Essay on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Essay on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest explores various themes and motifs. This includes morality, social ethics, conformity, rebellion, and adaptation among many others. These themes and how to author portrayed those made the novels one of the most striking and eloquent novels of its time. Although most of the novel’s themes were retained in the filmed version, it can be argued the movie is significantly different from the novel in numerous ways. 

One of the most noticeable differences between the novel and the film is the story’s point of view. In the novel, Chief Bromden narrated the story of how Randle Patrick McMurphy and Nurse Ratched would always find themselves in a fight or argument. In fact, it can be argued that Chief is the novel’s hero primarily because he was the one with the most notable transformation in the novel. As he details the various events in the story, Chief likewise reveals his life story before he was sent to the institution. The film on the other hand, completely disregards Chief as the narrator as well as his background. Instead, he was portrayed only as a secondary character. At the same time, McMurphy is seen as the hero in the film. Similarly, the film showed Chief Bromden’s delusional episodes only as a means to expand McMurphy’s charitable nature.

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Another notable changes done in the film is how the character of McMurphy is softened as compared to his more intolerable behavior in the book. Instead, he was portrayed as a roguish and mischievous con man rather than an unpredictable and moody man prone to violent bursts of anger and violence. Likewise, the film omitted his poke hand tattoo which foretold his impending death. The film also mentioned that McMurphy was accused of statutory rape by a fifteen-year old girl which is in contrast to the novel’s nine-year old girl.

Furthermore, there are also a number of critical scenes from the book that were removed in the Hollywood version. This includes the suicide of Cheswick as he was one of the first individuals who suffered the consequences of McMurphy’s antics. The cinematic adaptation also showed that McMurphy conforms to Nurse Ratched’s demands after hearing from the lifeguard that the length of their confinement rest solely upon the discretion of Ratched.

Another scene not present in the film is McMurphy’s final ploy against the Acutes. The novel depicts how McMurphy manipulates Chief to touch the control panel after he bets from the Acutes that it can never be done. Chief on the other hand obeyed and lifts the control panel for the Acutes, which led him to feel betrayed and used by McMurphy.

The fishing episode is another sequence in the film which greatly differs from the book. In the book, the fishing episode is planned activity that Nurse Ratched constantly sabotages. McMurphy however, convinces Doctor Spivy to join once the prostitute arrives. The film however, showed McMurphy hijacking an institutional bus as he instructs others to participate as a sign of rebellion. As such, the scene shows how he briefly empowers the patients and confronts the abusive attendants. 

Despite the telling difference from the novel, the movie nonetheless has remained true to the opposing themes of the book such as nonconformity and rebellion against authority, natural and institutional as well as the redemptive qualities of sexuality. Thus, allowing the film to capture the lessons that the author wished to convey to the readers.

Reference

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York: Penguin Books Limited, 2011

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