One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

In what ways does this novel challenge you to reconsider your notion of who is and who isn’t suffering from a mental illness?

Theme of Madness

Asked by
Last updated by Aslan
Answers 1
Add Yours

I think mental illness, at least in the book, is seen as issues of stress, anxiety, and helplessness, unfortunately they are exasperated in the institution under the control of Nurse Ratched. I think the point that mentally ill people just need intervention much earlier by people that care is at the heart of the matter. Large Institutions can lack empathy and view the illness as something separate from humanity. One might also consider that Nurse Ratched is mentally ill too. Her obsession with emasculating these men is troubling.