One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Rating:
Summary: Odd yet good
Review: A book is a book, but nevertheless there seems to be always something special about one. There are those books that are incredibly boring, and others that grab the reader and touch their hearts or perhaps chill them to their bones. But ¡§One Flew Over the Cuckoo¡¦s Nest¡¨ is something in between all of this. Not something that feels too extreme, yet more of something that makes the reader wonder.

Taking place in the a mental ward in the sixties, the story is told through the thoughts and eyes of a Native American Indian chief Bromden, who escapes into the fog which is created by his own paranoia till the new patient Randle Patrick McMurphy arrives. The boisterous McMurphy brings a spark into the depressing mood of the hospital, breaking the monotonous pattern of life in the ward and challenging the authority of the Big Nurse Ratched.

But to tell the truth, the plot was not what interested me but rather the characters themselves. Each was so vividly described from appearance to personality; all were well defined and varied from one person to another. Perhaps it was just the fact that each of them had various different mental disorders that made them act the eccentric ways they do, like Bromden who is lost in his fog, hiding from the world and Harding who¡¦s sophisticated speech contrasts with his squeaking laugher.

But to come back to the point, the book really is something that seems somewhat enigmatic to me. Perhaps it is just that I read too much fiction, but the line between the delusions and hallucinations of Bromden and what is really happening in the ward are blurred. Creating a soupy mixture of reality and illusions, which at some points confuses me (that¡¦s why its four stars not five).

As a reader I found myself wondering what it all was; what was the root of the problem, why was it attacking Bromden and various other questions. Here the human trait of curiosity is played on, and I found myself falling deep into the storyline seeking to satisfy my inquisitiveness. Undeniably a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: Modern Classic
Review: Much has been made of the thematic nature of this great novel: the way society relentlessly grinds us into conformity; the way those in power abuse it to bring those under them into submission; the way one who is outspoken is often firmly chastised; etc. These are all valid themes and wonderfully symbolized by the very real characters in this novel.

A lot less has been made of the fact that the book in many ways and all by itself is very therapeutic. I read it for the first time in my mid-teens, a period when most of us go through the difficult stage of trying to determine who we are, and worse, whether what we are becoming is acceptable. I'd look around at people my age and wonder how in the world they were so confident, so smart, so sure of themselves. Me? I was not unlike the Chief of this novel, wandering around in a fog half the time, trying to figure out what in the heck I was supposed to do or say or think at any given moment.

But I read this book and suddenly--well, not suddenly--it helped to make things easier. What it makes clear is this: it's okay to be yourself. You don't have to hide things. It's okay to talk while your delicate white hands float in the air and form what you say, like Harding. It's okay to write letters and look concerned, even though everyone in the world thinks you're a Neanderthal, like McMurphy. It's okay to feel sad, it's okay to want to be alone, it's okay to be nervous around girls. What a relief it was when this finally sank in: I wasn't some kind of a psychopath, doomed forever to be a figure of ridicule while my back was turned. It's ohhh-kayyy! To me this was the great soothing message of the novel, and why I will forever be grateful to it.

But before I go running off to the shrink, I'd better mention that on top of everything else, this book is just a flat-out, crackling great read. Right off the bat the classic confrontation is set up: the brash, untamed, loud McMurphy against the powerful, establishmentarian, icy Big Nurse. Set in an insane asylum, it is literally psychological warfare, with each of them carefully probing and then cutting at the other's weakness. As the novel goes on the stakes become increasingly steeper, until the very souls of the men on the ward are at risk. Fascinatingly, the novel ends with neither party having a clear-cut victory, and fittingly, the casualties are terrible.

It is spectacularly written. An inmate, the Chief, is the narrator of the story. In his crazy mind, everything is mechanical and impersonal. Wires, transistors, metal, girds, rust, smoke and oil are what things are made of. He knows the Big Nurse listens to everything with the radio equipment in her purse. He hears the machinery humming in the walls. This functions as a superb literary device, symbolizing his paranoia, but at the same time it creates wonderful imagery. Here is the nurse, early in the novel, angry that disorder--personalized by McMurphy--has come to her ward: "Her nostrils flare open . . . She works the hinges in her elbows and fingers. I hear a small squeak . . . she's already big as a truck, trailing that wicker bag behind in her exhaust like a semi behind a Jimmy Diesel. Her lips are parted, and her smile's going out before her like a radiator grill. I can smell the hot oil and magneto spark when she goes past." So can we.

The novel is loaded with memorable wit, much of which seems to have entered the daily lexicon. "I wash my hands of the whole deal," says Ruckly, the nutcase in Disturbed. "I'm TIRED," says Pete, after the nasty bickering he sees his friends engage in. Most memorable of all is the comment uttered by the relentless McMurphy, disgusted by his ward mates' timidity. "But I tried, though. Goddamnit, I sure as hell did that much, now, didn't I?" Is it possible to say that one has had a satisfactory life simply by being able to say that he has tried? I think so.

In the end, the lessons to be learned from this novel are exemplified by the two greatest characters, McMurphy and Harding. (No, the Big Nurse is not one of them, being nothing more than a common symbol of ubiquitous societal rigidity). McMurphy goes out in a blaze of glory and despair, destroying himself, and sadly, destroying others. But it is Harding who goes out on his own terms. "I want to do it on my own, by myself, right out that front door, with all the traditional red tape and complications . . . I want them to know that I was able to do it that way."

Certainly among the ten or so best novels of the latter half of the twentieth century. If you haven't yet read this one, do yourself a favor.

Rating:
Summary: The Chief
Review: One flew over the cuckoo's nest, written by Ken Kesey, is an in-depth look at the disturbing and controlling world of a certain psyciatric hospital. The Book is written from the perspective of a patient on the psychiatric ward, Chief Bromden, a large Indian who is smarter then he lets on.

The theme of the story is that the system (or the "combine" as it is called in the book) is not always just, but questioning it can be hazardous to your health. The patients on the ward suffer under the rule of the tyrant, "The Big Nurse". She is the protagonist of the story, while the antagonist is a much more likeable charachter. Randle Patrick McMurphy is a gambling man who likes to laugh. He is redheaded, Irish, and doesn't conform to rules.

Of coarse this stirs up some... comfrontations, you could say. You could also say that he blatently disreguards the overly established rules of the ward simply to get a rise out of the strict enforcer. What ever you call it, the confrontations provide the basis of the book and the most entertaining moments. In the end the other patients on the ward learn a lot from McMurphy's antics. They learn to live again after their long solstice from anything the least but stimulating.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. On a scale from one to ten I would rate it an 8. It lost points because of the ending that I thought could have been better. My favorite aspect of the book was McMurphy. He was clever and funny, but knew what his limits were on the ward. He seems like the type of aggressive person that I could get along with well in real life.

Rating:
Summary: A Different View of Cuckoos Nest
Review: Having read Cockoos Nest as least three times since the 1970's I want to look at Cuckoos Nest from another angle. Popularly seen as a struggle against the Establishment this novel was the darling of the 60s generation. I have to admit, after my first reading I saw Nurse Ratched as the Establishment and Murphy as the Free Spirit who comes against it. But older and wiser now, I see it differently.

This is not a novel against the establishment but against tyranny. The Establishment is presented benignly- it is the county police who arrested McMurphy, it is the jails across the Pacific Northwest that McMurphy was a frequent visitor, it is the doctors who are intimidated by Nurse Ratched it is the nurses who just try to do their jobs. These are not evil people; rather they are people who are trying to make the world we live in a good place to live. McMurphy, for the most part, is getting just what he deserves- he is a con-man who gets caught. Only in trying to manipulate the system for his own ends, does he find himself in the domain of Nurse Ratched and begins his epic struggle against tyranny. As we read this novel it is clear that Nurse Ratched is the anomaly. She misses the bad old days of the mental hospital when she ruled with an iron hand- she intimidates the doctors, nurses, staff and patients for her own ends. It is only in his encounter with Nurse Ratched that McMurphy becomes a hero.

But McMurphy is a tragic hero. He does not understand the power that Big Nurse wields. The object of war is victory, not making a statement. He makes a statement and loses the war- Billy commits suicide, McMurphy is lobotomized, and the rest of the acutes are traumatized. Throughout the book, McMurphy is warned by others than Big Nurse of the consequences of his behavior; yet, he persists until, in the end, he loses.

One more observation, the language of this book is beautiful. It grabs you by the throat and drags you into McMurphys world. Not an easy book to read, but well worth the effort. Speaking about language, one sentence had over 170 words in it. Wow! It takes a master at the English language to pull off a feat like that and keep the readers interest.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME BOOK!
Review: I chose to read this book for my summer assignment in my english class. The title is what was appealing for the list I had to choose from. I begin reading the book, and struggled to put it down. I would recommend this book to everyone! It is very easy reading, and a great book. Ken Kesey did a great job! He has this uncanny way of pulling the reader into the story. I usually struggle when I have to read books for this class, and I have to force myself to read it. I read this one with no problem. AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!

Rating:
Summary: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Review: I felt that this book was extremely well written. I enjoyed the entire book from start to finish. I liked how Kesey used McMurphy to make all the characters stronger, and I really liked when the Chief finally broke his silence. I felt that was very important, and it showed that McMurphy had a positive effect on the people around him. I enjoyed the end of the book when the Chief escaped by throwing the control panel through the window, a seemingly impossible feat. When he smothered McMurphy it made sense because McMurphy would have never wanted the nurse to get the better of him, he'd rather be dead. I rank this book a 5 and i would recommend it to any reader who enjoys to read.

Rating:
Summary: My Reflections and Thoughts for OFOTCN
Review: It is repeatedly said that the patients are in their 30's to 50's but when I read this book it sounds as if the caricatures are just teens 17, 18, 19, 20. I think this is a significant fact and shouldn't just be looked over. I think that the style of writing portrays the characters by giving each character similar problems that teens have now.

All of the characters are searching for themselves in some way. Something that is common for all teens to do while they are trying to fit into society and become adults. It may be how they feel about sexuality like Billy or Harding, or they feel small like Chief they are searching for a part of themselves that they have lost that they need in order to fit into society and McMurphy is the person who does what he can to help them out.

McMurphy plays a surprising and amazing character to me. He is like a friend that everybody whishes they could have. He is smart and funny, but he also has a charisma that draws people to him. He isn't afraid to test the boundaries, and he has a wining attitude that says to everybody things will turn out just like he says. I enjoyed every seen in which McMurphy showed up, his character brought hope and courage to the patients, he worked with them and gave them back what they had lost peace by peace with all of his tricks, and jokes, and laughs, he gave them back the strength and courage they lost. He brought them out of their pacified state of mind allowing them to think for themselves even when they were standing in the face of their enemies. All of these characteristics can be found in teens today, but it is a rare treat to be such a natural leader, the way McMurphy is portrayed.

I remember one line in the book over all the rest its when McMurphy is talking to the patients after his first day, and he says, "your all just as sane as everybody else out in the world" that is an interesting thing to say in his situation being in a mental clinic and all that, but coming from a personality like McMurphy's its something I am able to believe.

There was only one seen that I didn't like where McMurphy showed up was at the end and it was not even him who I was mad at, it was the Head Nurse. There were times when I found her character to be pleasant, humorous nonetheless. To go as far as she did in the end, to sentence him to such a life, a life worse then death, to prove that she could just to "win" and have the last say, that was sickening to me. She knew as well as everybody that McMurphy was as sane as anybody but went against the "combine" and made his living that way. I think that is justification for what the Chief did. In fact I think that if McMurphy was there he would have told him to put that pillow over his face, I know he would have because after his operation he was no longer McMurphy he had no personality left he was no one at all just a shell with a face.

The only thing I would really change with this book to make it more appealing to newer audiences is the characters ages. The characters are much older then they are made to appear. There personalities don't support the ages that they have been given, and it throws me off a bit. I notice the book is much more enjoyable to me if I picture all of the characters are what I believe them to be, based on their personalities. For me they resemble teenagers but for others they could resemble something else. I think that by taking out the ages of the characters it creates a much more personal bond between the characters and the reader because you can believe them to be what ever you want instead of having them be generations older. But that could be part of why they are in the clinic in the first place. If they aren't pertraied as adults to the world, but they are of the same age as sesoned adults then what are they? Other then that I enjoyed reading the book after I got through the first few chapters that made me sick to the point that I couldn't continue to read if the book was going to continue on as it does in chapter one. But when McMurphy is introduced everything changed and I could hardly put the book down. His character adds so much to this book and there is always enough humor to take along with the darker side of what happens in the world.

Rating:
Summary: One-Of-A-Kind!
Review: Chief Bromden has been a patient in the Mental Hospital for years, but has always been known as the guy who never speaks or hears anyone. He spends most of his time there sweeping and cleaning the ward, and over hearing everything that goes on around him. One day, Bromden watches a new patient join the ward, Randal P. McMurphy, who is a large and outgoing man who had himself committed to avoid doing work on a prison farm. McMurphy instantly gains a hatred toward the Head Nurse, Nurse Ratched, a deceiving and evil woman who has claimed a Dictatorship over her ward as well as the entire hospital. McMurphy plays mind games with Ratched, the ward Doctor, and his fellow patients as the story goes on, gaining the patients' respect and making Ratched determined to make him quiet and slow like all of the others. McMurphy's hatred grows so much, that he will go to any extent to over power Ratched, which is where I will stop as this leads forth to the shocking and vengeful conclusion. This is really a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Truly a book that everyone must read! Also recommended: To Kill A Mockingbird, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Rating:
Summary: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is about a man named Randle McMurphy. He is a mentally sane person, but he fakes insanity in order to escape a short jail sentence he is serving on a work farm. The person who runs the place, Big Nurse, hates McMurphy for weakening control, for he said things that made the other patients who usually didn't do anything want to do anything. Because McMurphy did this, Big Nurse wanted to finish off McMurphy by having him lobotomized. This crucifixion inspires an Indian patient; a schitzoid called Chief Broom, to break out of the hospital.

I enjoyed this book because it gave me a sort of picture of what it is like inside a mental institution and how it works and what it does to people. Although the book is told in the point of view of Chief broom, the story still is very well written. I do think that if I was the author, I would of written it through the point of view of McMurphy, and tried to explain how he got there in the first place before starting the story of what happened while he was in the institution. I also enjoyed how they described McMurphy and used dialogue to describe his personality.

I recommend this book to anybody who is at least in his or her teens, for this book would probably be good for the interest and reading level of a thirteen-year-old. I also recommend that the reader be a fan of a sort of adventure/horror story. The book uses details that give you graphic pictures, and it might not be appropriate for some people or for young children.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Good, but movie was better
Review: This book is one of the few cases where the much more commercial movie is actually better than the book! But don't get me wrong, because the book is very good too! Like the movie, its about a man who pretends to be crazy in order to escape a jail sentence but instead of focusing on him, the book focuses more on the character of the Native American, his fellow in-mate. It gives insights into the character's past that the movie tends to ignore and this makes the ending of the story make more sense.

a