Cuckoo's Nest Oppression

800 Words4 Pages
Ken Kesey presents a wide range of characters in his novel, specifically individuals who are oppressed and don't fit into the strict structure of society. By utilising marginalised characters Kesey manages to highlight issues of people, particularly those of a minority race, the perception of minorities and the racial stereotypes that they face. The general view of the black boys is portrayed by Chief Bromden, they are seen as a collective and are quite passive. They are completely under Nurse Ratched's command, being part of her "combine" and therefore through this they are oppressed. Their oppression in the novel is significant as due to their ethnic background they are illustrated as rapists, however there are references to their mothers…show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr joined to demolish the segregation and mistreatment of African Americans. This movement was extremely significant and influential to American history. Therefore the events inspired Kesey to create the characters of the black boys and therefore allow the readers to possibly understand the suffering and obedience they demonstrate towards Nurse Ratchet. Despite her being a woman and therefore being below her in the capitalist society, in 1960’s America the black boys were under her command, almost like the patients. This illustrates the ill treatment that plagued the minority races and therefore how society was malevolent towards people of minority race. Through portraying this Kesey highlights the increasing relevance of African Americans in the country and therefore in literature. Consequently “this book acts as a backlash against the civil rights [...] movements.” Making it significant for educating the public particularly now in the future where there is a significant difference as there is less dehumanisation of people of…show more content…
The theme of suicide is evident within Plath’s Poems such as The Moon and The Yew Tree as she illustrates of what appears to be her mind through “gothic” imagery and through the free verse structure of the poem makes it appear to the reader to be a stream of consciousness and therefore with the repetition of the words “blackness [and] blue” can have connotations of bruising to the reader, however the place that she describing can be seen as her mind therefore gives the impression to the reader that her mind is bruised. The Ariel poem collection being published after Sylvia Plath’s death of suicide could give the reader insights to her emotions in possibly the last months of her life, a time where “unfaithful Hughes contributed to her suicide” and left her with her two children. suicidal thoughts could be linked to this poem as there is a significant amount of religious imagery where Plath describes statues of saints “stiff with holiness” which could highlight to the reader that she is aware that suicide is a sin and that the saints and God does not condemn her actions. Similarly, in Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love Jed Parry who is the most religious character in the novel whom in the beginning of the novel “prays” over Logan’s dead body and tells Joe Rose that “it helps” however by the climax of the novel Parry’s obsession with Rose leads
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