One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

Transformation: Randle McMurphy & Patients He waltzed into the ward and introduced himself to every patient as a gambling man with a zest for women and cards. Randle P. McMurphy, a swaggering, gambling, boisterous redheaded con man, arrived at the ward from the Pendleton Work Farm. He was sentenced to six months at the prison work farm, but pretended to be insane in order to obtain a transfer to the hospital because he thought it would …

…to man. Many of the patients have been driven into the ward because of their relationships with domineering women. Kesey often seems to imply that modern society’s biggest problem is the combination of women and power. Ultimately, McMurphy’s success comes through male violence against women, providing Harding’s earlier predictions true. Unfortunately, the reliance on sexist tropes to represent the problems of modern society weakens the overall impact of an otherwise powerful novel.