What Are The Stereotypes In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

As one of my group members had stated, “the time in which this novel was written was judgmental and allowed no deviation from societal norms.” One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey was written around the late 1950’s, so the society within the novel has not gone through the “Hippie and Counterculture Movement” or the “Civil Rights Movement” of the 1960’s. In this book, I noticed that there are a plethora of instances in which someone who slightly differs from what society thinks as “ordinary”, they were completely shamed. Harding is a character that people special to me can relate to; Harding is a gay man and this is shown through his dainty, delicate hands and gestures. During this time, since the LGBTQ community was almost nonexistent, being of a sexual orientation that is not heterosexual was horrendous. It’s extremely upsetting to know that some were sent to
mental institutions just because they had a contrasting preference. Also, after World War II, many people began turning to religion to console their losses or in search of a safe haven. Religious works like the “Bible” or the “Torah” include certain standards one should live by, so if those standards were not met, it was severely looked down upon. Fortunately, in my eyes, society has improved a great deal since then and people are more accepting. Another difference that strayed away from societal norms was Chief’s Native American heritage.
Due to mass genocide, Native American are one of the smallest populated cultures, although they were once hundreds of diverse tribes scattered across the Americas. Being of a minority ethnic group as well, I often sympathized with and related to Chief in more ways than one. The three government officials who had visited his house automatically assumed that Chief did not speak English and the staff in the mental ward often referred Chief as “deaf and dumb.” Personally, I have experienced this every now and then; when people have found out I am Dominican, they become surprised because “my English is so well” or “I am so smart.” These ideas are stereotypes that Dominicans, and Hispanics in general, are confronted with, along with constant belittlement and insults due to the fact that we are not part of the “majority” in terms of race. Again, society has come a long way, and America has grown into a nation of varying beliefs and races; however, I’m sure most can agree that there is always room for
improvement.