The Big nurse may yell at you, and symbolically take they’re manhood away. This is one of the
The Big nurse may yell at you, and symbolically take they’re manhood away. This is one of the
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey brings up many good opposing arguments. Insanity vs normal, order vs chaos, authority vs rebellion, and finally he brings up selfishness vs selflessness. Throughout the novel, McMurphy is being tested on whether or not he truly is selfless. At first his motives for everything are unclear, but by the end McMurphy can easily be identified as a character with the best intentions for almost everything. McMurphy acts only with the best intentions, making him a selfless character.…
When a person is born, they are taught to be themselves and that they are free. However, as time goes on, society deems what “themselves” should be. In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kessey, a story is told about a new patient, McMurohy, who arrives into an asylum ward and causes trouble. Much like the world today, there is a force of individuality and a force of conformity. In the book, the main character, Chief Bromden, must decide on whether he wants to become a minion to society or have his own free will. When society forces social norms and demands obedience, there is an opposing force of individuality that rebels back within them. In this community, a person has to decide whether they are going to conform to what they are told…
Nurse Ratched or the Big Nurse tries to gain control using fear. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as one of the biggest bullies in this novel. She is described to behave like a smooth machine in order to keep control of the ward. She has also instilled such a fear into the patients that many of them do what she wants without her even talking. Nurse Ratched wants to be in charge of every little detail of the ward. Things had to run exactly the way she wanted it too. In order to do this, she kept the men in line. Also, to keep control she tortures the patients. She basically tries to avoid them getting better so that she can have total control of their lives.…
In my opinion the main theme of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is conformity. The patients at this mental institution, or at least the one in the Big Nurse's ward, find themselves on a rough situation where not following standards costs them many privileges being taken away. The standards that the Combine sets are what makes the patients so afraid of a change and simply conform hopelessly to what they have since anything out of the ordinary would get them in trouble. Such conformity is what Mc Murphy can not stand and makes him bring life back to the ward by fighting Miss Ratched and creating a new environment for the patients. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest represents…
During one of the Group Meetings before McMurphy arrives, Nurse Ratched is using her tricks to make the patients admit how they feel and say what they had done. She says, “‘Am I to take it that there’s not a man among you that has committed some act that he has never admitted?’ She reached for the log book. ‘Must we go over past history?’”(45). After using the tactic of fear, all of the patients start talking about everything they had done. At this point in the book, Nurse Ratched holds all the power within the ward. She can make the patients do almost anything she wants them to do. Chief has always seen Nurse Ratched the same; he sees her as a scary, powerful nurse who has control over his life. The first mentioning of Nurse Ratched is at the very beginning of the book. Chief hears her coming and thinks, “I know it’s the Big Nurse”(4). It is not the context of the quotation or what happens in the quotation that matters. It is what Chief calls the Nurse. Because she is the one in charge of the entire ward and holds the most power, at that moment, she is known as the “Big Nurse.” Not only does she literally have the word “Big” in her name, but it is capitalized, which adds onto her repeated motif of size. Unfortunately for her, Chief is able to change his perception of her “almighty”…
As the head nurse and as a woman with many connections both inside and outside of the hospital, she is able to maneuver things so that most situations fit her expectations. If she needs to, she uses the force of her hatred to get things done. Though she smiles a lot and talks sweetly, she’s definitely not a kind or charming woman. She is, however, a woman with strong will and a fanaticism for control. She pursues power with intensity and is very successful at getting people to do what she wants. Although Nurse Ratched is an antagonist of the worst kind in this book, even Chief knows that she’s simply the human face of the Combine – machine that Chief imagines is society. In other words, according to Chief, the system is larger than Nurse Ratched; she is only part of the system. She happens to be the patients’ direct link to the mechanical system, but she is not the system itself. This puts Nurse Ratched and her power into perspective. However, even with her little amount of power, she is destructive. In the short timeframe of the book, she destroys three men – two commit suicide and one is lobotomized. She gets what she wants and feels no guilt about how it’s…
The film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest directed by Milos Forman exemplifies several social psychological theories and influencing behaviours. This film focuses on Mc Murphy's problems about obedience and conforming, nurse Ratched's problems with disobedient and nonconformist people and also the situational forces that are affecting the person's behaviours. The film highlights elements which contribute to all three types of social influence: conformity, compliance and obedience…
I think that society is as cold, ruthless, efficient and oppressive as it is in Ken Kesey’s Novel. My reasons for this is from looking at current issues in the World today and in the past.…
In the novel, One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey , birds where used as symbols often. Birds have been used throughout to novel as a representation for freedom that patients in the institution didn’t have. The title “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest” has a references to birds which foreshadows there relevance throughout the novel. Cuckoos are birds that do not raise their own but place their young in others nest for them to raise. Like the mental patients at the institution they have been placed together isolated from reality. The title also comes from a poem that can explain birds and the characters sequence during the novel.…
Another way the Big Nurse manipulates others is by trying to turn others against the patients who are hard to control by telling lies about them. When she is unable to get McMurphy under control, she tries to manipulate the other patients…
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden, exclaims that he dreams of a life where he can, “just be the catcher in the rye and all” (Salinger 200). Due to the pressures of American conformity in the early 1950’s, he discovers that he will never live a life where he simply keeps children from “falling off of cliffs”―helping them preserve their innocence. The Catcher in the Rye teaches readers that America promotes a materialistic culture in which conformity prevails.…
In response to a sick patient asking politely if when being bathed the staff could go more gently she says, “"There isn't much fear of hurting you. Shut up, or you'll get it worse” (Bly, np) This quote by itself speaks volumes. The nurses are completely unconcerned by the fact they are torturing the patients. The poor girl was sick when forced to take a cold bath. She was not allowed to bathe herself, and mistreated by the way the nurse’s scrubbed harshly. The nurse disgustingly informs the patient that they are fine with hurting her, and would hurt her worse if she complained again. The way the nurses treat the patients is sick. Out of the few actual insane people emitted to the asylum Bly stayed in, the nurses are astronomically more…
In the mental institution, the hospital has to look after psychologically disturbed patients. Through the routine check, the hospital knows the daily condition of patients and makes sure they are not a danger to themselves. The screaming, routine handling of medicines and the seclusion for those who scream are part of a mental institution’s atmosphere. Routine treatments with medicine not only help patients calm down during the day, but also help them rest during the night. The "seclusion" is a room for those who scream or want to scream so they do not bother the others. Therapy and medicine treatments in addition to living condition within the hospital will determine the success of the…
1. Define conformity, and distinguish between compliance, obedience, and acceptance, giving examples of each. What types of influences lead to conformity? When are we likely to conform and why does it have a negative connotation in Western society? Compare and contrast the conformity experiments of Sherif and Asch. Describe their methodology and the results that they observed. What processes seem to be at work in each case? In your view, would we get the same results today?…
Most teenagers experience peer pressure - conformity to thoughts, actions, and appearance of others. Due to the desire to fit in and be accepted, teenagers are vulnerable to the pressure to change. Isolation from others frightens people into conformity. Individuals are alike in all different ways even if it is not noticeable. How does such fear of isolation lead to conformity? A piece of clothing may not be one's style, but everyone else owns it so one would feel obligated to acquire a piece. Loneliness is painful so to avoid it, conformity to others may be the easiest way. Personally, I am not one to conform to others because I have learned my lesson. My experience with conformity leaves a bitter trail in my memories. So bitter that I hated…