book blog 8 - final things I’m thinking about
Hey tribe, (or other random people on Tumblr)
So this is probably going to be my last "readingthework” blog post regarding One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but I still have a lot to say! In the end, I genuinely enjoyed my book, despite it being completely and utterly disturbing at times. As I’m moving forward with this project and am starting to look at some criticism surrounding OFOTCN, I thought I’d share with y’all some of the most exciting parts of the book/things I want to really look into.
1. Erasing masculinity. Something I found interesting within Kesey’s novel was the way he spoke about masculinity. He (Kesey) paints the head nurse as this overly overbearing, ball-cutting, and overall masculine character, making the other characters seem (and feel) inferior to her power.
2. Power complexes within society, aka what do we do to those who are different than us? (I touched on this in my last blog) but the question still stands. And the horrible tactics in order to “fix” these men may actually turn them more insane than when they entered the ward.
3. Find identity in a world trying to warp it. This is a weird one, but I found the Chief’s story very interesting. As you can see in my very first blogs, I had a difficult time trying to “figure out” the Chief, who narrates the story of OFOTCN. I know now that that is because the Chief has lost himself throughout his many years in the Ward. His last words (and also the last words of the novel) prove this - “I been away a long time.” The reader is left feeling hopeful that the Chief will begin to gather a sense of self again after escaping the psychiatric ward he was stuck in, which is an interesting move by Kesey to also end the novel this way as well.
Anyways, wish me luck as I begin to look at criticisms and ponder these three big ideas! Talk later!


















