genre: fiction. classics. psychological fiction.
The Review
Before we get started, I wanted to put a content warning on the below review. Unlike a horror novel or manga which is obviously going to include mature content, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, might catch you unawares. This book contains discussions of mental illness as well as racist opinions and references. So, if that’s something that makes you uncomfortable, this story might not be for you.
Also, this review in its entirety will contain spoilers.
Characters:
This book is unique in that the narrator of the story is not considered the main character. We’re not seeing an omniscient narrator; we’re not even seeing a narrator tell his own story. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a story about Randle McMurphy told from the perspective of Chief. Randle McMurphy is a hotshot. A regular, over-the-top, confident man. He swaggers in to the story and immediately takes over — the narrative and the mental institute both. It’s hard not to be pulled in by the magnetism that Chief describes. McMurphy is totally at odds with everything around him. Where everyone else is subdued, McMurphy is outrageous. He doesn’t take no for an answer and is asking questions the minute he shows up. And this is his whole thing — to stir up trouble. To rock the boat. And that’s exactly what he does. He drives Nurse Ratched up the wall and brings all the Acutes with him. McMurphy is easily relatable to the reader. In a world of insane patients and those suffering from catatonia, McMurphy is the most normal character in the story. You want him to beat the system. Because it’s obvious he’s not insane. Right?
The rivalry between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is one of the biggest driving plot-points in this story (running alongside McMurphy’s attempt to free the Acutes). They butt heads from the very beginning; recognizing one another as opponents. Although Nurse Ratched doesn’t want to think of McMurphy as an equal, he continues to meet her plays throughout the course of the story and it makes her furious. She doesn’t want an inmate questioning her well-kept authority. She’s maintained it for years and likes it that way. But McMurphy turns all that on its head. He revitalizes the Acutes and rallies them against her. However, throughout the story we still see Nurse Ratched try to bring McMurphy down into the dirt. She refuses to acknowledge how dangerous he is to other staff members; refusing to give him “power.” But she and McMurphy play the game. Each making moves; sometimes in plain view, sometimes in the shadows. But each looking for a checkmate.
Nurse Ratched is unique because she’s portrayed as this iconic Angel of Mercy. She’s there to treat patients, but it’s obvious she takes pleasure in watching them suffer and struggle with their illnesses. Due to the bias of the narrator, I was constantly questioning her true nature as the story went on. Was she really as bad as Chief thought? Or was she really just trying to do her best? Believing in the mental institutes policies? But, as the story comes to a close, I was left to wonder, just because Chief isn’t seeing reality as we do, doesn’t mean it’s any less true. Chief sees things that don’t exist, but are we sure they don’t or is he just seeing an over-exaggerated version of the world’s true nature?
Set-Up:
This story would suffer greatly if it was narrated by a reliable source. For me, this brought about a whole mixture of questions as I was reading. Was what I was reading even happening? Was the mental institute really as bad as Chief thought or was everyone really out to get him? In the end, it’s hard to tell. As a reader, you’re reliant upon the story-teller and Chief certainly tells his own version of it.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is special because we get to see a version of mental illness and mental institutes right out of the 60s. Ken Kesey wrote this a few years after spending some time using drugs for a paid experiment. He volunteered at a psych ward. Kesey may not have been an expert on this subject matter, but he knew enough to make you shiver. Having a 1962 publication date, this book dropped right before deinstitutionalization. People are really starting to question the humanity and morality of mental institutions. Looking into the barbarity of particular practices that go on behind closed doors. This makes the story all the more tragic when we discover that McMurphy has lost his mind. McMurphy was never crazy. In fact, many of the characters in this book aren’t. Many of them would have lived lives that would have been, if anything, unconventional. Maladjusted, maybe. And yet, we see them being treated like these who are barely conscious or self-aware.
The real tragedy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is seeing how an institution like the one Nurse Ratched is in charge of, can turn anyone insane.
approx read time: 1 month
Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™
Ownership: I own the Penguin’s Classic copy of the book as shown above!