The Definition of Insanity in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Kevin Fogarty 4/2/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Essay AP Literature - Stops
As Ray Bradbury once said, "Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." In his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey depicts this arbitrary line between sane and insane. By elucidating the oppressive role of the mental institution and portraying its patients as more eccentric than insane, Kesey sparks a re-evaluation of what it means to be insane. Throughout the novel, the reader is made to question society's definition and the responsibility of the institution for the mental state of its occupants. Insanity is largely dependent upon context and time period. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, takes place during the mid-twentieth century, the age of conformity. Because there was such a narrow range of acceptable behavior, individuals who did not conform were often regarded as crazy. The lack of understanding of mental illness and the absence of effective psychotropic drugs led to warehousing of many patients. In addition, the pendulum was swinging back from the deinstitutionalization movement that was so prevalent in the 1950's. Large parts of the population were being swept into institutions, which served as storage houses for a broad range of conditions. And once inside, mental instability was often perpetuated by the very system intended to "cure" it. In another time period, many of the patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest probably would not have been institutionalized. Throughout the story, Chief describes the hospital as a place where society threw all of the nonconformists. McMurphy told the other patients, “I don't think you fully understand the public, my friend; in this country, when something is out of order, then the quickest way to get it fixed is the best way.” In this case, the quickest way was having one institution for a wide range of conditions, and pressuring those who did not kowtow to admit
As Ray Bradbury once said, "Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." In his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey depicts this arbitrary line between sane and insane. By elucidating the oppressive role of the mental institution and portraying its patients as more eccentric than insane, Kesey sparks a re-evaluation of what it means to be insane. Throughout the novel, the reader is made to question society's definition and the responsibility of the institution for the mental state of its occupants. Insanity is largely dependent upon context and time period. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, takes place during the mid-twentieth century, the age of conformity. Because there was such a narrow range of acceptable behavior, individuals who did not conform were often regarded as crazy. The lack of understanding of mental illness and the absence of effective psychotropic drugs led to warehousing of many patients. In addition, the pendulum was swinging back from the deinstitutionalization movement that was so prevalent in the 1950's. Large parts of the population were being swept into institutions, which served as storage houses for a broad range of conditions. And once inside, mental instability was often perpetuated by the very system intended to "cure" it. In another time period, many of the patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest probably would not have been institutionalized. Throughout the story, Chief describes the hospital as a place where society threw all of the nonconformists. McMurphy told the other patients, “I don't think you fully understand the public, my friend; in this country, when something is out of order, then the quickest way to get it fixed is the best way.” In this case, the quickest way was having one institution for a wide range of conditions, and pressuring those who did not kowtow to admit