One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The book I chose for this semester’s literary analysis research project was “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. I had never heard of this book, but the title was intriguing enough, so I did some more research on it. The story is about a man named Chief Bromden and his life inside a psychiatric hospital after being sentenced there after a series of crimes that he committed. Furthermore, I learned that this book would provide some great insight on life inside a mental institution as well as the human mind. As someone who is interested in psychology and the human mind, I knew that this would be a great book for me.

 

The story begins with Bromden narrating his experiences in a psychiatric ward on a typical day. He first describes how he pretends to be deaf and mute, so when the hospital workers are mocking him or sharing the secrets about the ward, he hears every detail. He also describes his interactions with the nurse in charge of the ward (Nurse Ratched) and what he knows about a new patient in the ward, McMurphy. Although I haven’t gotten very far into the book, the author has already used many powerful literary devices (such as description) that enhance the reading experience and allow the reader to see and understand Bromden’s perspective as someone who is mentally ill. As this novel goes on, I am definitely looking forward to the encounters that Bromden has with Nurse Ratched and McMurphy, and how the author will choose to use even more literary devices to help expand on storytelling from the perspective of the mentally ill.

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