Gambling Addiction: a Basis for Kesey's Character.

Mark Treiber Mayer English III-H (4) 8 November 2003 Gambling Addiction: a Basis for Kesey's Character When Ken Kesey wrote his most famous novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, he had in mind a profound idea on which he would base the book. The projection and methods that Kesey used to express these ideas were genius, as well as the way he incorporated his characters foundations into the characters every move, thought, and action. The character's personalities are based on a simple stereotype and then expanded to fit all aspects of this stereotype. The act and practice of gambling, betting, and card playing had many uses in the over all plot of the story. It is not only used as a characterization device, but also as a commonality among peers. In such a society, communication appears unfeasible without a great amount of work. Certain events that happened among the characters of the book would have taken more time to happen without the common activity of card playing. This device in turn led to communication, trust, and the uprising as well as the downfall of multiple characters, which formed the novel into the a story representing the habits, skills, and lifestyle of a habitual gambler. Upon entering the ward, McMurphy uses the shared interest of card playing to make a move towards communications with his new peers. His entrance into the ward has the patients

  • Word count: 2191
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The Effective Leadership of McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Effective Leadership of McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, written by Ken Kesey, the effective leadership of McMurphy can be clearly demonstrated in the transformation of the Chief. McMurphy's leadership creates a major change in Chief as the novel develops. These changes can be seen in three main areas of the story. First, the ability of the Chief being able to speak is due to the influence of McMurphy. Second, Chief gains confidence and is able to come to the aide of McMurphy in the shower. Finally, it becomes very obvious of the influence of McMurphy's leadership over Chief when he suffocates McMurphy and escapes from the ward. The first time that the leadership of McMurphy is shown to influence the transformation of Chief is when Chief speaks for the first time. "And before I realized what I was doing, I told him Thank you." (Kesey, p. 185). McMurphy has been able to give the Chief guidance and leadership for the first time. Chief is developing more confidence in himself and is now able to let the words come out. As this confidence continues to grow Chief is unable to contain himself. He has to be silenced by McMurphy. "Easy, easy, Chief. Just cool it for a while. They heard you." (p. 188). Chief has held all his thoughts inside for such a long time and now McMurphy has helped him to let them go

  • Word count: 927
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Compare and contrast the way imprisonment is presented in The Bell Jar and One Flew over The Cuckoo's Nest

Compare the ways in which imprisonment is presented in The Bell Jar and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Both of these books are 'products of both the personal experiences of the author...and the specific culture in which they were written.' Thus both reflect on the gender roles during the 1950's and the struggle the protagonists had to endure in a struggling society. Ken Kesey, the younger of two sons, was born in on September 17, 1935 in La Junta, Colorado. While at Stanford, he participated in experience involving chemicals at the psychology department to earn extra money. These chemicals included psilocybin, mescaline and LSD. It was this experience that fundamentally altered Kesey, personally and professionally. While working as an orderly at the psychiatric ward of the local VA hospital, Kesey began to have hallucinations about an Indian sweeping the floors. This formed the basis for 'Chief Broom' in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 27, 1932. In 1953, Sylvia returned home to her Boston suburb after working at a fashion magazine internship, where she made her first suicide attempt and was hospitalized for psychotherapy; these events, among other biographical details, are paralleled in The Bell Jar. One flew over the Cuckoo's nest explores the themes of individuality and rebellion against conformity, ideas that

  • Word count: 3791
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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How are people enslaved and by what means do they attempt to free themselves? - A reflection on "Blade Runner" and "Cuckoo's Nest"

How are people enslaved and by what means do they attempt to free themselves? Throughout both Bladerunner and Cuckoos Nest, characters are enslaved either through their own means or because of others actions upon them. Many of these characters become free of their slavery as their stories go on, though whether becoming free or actually being a slave in the first place are actually negative things is something that can be disputed. How slavery is defined is another factor that will contribute to how negative or positive being a slave is, for if we define slavery as someone who is the property wholly to another person or thing compared to if we see it as someone who is enslaved by their own fears and beliefs, will change the outlook completely. Chief Bromden is largely enslaved throughout the novel by many things; he is a slave to the nurse and the combine, his past and his own mind, fear and the fog and his confidence or lack of. Broom's slavery can be looked at as being a safe type of slavery for as long as he sticks to the image he has created of himself he is safe and although he doesn't have much freedom, what he does have is the knowledge that he is safe, which is a reassuring thing in Ratched's ward where the slightest mishap could have you beaten up by the black boys or sent down to disturbed to meet "their little battery charger" as McMurphy puts it. As the novel

  • Word count: 935
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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