One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ NestBy Ken Kesey

Setting: a mental institution in Portland, OregonLate 1950’s

Narrator: Chief Bromden Been in the institution longer than any

other character Suffers from Post-traumatic Stress

Disorder Pretends to be deaf-mute Schizophrenic: sees fog Height: 6’7 Weight:over 300

Protagonist: RP McMurphy Newest patient in the ward Has an obsession with gambling,

fighting Independent thinker Insubordinate Pretending to be “insane” to stay out of

jail Con artist Kesey’s idea of the “perfect” human

Antagonist: Nurse Ratched Over bearing and passive-aggressiveAuthor uses “machine imagery” to describe her Ex-army Nurse Symbolizes Kesey’s opinion of the US

Government Turns the patients against each other to

keep control of her ward

Minor Characters: Harding- an acute patient who is

obsessed with his wife infidelity Billy Bibbit-”Mama’s Boy” with a

stuttering problem and lacks confidence Martini-schizophrenic patient in a

constant state of hallucination (comic relief)

Hospital Practices Patients are divided into two categories:

Acutes or Chronics All Patients are Male Common forms of therapy:

Group TherapyElectric Shock TherapyLobotomies (still practiced in parts of Europe)

Things to Annotate Character Development Author’s use of machine imagery Topics:

the role of individuality in societythe impact of government

Syntax and DictionSymbolism