I should come out with a confession straight away: I’ve never seen the very famous film adaptation of this book, starring Jack Nicholson in his first Academy Award winning role. To be honest, I didn’t really have any idea what the book was about. I’m not sure which of those two facts is more depressing. Despite my embarrassment at managing to avoid this popular film and story, I’m really glad that I approached the book with next to no prior knowledge.
The book started off a little slowly to begin with as the story and characters were establishing themselves. It took some time to get used to Chief Bromden as narrator and his thought processes, (he believes society and the people within it are controlled by an unseen force, a mechanical system, something he refers to as the ‘Combine’) which, initially, can be somewhat jarring to read.
Bromden is the narrator so, contrary to his description, he clearly isn’t deaf and mute. It’s a choice he has made in response to being largely ignored by society and, as a result, he is privy to conversations between the ward authority and patients alike. People assume that their words and actions are safe with the catatonic Indian, thus giving him a good overview of the intricate workings and relationships between everybody. As a character, he serves his purpose and he serves it well. For me, things got interesting once McMurphy was introduced as he’s the charismatic draw of the entire book.
Quite simply, McMurphy is one of the most vivid and complex characters that I’ve ever read. He has questionable morals and is outlandishly vulgar, yet he represents such a force of change and indestructible hope that you can’t help but appreciate him. I liked the fact that he’s viewed as a hero by his fellow inmates (and ultimately becomes one), whilst still maintaining an air of mystery. We never fully know McMurphy’s backstory, nor do we ever get inside his thoughts. The story is told from Chief Bromden’s point of view, so there is always some level of distance, uncertainty and ultimately, wonderment where McMurphy is concerned. He’s a fantastic creation.
Now, on to the other key character. Nurse Ratched, also known as Big Nurse, is able to maintain her position of power by cultivating a constant, uncomfortable level of fear in her patients. She keeps the men docile by pumping them with mind-numbing medication and plays on their concerns, confining them to a constant fuggy, powerless state of consciousness. Behind her mask-like smile is the unspoken threat of electric shock therapy up on ‘Disturbed’ ward, something which all of the men are frightened of. Sounds like the perfect villain, right? To be honest, she is. However, my one and only gripe with the book is aptly demonstrated by the character of the Big Nurse. Let me explain.
The book is fairly easy to get through, despite the lack of formal chapters, and the author’s own illustrations which appear on some pages really adds to the overall unsettling sensation of the book. The final part of the book, Part Four, is truly superb and shocking.
There are so many themes and ideas that pop up when reading that I can’t possibly do them all justice. Notably, the story blurs the boundaries between sane and insane. What constitutes “normal” behaviour? What is madness? It makes you realise just how much our ideas and conceptions are informed by societal institutions, and how devastatingly thin the line between sanity and madness actually is. Whose behaviour can be deemed crazier? The men who are (often wrongly) labelled as mentally unstable, or the strict desire for bland uniformity that the nurse and hospital officials desire?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is about a character instilling fire and determination in the mentally oppressed, getting them to rise up against the rulers who impose hostile and dehumanizing orders. By doing this, the book successfully protests against the post-World War Two, post Korean War, superpower status of middlebrow America and the rules that it bestows upon its citizens. Even within modern life, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest serves to demonstrate that we often accept what we are given, failing to question authority and instead opting for the “easier” path in life. It certainly makes you want to fight against the unseen barriers that society places on all of us.
Uncomfortable and disturbing to read at times, yet profoundly effective because of this. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest isn’t without its flaws, but it’s powerful and has a deeply compelling character at the core of the book. Brilliant.
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