One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Freedom Analysis

n One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey uses the ward as a representation of society as a whole. The patients are the citizens and the nurses and aides the government. Within this society, many of humanity's inherent freedoms are taken away in the name of security and mental health. The restriction of these freedoms are actually detrimental to the health and standard of living of the patients. This can be plainly seen in the depictions of the patients themselves. Some important characters to examine are Billy Bibbit, Chief Bromden, and McMurphy. Each patient mentioned represents a specific freedom taken away from the patients, in addition to the rest, that has a profound effect on their mental health and well-being. Throughout the book,
He has the constant presence of his mother watching over him and preventing him from truly experiencing life. When Billy begins to wonder if he will ever escape the clutches of his mother and enjoy life she responds with this, “'Sweetheart, you still have scads of time for things like that. Your whole life is ahead of you.' 'Mother, I'm th-th-thirty-one years old!'” (Kesey 247). She attempts to delude him into believing that he is simply too young to be granted independence. It is a cycle that will never allow Billy to be free. It has reached the point where Billy has convinced himself that he is not able to live on his own and committed himself to the hospital. When McMurphy came into the ward, Billy began to attain a sense of self-reliance. He believed that he could survive on his own. Billy's confidence is seen the morning after his night spent with Candy. Immediately after being caught, Billy has not stutter as he explains the situation to Nurse Ratched. In this moment Billy regained his independence. He was confident in his actions from the night before and did not care what Nurse Ratched thought. But Billy's regained freedom would undermine Nurse Ratched's power in the ward. Therefore,