Society Subjugates Individuality to Conformity
The book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is an allusion to the mechanics of society. Kesey uses the administration of the hospital as a microcosm to those who lead the world. Although it is more obvious in the book than it is in reality, those in charge implant ideas into the minds of those they lead to suppress individual thinking and thereby maintain order. Nurse Ratched's unwillingness to change the schedule, the assignment of duties, and the uniforms that the patients and staff wear are all examples of conformity and order. Ratched is "strung onto every man's conscience" (65)McMurphy represents a break in this order and how individuality can crumble the walls of administration. As the patients begin to question what they are told and think their own thoughts, the reign of Miss Ratched begins to quake. Kesey, as a "hippie", disliked "the man" and questioned American society through these characters. His comparison begins subtly but grows overwhelming as the plot thickens. McMurphy's lobotomy shows that society is powerful and sometimes wins, but Bromden's escape plants hope that this is not always the case.