One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #1

Christine Witmer
English 12
Summer, 2009
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, #1”
In the first section of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, we are introduced to the ward and all of its inhabitants. The silent but steady nararation by Chief Bromden adds in his personal feelings about all of the members of the ward and its staff, which I think makes the novel seem more personal and heart felt. Kesey could had decided to add this detail to help the readers feel closer to the patients, so we can get a closer view to what they were actually going through.
If Kesey didn’t decided to portray the novel from a patients point of view, I think the novel would feel more cold and harsh. We wouldn’t know what they were going through, and we would have a harder time relating to the shock treatments and other forms of therapy that they are put though.
I decided to think, however, what the novel would be like if it was written by Nurse Ratched’s point of view. Which led me to the question, does she know that she is totally evil? Does she intentionally cause these people pain? Or does she truly think that she is doing some good in the world? We discussed in class the idea of whether people with mental handicaps should be kept away in wards, or if they had the right to live and survive just like every other citizen? Unfortunately, many people who need help don’t receive it, and end up having to live in poverty and even on the streets. It’s a tough debate, whether to keep free people locked up, even if they could function in a daily living situation with minimal help.
I truly think that some people, like Nurse Ratched, really think that they were doing the world a service by keeping people locked up and in poor conditions because they thought they were servicing the “greater good.” Thankfully, in the later years people became more aware of the cruel treatment that many patients were receiving and they are working of fixing the issue.