One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Mr. Randle Patrick McMurphy: The main character of the novel. R.P. McMurphy is described to be somewhat handsome with red hair and a contagious confidence and laugh. Viewed as something of a Christ figure ultimately, he swaggers into the world of the mental hospital and tries to bring the patients out from under the thumb of "The Big Nurse." McMurphy is everything a hero of a novel isnt. He is thrown into a mental institution and considered a phsycopath. These characteristics are exactly what make him the perfect hero. He is an underdog, someone we can all root for.
• Chief Bromden: Narrator of the novel. Nicknamed "Chief Broom" due to his primary job being the janitor of the ward. Bromden pretends to be deaf and dumb throughout the book so as to keep most people from bothering him, thus fooling everyone except R.P. McMurphy, whom suspects his trick after spending some time on the ward. Having had a traumatic childhood with his white mother and Native American father, Bromden is mild-mannered, kind, and has an outstanding moral compass overall.Chief Brombden is a well mannered person, but he is prone to throwing fits. This is mostly from being on the ward because it more so does damage to his social ability's than helping them. Towards the end McMurphy reteaches the Chief how to be "big" again. Chief was in many ways the mian character of the book. His narration was brillant in the way he not only gave you feeling toward McMurphy but also feelings toward Ms. Ratched.
• Nurse Ratched: The main antagonist of the book. Nicknamed "The Big Nurse," Ratched usurps her power over all ward doctors and lower nurses due to her having been friends with many officials of the hospital. The authority figure of the novel and tries to bend her patients to fit what their conservative society thinks is 'right'. Examples of this include repressing their sexuality, manipulating them to blame all short-comings on themselves, keeping clean and quiet for the majority of the day, and making them inadvertently fear displeasing women. Throughout the story, she tries a number of ways to both psychologically and physically break McMurphy and any other patients who may stand in her way. She is seen as a monstrous form of women overall.
• Dale Harding: The unofficial leader of the patients before McMurphy arrives.
• Billy Club Bibbit: A young patient who has a major speech impediment. His mother is good friends with Nurse Ratched as they work together on the ward.
• George Sorensen: A patient with severe germaphobia.
• Charles Cheswick: A very demanding and loud-mouthed patient, though all talk and no action.
• Mr. Scanlon: A patient obsessed with explosives and destroying things.
• Bruce Fredrickson: An epileptic patient.
• Pete Bancini: One of the "Chronics." He suffered a severe head injury as a small child.
• Martini: Patient who experiences severe hallucinations.
• Mr. Ellis: Ellis experienced electroshock therapy and was put into a vegetative state. He stands against a wall in the position of Christ on the cross every day.
• Doctor Spivey: The spineless new doctor of the ward.
• Mr. Turkle: Aide who works the late shift in the ward. He's the kinder one of all the aides and he even sneaks in prostitutes and lets them all have a small party because he is allowed to stay with them. It is believed that he is African American.
• Williams: An African-American aide who is a dwarf because (though only rumored) his growth was stunted when he witnessed his mother being raped by white men.
• Mr. Sefelt: Epileptic patient who refuses to take his medicine when his seizures start happening because the medication makes his teeth and hair fall out.
• Max Taber: Patient who used to be at the ward who is mentioned once or twice for his unruliness but made Ratched's idea of a full recovery through Icepick Lobotomy and electroshock therapy.
• Sandy: Prostitute who came to the party that McMurphy puts on along with her friend, Candy.
• Candy: Prostitute brought along on the fishing trip.
• Colonel Matterson: The oldest Chronic patient. He tries to teach anyone who will listen things from the history text he imagines his hand to be.
• Washington: One of the 3 'black boys' who helps out around the ward. They all thrust cleaning implements at Bromden when he's not doing much.
• Warren: One of the 3 'black boys' who helps out around the ward. They all thrust cleaning implements at Bromden when he's not doing much.
• Mrs Vera Harding: Dale Harding's wife. She is quite beautiful.

Quotes edit see section history

• “… you think this is too horrible to be the truth to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It’s still hard for me to have clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth, even if it didn’t happen.”

  Chief Bromden

• “Just that. Get her goat. Bug her till she comes apart at those neat little seams, and shows, just one time, that she ain't so unbeatable as you think. One week. I'll let you be the judge whether I win or not.”

  Randall Patrick McMurphy

• “The nurse on the ward tells me she's curing the arm in secret. Yeah, man, she says if I go easy on that arm, don't exert it or nothing, she'll take the cast off and I can get back with the ball club.”

  The Lifeguard

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• “This world…belongs to the strong, my friend! The ritual of our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak.

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• What the Chronics are—or most of us—are machines with flaws inside that can’t be repaired, flaws born in, or flaws beat in over so many years of the guy running head-on into solid things that by the time the hospital found him he was bleeding rust in some vacant lot.

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• it’s like an old clock that won’t tell time but won’t stop neither, with the hands bent out of shape and the face bare of numbers and the alarm bell rusted silent, an old, worthless clock that just keeps ticking and cuckooing without meaning nothing.

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• Because he knows you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy. He knows there’s a painful side; he knows my thumb smarts and his girlfriend has a bruised breast and the doctor is losing his glasses, but he won’t let the pain blot out the humor no more’n he’ll let the humor blot out the pain.

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• Tingle, ting-le, tang-le toes, she’s a good fisherman, catches hens, puts ’em inna pens…wire blier, limber lock, three geese inna flock…one flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest…O-U-T spells out…goose swoops down and plucks you out.

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• But I remembered one thing: it wasn’t me that started acting deaf; it was people that first started acting like I was too dumb to hear or see or say anything at all.

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• “Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become. Hitler an example. Fair makes the old brain reel, doesn’t it? Food for thought there.”

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• Papa says if you don’t watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.

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• McMurphy doesn’t know it, but he’s onto what I realized a long time back, that it’s not just the Big Nurse by herself, but it’s the whole Combine, the nationwide Combine that’s the really big force, and the nurse is just a high-ranking official for them.

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• It’s gonna burn me just that way, finally telling about all this, about the hospital, and her, and the guys—and about McMurphy. I been silent so long now it’s gonna roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It’s still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• New York
• Washington
• Stanford
• California
• Portland, Oregon
• San Francisco
• Colorado
• Canada
• Mexico
• Oregon

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Insanity: If one doesn't bend to society's rules then society will kick you out, call you crazy and "put you away."
• Natural vs. Unnatural: Describe this theme.
• The Individual vs. the Collective: Society will enforce its rules (Ex: unhealthy dieting) on an individual no matter what the dangers.
• Passive/Active Resistance
• Authority: Women (Nurse Ratched) do what they can to degrade men.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Ken Kesey (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. John Clark Pratt

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• BBC's Big Read (April 2003, #157)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3561.E667 1962
• Dewey: 818'.54

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( K ) › Kesey, Ken
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers › Psychological & Suspense
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Medical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (IMDb): 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher and Danny DeVito and directed by Milos Forman. Won the five major awards — a rare feat — which are Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted), Best Actress and Best Actor.

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Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history