Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Sanity in the Cuckoo's Nest

It seems that McMurphy isn't what we'd consider a typical crazy person to be. In fact, a lot of the Actues don't seem far out crazy, yet some of what they're subjected to at the hospital does seem crazy. What do you think Kesey is trying to say/show about sanity? Who/what on the ward is truly insane?

32 comments:

DuneskaC said...

I think that Kesey is trying to show that crazy is maybe a bit exaggerated. Just because someone is different or shy like the Chief does not mean that there is something wrong with them. It seems like people are just not able to take the time to try to understand someone that seems a bit different and it is easier to just send them to a ward to not have to deal with them. People who are truly insane are those that mistreat others like the big nurse and the black boys who enjoy turtore to me that is true insanity.

ehrichs said...
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ehrichs said...

Kesey may be saying that sanity and insanity are things that cannot be properly distinguished by society at large. Most of the "insane" patients of the hospital are a little off perhaps, but not crazy, and the "sane" staff at the hospital is made up off sadistic "black boys" and a machiavellian* nurse. Aside from the Chief, who was probably driven insane by treatment for insanity and is extremely paranoid about machines, only the staff of the hospital can be considered insane.

*machiavellianism is a person's tendency to decieve and/or manipulate others for personal gain and is considered to be a form of psychopathy

Altman Heddens said...

It really depends on what you define as insanity. According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Insanity is defined as Very foolish or absurd in nature. But this is all interpreted differently by each individual; both readers and non-readers of the novel.

MikeFrieber said...

Kesey is saying that it is more insane to force nonconformists into changing themselves to be more suitable for society than to just let them be. If I approached a classmate as though he or she were crazy, and I acted as such, an onlooker would assume that I am even crazier. The same general idea is being applied to the hospital. The acutes aren't mentally insane psychopaths, however they are being treated as such by the institution staff. So, who is acting crazier?

Jessica S. said...

I think Kesey is trying to show that not everyone who is deemed insane actually is. I think it is showing that some of the patients were put there because they didn't fit in with a "normal" society that was not ready to embrace their individuality. I agree that the actions of the staff, who physically and mentally abuses the patients, are more insane than the patients themselves.

John Roser said...

The majority of the people in the mental hospital are not entirely insane but do have issues which are misinterpreted as insanity. Kesey shows how insanity can be misinterpreted by one's actions, which mislabels them as "crazy". For example, Billy Babbitt does not seem insane but is in the mental hospital. From what us as readers can tell about why Billy is in the hospital is that he got sent there for either trying to kill himself or saying he was going to kill himself. My interpretation of his reason for being sent to the hospital is that he reacted to something emotionally and said something he did NOT actually mean but someone sent him there to make sure he doesn't harm himself for a short time but after being sent there, Billy becomes labeled as insane and is afraid to leave the hospital. Chronic members of the hospital on the ward are truly insane because their is blatant psychological issues with the individual which does not allow them to live in society.

kcassidy619 said...
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kcassidy619 said...

Kesey is showing that these people are not crazy through his own experiences as a former employee in a mental hospital. It seems that during his time in that hospital, Mr. Kesey had extreme sympathy towards the patients in the hospital, which in turn, transferred over to his ideas in this novel. The one person who seems truly insane is not even the black orderlies, but Nurse Ratched herself. The hospital is almost run like a dictatorship where she reprimands the patients in a sweet, but almost sadisitc tone. This tone of hers seems to fool some of the patients at first, but McMurphy, along with Harding now, know that she truly does not care what happens to any of them.

SeanKenny said...

The definition of insanity is one that has been formed by society. Anything abnormal or not in conformity with society seems to be suppressed. The Insane institutes may seem necessary, but who determines who is brought in? When they are brought into the Institution who is to say when they can leave or not? It is not morally right to trap someone in a prison for committing no crime. Some people can't control themselves and don't know whats best for themselves, but that's why the institutions should take a closer look than just claiming some one is "crazy". The Chief seems to be very in control of his life and sane even though he has an obsession with machinery. Society doesn't want to deal with people that are different so they throw a label on people and leave them for better or worse.

Candace said...

I think what Kesey is trying to say is that crazy is a term used by society to define noncomformists, when in fact, they are just misunderstood. Society tries to weed out these noncomformists by hiding them within a mental institution. Along with the chronics, it is the staff who are truly insane, for their cruel torture of patients and lack of understanding for individuality(with the Acutes).

Cheyenne H said...

I think that Kesey is showing how the perception of "crazy" can be skewed. What really defines someone as "crazy"? And who has the right or knowledge and experience to define someone as "crazy"? People are always judging other people just because they are different then what they are exposed to or used to in society. The ward is supposed to treat people with mental issues. Yet they are the ones coming up with the horrific punishments/treatment for the patients. The Big Nurse and doctors of the ward, I believe, are the ones who are truly insane. The mind(s) that come up with and perform the cruel things have to be messed up in the head!

Sam C said...

I think that Kesey is trying to point out the craziness of the ward by exaggerating it. When McMurphy first arrives at the ward, Bromden comments on McMurphy's laugh. This seems to be a recurring theme so far. Laughter seems to be a symbol for masculinity, strength, and especially sanity. Everyone else in the ward is very quite, but McMurphy sort of brings them to life- making the bet, gambling, etc. He basically brings sanity to the ward because he isn't really "crazy." The whole concept of the ward (curing the crazy people in the ways they do) is insane.

Stephanie R. said...

I believe that Kesey is trying to demonstrate that the patients put into the hospital are actually just victimized for being different from the 'norm'. If pointing fingers at whom the insane are, I would believe it to be the workers/staff members -- as we defined what a psychopath is, i believe that many of the staff members seem to exhibit many of psychopathic qualities.

David B said...

The fact that Kesey has put these different characters in the novel is obviously significant. They may not all be crazy but they are there to demonstrate how the institution won't always "get" the right people. McMurphy for instance was placed in the hospital by his own choice. It would seem that Kesey is saying that the institution itself is insane for trying to conform these different characters to the way that society wants them to be and that many patients themselves are actually the ones doing things the way that they want. The hospital is just a place where the non conformists go to be conformed

eliseschwer said...

I believe that Kesey is trying to open the readers mind to judgments. Usually when people meet within the first five seconds some type of judgment is made, but if one were to stay with the crazy people in the ward their original judgments of the patients would change. One would soon realize that they are not insane in any way, therefore the judgment was false and should not have been passed. The only thing that is truly insane on the ward is the system.

Dan Zamora said...

Kesey wants the reader to look at sanity from the perspective of the insane. As we know, Chief is schizophrenic, so its safe to say that he's actually a bit crazy. However Kesey uses Bromden's schizophrenic perspective to make the imagery more intense, and to show how horrible it can be for the patient who is too scared to even speak because he fears whats somehow supposed to be his treatment. Also he's trying to say that sanity obviously can't be interpreted by the insane, so once they're in the mental hospital most of them are somewhat vulnerable to either brainwashing (success*) through rash treatment, or oppression in some way shape or form which seems to happen to anyone who doesn't make it out. These patients are also known as failures*.
*These words are often used to describe the results of an experiment.

Ashley M. said...

Kesey shows how twisted the ideas of a person crazy were in that time period. Not many of the pacients had problems that were severe, the definition of a crazy person was just very twisted. I think Kesey just wanted to make everyone aware of the bad conditions of the pacients and how they weren't even crazy.

KatieV said...

I think Kesey is making the word “crazy” very broad (I also think, as an author, Kesey did this on purpose). Clearly not everyone in this institution is crazy but when someone is institutionalized that is simply what they become. The nurses and doctors and other people working with these people do things to them that would be considered “crazy” so really who’s fault is this craziness? If people weren’t called crazy they probably wouldn’t act like they were, they are basically becoming what people would think of them to be because they feel that is their place in society now. The term is also used for characters in the novel who are not just like everyone else in society and it is sad that they get the title of “crazy” for being out of the norm.

ALEJANDROZ said...

Seeing Mcmurphy behave like the way he does shows us his side of sanity. Although he does not behave in a manner that a person with composure and manner might behave it does not mean tha he is crazy. He is able to show us that he has leadership skills by entering the institution and immidiatetly attempting to take charge. From Mcmurphy's personality and situation Kasey is trying to show us readers that just because a person doesn't behave like society expects them to does not mean they are necessarly insane.

TJB said...

"Crazy" is a relative term, depending on who is judging who. As a developed Western country, the people of the United States view the indigenous tribes of the amazon as uncivilized. Society creates generalizations and stereotypes based on what is the common way of life and anything that doesn't fit this mold is viewed as different. In the case of the patients in the hospital, they are not necesarily crazy, but rather, different from the rest of society. Hoewever, Kesey shows readers that even though a person may be precieved as crazy, this craziness it just that- a preception. We as readers get an unbiased, third person view of the hospital and everyone in it. It becomes clear that although the patients may have problems, it is really the way they are treated by the suposedly "sane" people that is crazy.

jhenkin said...

I think that in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ken kesey shows how insanity and craziness is a little misunderstood. The Chief is seen as being someone different due to his indifference and his nervousness/shyness. Ken Kesey shows how patients at the mental hospital are misunderstood and are not worth dealing with so they usally just get sent to the ward. I feel if anyone in this novel is insane it could be the nurse due to the way she treats the black boys and how she tortures them.

Marc B. said...

Throughout this novel, it is becoming apparent that as people become progressively "crazier" as they spend more and more time under the control of Big Nurse. I believe that the treatment of these presumed crazy people is what is truly insane and is what is driving them insane. The Big Nurse continues to just break odwn these grown men until they are just a hollow shell.

pwilliams040223 said...

I believe Kesey is trying to say that sanity is not just blending into society. If everyone in the world acted similiar and showed the same characteristics there would be no individuality. The nurse seems to feel that all the acutes in the ward are insane and deserve to be treated like they are rejected from the world. In fact I feel that the acutes are sane but they have their own way of livng life different from the typical person. If anyone is sane it is the nurse for the way she treats people that live in the same society as her. In her mind people must act one way and any other way must mean that person is insane. The men that come into the ward are sane to begin with. What makes the men insane over time is living under the control of the nurse. Mcmurphy might be the only one that can save the ward from the nurse and confront her beliefs.

A. Brown said...

I believe that Kesey is trying to show his audience that some of these "insane" people are not insane, but rather have minds that twist the everyday world that "normal" people see, into what their subconscious minds are attached to. Chief Bromden's mind is always connected to machines, that is how he see's the world. Everything converts itself to some form of machinery so he himself can understand and cope with it; from the outside though, we see him as "crazy" because we can't view what he does. The "insane" residents of the ward seem to be Nurse Ratched and the three black boys. they all have a tendency to hate and in times express themselves as sadistic and remorseless. I believe that Kesey is implying that these four have some form of social personality disorders.

Ariel Blau said...

I honestly do not believe that McMurphy and the Chief are "insane". They simply have a different perspective on life. I think McMurphy is "street smart", even though he has ran into some trouble in his past. He knows how to play games extremely well while playing by the rules at the same time.

Kaitlin Eaton said...

There is the paradox in OFOCN with sanity and insanity. McMurphy isnt really a crazy person because who is to consider if he is or if he isnt. Some of the things he actaully imagines, happens in a different way. Kesey is trying to say that there is some truth behind this insanity.

nikm said...

whose right is it for anyone to judge who is crazy or not? yea sure there should be punishments for the criminally insane no doubt, but the people in this institution, which a majority are just people with problems, should not have to be put through these daily through tortures. the way they are mistreated and abused must feel like they are in some prison or concentration camp which cant be good for their mental health in the first place. i dont believe that the staff cares about their health half as much as they do about their control.

Jess H said...

McMurphy and the Chief do not seem insane, the Chief has a scewed way of looking at live and is not at all the norm, but how often is everyone "normal". The patients in my perspective would be fine if they were outside of the mental hospital which is equal to federal prison. The patients are classified as "insane", but being locked in a facility where they can not do or say anything without fear of the Nurse would make anyone go insane. Also her constant insinuations make the patients feel below themselves and causes then to fall prey to relying on the ward for the support they do not even ask for. Kesey, in my view, is trying to show that people who are continually being shut down by society live their lives being self fulfilling prophocies. The patients are being put down all the time by the person in charge and after a while they begin to live their lives in that way. They fulfill the prophocy that is put on them by those who are in charge. No one is normal, people can become crazy from other people.

Danielle C. said...

I think that Kesey is telling society that just because some one isn't 'normal' it doesn't mean that they need to be in a mental hospital. I feel that the way in which the acutes are treated could make them literally insane yet there is still hope for them. I think that because Kesey wrote this novel more people with accept societies wierdos and that insane asylums will be for the insane, not the wierdos.

georgep said...

I think that Kesey is trying to say that the person and not the social norms we go by determine who is sane. Since we are being told the story through the eyes of one of the people living in the hospital we don't really know the full and complete story behind everything because our narrator goes in and out of his own dream like world which he calls the "fog". So we cannot clearly identify who is sane and who is insane in the mental hospital which why I believe that sanity is determined by the person.

MRowden said...

I think wehat kesey is saying about sanity, is that its decided by those in power, and wht the norms of society are.