely attribute to his hallucinations, like the orderlies who ‘… Commit sex acts in the hall and get it mopped up before I can catch them.’ (Page 1) Due to the unreliability of the narrator, it is unknown whether to be true or not, resulting in the readers deciding for themselves the events which are real and the events with took place in his imagination. Bromden’s mind style consists of a limited concepts of which he relates to as metaphors and similes of machinery ‘his eyes are all smoked up and gray and deserted inside like blown fuses’ (page 13). This is the core of his conceptual system and shows that Bromden has an imbalance of mental and linguistic abilities because of his background. Through the use of sentence structure the reader views the way the narrators mind functions leaving the reader to question the trustworthiness of the
narrator.
Machinery imagery is commonly referred to which is assumed to be as a result of Bromden’s schizophrenia, this leads the reader to criticise to what effect this has on the plot. ‘… Most of us—are machines with flaws inside … ‘(page 13) the use of metaphors within the text extends common conventional metaphors which are used in everyday language such as the concept of people being machines. In the plot Bromden thinks that the orderlies possess ‘special sensitive equipment’ (page 7), their whispers like ‘the hum of black machinery’ (page 7). Within the narrative it is discovered that Bromden studied ‘electronics for a year’ (page 22) and worked as an assistant of an electrician during World War II, gaining familiarity with electronics and mechanical objects, but it is seen that he also fears them. The tone used is a familiar yet threatening realm of machinery which he uses to explain a wide range of subjects such as the hospital ‘They start the fog machine again … so thick I might even be able to hide …’ (page 9) or emotional outbursts ‘made a mistake in one of their head installations’ (page 13) As a consequence it leads the reader to gain the knowledge of Bromden’s hallucinations and the way in which he thinks.
Ken Kesey utilises first person narration by a secondary character which in a subjective tone and uses an unstable perspective of a schizophrenic Indian, Bromden, resulting in ambiguity which leads the readers to make decisions on which sections of the plot are real and which hallucinated. Sentence structure and machine imagery help emphasise the ambiguity of the novel by placing the reader through the mind of Bromden. Through using these techniques Kesey mystifies the plot which allows the reader to ponder whether the plot is real or hallucinated.