Power In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Power In Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey focuses on the battle between powerful versus the powerless in order to motivate readers to fight against the higher authority. Chief Bromden looses his strength within himself by allowing others to influence his actions. Billy Bibbit is restricted on growing up from his overly protective Mother and Ms. Ratched. Furthermore, McMurphy was willing to sacrifice his life to push others to stand up for themselves. Power and control are the central ideas of Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. There are examples of physical, authoritative and mechanical power in the novel, as well as cases of self-control, and control over others. Chief
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Billy is voluntarily in the hospital, as he is afraid of the outside world due to his Mother trapping him and not allowing him to grow as a young male. Billy didn’t have the courage to stand up for himself in the beginning until McMurphy came along and helped expand his growth as a man. Billy finally decides to stand up to Ms. Ratched and have no shame in his actions by sleeping with Candy but ends up backfiring on him. Ms. Ratched threatens to tell Billy’s Mother which leads him to being powerless and vulnerable. Both women held him back from growing up and the fact he’s failed his mother and her envision of him is too much to handle. With all the stress, disappointment, and pressure from the threat given, Billy ends up committing suicide. When McMurphy realizes what has happen he tells Ms. Ratched, “First Charles Cheswick and how William Bibbit! I hope you’re finally satisfied. Playing with human lives—gambling with human lives—as if you thought yourself to be a God!” (Kesey 266). It was all too overwhelming and unbearable for him and at this point it was too late for Billy. Kesey is telling his readers that by Billy holding himself back from sticking up for himself earlier, he most likely wouldn’t have resulted in ending his own life due to the amount of stress and pressure put on him from those who over powered him in his
Billy is voluntarily in the hospital, as he is afraid of the outside world due to his Mother trapping him and not allowing him to grow as a young male. Billy didn’t have the courage to stand up for himself in the beginning until McMurphy came along and helped expand his growth as a man. Billy finally decides to stand up to Ms. Ratched and have no shame in his actions by sleeping with Candy but ends up backfiring on him. Ms. Ratched threatens to tell Billy’s Mother which leads him to being powerless and vulnerable. Both women held him back from growing up and the fact he’s failed his mother and her envision of him is too much to handle. With all the stress, disappointment, and pressure from the threat given, Billy ends up committing suicide. When McMurphy realizes what has happen he tells Ms. Ratched, “First Charles Cheswick and how William Bibbit! I hope you’re finally satisfied. Playing with human lives—gambling with human lives—as if you thought yourself to be a God!” (Kesey 266). It was all too overwhelming and unbearable for him and at this point it was too late for Billy. Kesey is telling his readers that by Billy holding himself back from sticking up for himself earlier, he most likely wouldn’t have resulted in ending his own life due to the amount of stress and pressure put on him from those who over powered him in his