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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
by Ken Kesey
A story of the struggle to overcome repression and find peace in the human mind.
Chief Bromden, a tall, half-Indian man, has spent his last ten years in an Oregon psychiatric hospital ward. He suffers from extreme paranoia and hallucinations and pretends to be deaf and blind in hopes of going unnoticed. Bromden, along with all the other patients, are ruled by Nurse Ratched, a ruthless former army nurse who encourages the men to emotionally attack each other during their daily group meetings. Those who resist are subjected to electroshock therapy, or at worst, lobotomized.
When Randle McMurphy is transferred in as the newest patient, everything changes. A boastful man with an appetite for women and gambling he urges the others to rebel against Nurse Ratched, who he is not threatened by. The other patients are terrified of her, but McMurphy bets them that he can make her loose her cool within a week. McMurphy and Ratched begin to have confrontations on a daily basis, and the others soon join him in his rebellion. McMurphy becomes the undeclared leader of the ward. His mission is to convince the other patients to live fearlessly and freely; as freely as one can in a psychiatric ward. But when McMurphy discovers that the involuntarily committed patients cannot leave the hospital until the staff decides they are rehabilitated he begins to submit to Ratched’s authority. As the other men feel confused and let down McMurphy’s genuine fear of the hospital’s power grows. Unwilling to expose his vulnerability and surrender to Ratched’s force he stages one final rebellion by having a party one night after the staff has left. But when they are caught McMurphy pays the price and the consequence is heartbreaking.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was published in 1962 and was very successfully adapted into a well-known 1975 film with Jack Nicholson playing the part of Randle McMurphy. This heartwarming tale takes an intimate look at the institutional process, honest friendship, and the human mind.
Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Author: Ken Kesey
Publisher: Signet; Reissue edition
ISBN: 0451163966
Review written by: Jennifer Kneisley
Reviewer's Rating:10
Reader's Rating: 10.00
Reader's Votes: 1
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