Symbols and Quotes in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Symbols The Fog Machine As part of his delusion, Bromden regularly sees a haze of fog. Fog is a natural phenomenon that clouds the way the world is seen, and in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest fog is used to symbolize lack of awareness and to offer an escape from reality. As Bromden slips further and … Read more

Themes of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Woman as Evil Tormentors: The exception being Candy and Sandy, the prostitutes, the other females in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest are regarded as uniformly menacing and chilling beasts. Chief Bromden, the novel’s narrator, and McMurphy, the protagonist, are often heard referring to the suffering endured by the mental patients as being akin to emasculation or castration … Read more

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The Main Characters

Chief Bromden:  Chief Bromden is the narrator of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It is stated that he is the half-bred son of the Chief of the Columbia Indians. He suffers from hallucinations and intense paranoia; ailments that he has received many electroshock therapy treatments for. He has resided in the hospital for over a decade – … Read more

Summary of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The part Native American narrator of the novel, Chief Bromden, has been a patient living in one of Oregon’s psychiatric facilities for nearly a decade. From the opening paragraph on it is evident that he is a paranoid man, one suffering from delusions and seeing things. The Chief’s outlook on the world around him is controlled … Read more

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Chief Bromden’s character

Freedom is defined as ‘the condition of being free of restraints’; but freedom for me has a greater and deeper meaning. Freedom is the power to make one’s own decisions, the power to laugh, the power to speak one’s mind with out boundaries. Freedom is a frame of mind. One is only truly free when … Read more

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey

A hero is considered to be any man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose; especially, one who has risked or sacrificed his life. This describes one of the main characters in the highly acclaimed novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. Randle McMurphy is the hero of this novel … Read more

The Individual and The System One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Many social issues and problems are explored in Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Perhaps the most obvious complaint against society is the treatment of the individual. This problem of the individual versus the system is a very controversial topic that has provoked great questioning of the government and the methods used … Read more