Ken Kesey Influences

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"I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie," -Ken Kesey (Wikipedia). During the 60’s, was a time of countercultural and revolution. Kesey, who was born in 1935, fell under the counterculture category of Psychoactive Drugs, which impacted his writing. A Dedicated yet inspiring American author, who wrote 44 books in his lifetime, was best known for his most famous book, One who flew the Cuckoo’s nest, where he contributed his experiences with mental patients and drug. His work was put to the fullest. He made the public realize what he was trying to explain about society about with his works. , But there was another book which wasn't made by Kesey but was inspired by the group of the “Merry Pranksters” during the 60’s which caused…show more content…
He showed life experiences, in his work during his early life, in his most famous book, One Who flew the Cuckoo’s nest, and in his experiences in group called the “Merry Pranksters”. One dream might slip past in a flash but there is always a backup plan. During Kesey’s early life, born on September 17, 1935, to Geneva and Fredrick A. Kesey in La Junta, Colorado, where he lived for a couple years, but later moved to Stanfield, Oregon to pursue his future. In Highschool and College, Ken was an avid reader and filmgoer, but there was another passion that ken had as well. Ken also had a passion in wrestling. He was a champion wrestler, in the 174 lbs weight division.(Wikipedia) He was going to be an Olympic wrestler, but his career in wrestling…show more content…
After writing and publishing his book, One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. the Book was a sudden success. (Wikipedia). His idea’s to writing this book came from interviewing patients in psycho departments to study their actions and behavior, and also Kesey volunteered as a guinea pig for experimentation with psychotic drugs in the Facility. The experiments with the drugs caused his imagination to change drastically(Lehmann-Haupt Christopher), which put him at a state of “Psychosis”, which is the lost of contact with reality. These experiments gave Kesey an insight on how the patients are feeling. He once said. “The fundamentalists have taken the fun out of the mental.” (Ken Kesey Quotes). Kesey did not believe that the patients were insane, but instead the society they lived in pushed them out because of how they weren't normal. (Wikipedia).He showed th public how the mental and living and treated in society.. The patients in the book have relatively no freedom, and that probably what Kesey saw in the Facility. He also quoted during his interview with Robert Faggen, “If writing is going to have any effect on people morally, it ought to affect the writer morally.”(Robert Faggen.). He was trying to say that in his story’s doesn't just affect the people but it also reflects on the writer which was himself as well. The book was so popular to the public that it was made in
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