CP English 11
October 9, 2015
Morphing from a Sexless Rabbit to a Real Man
“One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest”, a novel based on some degree of author’s, Ken Kesey’s, reality reveals the lifestyles of the people in a mental institution during 1960s. His impactful message is displayed through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the narrator of the story who is a victim of generational trauma: his reality was robbed away and kicked into the mental institution. He was drugged to a point till his senses gave up. Afterwards, a foggy and desolated world surrounded him and transformed Bromden into a paranoid, weak and defenseless ward cleaner. For his own protection, Bromden pretended to be senseless and fooled everyone but one. McMurphy. McMurphy and …show more content…
The monotonous chores and duties of the patients in the ward showed a gradual fade. Everyday was a new day. So called “therapeutic Meetings” no longer were “pecking party” that went “for the vitals”(Kesey 60) of the men. Nurse appeared to be losing at her own game. Unlike what nurse Ratched wanted, patients started to socialize; therefore, the patients got closer and bonded. McMurphy taught Bromden, and everyone, how the power as a mental patient can be effectively used outside the ward. Bigger changes came to Bromden eyes: most of the “fog swept away from his head”(Kesey 289) and his world clearer. Bromden getting more involved in the ward by trying to participate and help everyone shows how the change was positive. It serves as an example of how Bromden was getting closer to becoming a real man, just like McMurphy or his father was. Bromden was learning a lot. He was …show more content…
Including fist fights, parties and fishing trip, many other events helped clearing Bromden’s mind. Slowly and steadily, base for Bromden to rise was building up. Bromden had become a lot like a real man, like McMurphy. He could talk, fight and walk with pride. After all the shenanigans in the ward however, Bromden was sent for electroshock therapy. EST, instead of calming Bromden down, pieced most of the lost fragments of his memories together; Bromden remembered his childhood and his tribe. His mind was fogless, clearer than ever. He reawakened. Bromden met reality for the first time after coming to mental institution. His experiences didn’t end here however. After witnessing deaths of patients in the ward, he gained more stability as a man. He understood the nature. His growth as a man heightened even more after witnessing the nurse, puppeteer, physically being strangled by McMurphy, puppet, in her own stage. He witnessed the loss of supreme hierarchy. After all the lessons he learnt starting from McMurphy’s arrival, Bromden became a fearless man. A man fearless enough to kill his own mentor, McMurphy, because he thought it was the right thing to do. Bromden learnt a lot about life of his, others and how all the lives were related with the nature. He morphed his way from a timid little rabbit to a fearless masculine lion with