Cliffsnotes on Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Bruce Edward Walker

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.In "CliffsNotes on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, " you explore Ken Kesey's best-known work, one that challenges the preconceived ideas of what constitutes sanity and insanity. A mistakenly undertaken power struggle in an insane asylum results in a suicide, a murder, and a liberation, and leaves the reader with a paradoxical feeling that both disturbs and pleases.

This study guide carefully walks you through the novel by providing summaries and critical analyses of each section. You'll also explore the life and background of the author, Ken Kesey, and gain insight into how he came to write "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Other features that help you study includeCharacter analyses of major playersA character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the charactersCritical essays on topics like the role of women and the comparison between the film and novelA review section that tests your knowledgeA Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides."

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 1999

Reviews

[Kyle Evangelista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel! It was very well written, very detail and felt has if I was actually there in the novel. Very well descriptive and kept me interested the whole way. I picked this book because I wanted to mix it up a little and try this book that sounded less interesting but ended up being interesting. The part I like the best was when he tries to convince the doctor to let them watch the World Series. My least favorite part was when they were playing cards, I was a little bored that part. I recommend it to people who like to hear interesting stuff and people who actually care about special people. Jeanne's quote said "His arch foe, the dreaded Nurse Ratched is always dogging him but McMurphy always has another plan" I agree with this quote because she is always trying to stop McMurphy and bring him down but that never stops him!

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cliffsnotes? oops, I went for the unabridged version-always.
This is one of those books that so closely followed the movie, that I enjoyed them both equally. But don't let that keep you from reading the book for the nuances that were not in the movie. The book is narrated by the half-white, half-Indian inmate, giving a whole new dimension to the book that is different from the movie. McMurphy (brilliantly portrayed by Jack Nicholson) is a fun-loving, troublemaker, who is placed into a mental institution (rather than jail) and tries to reintroduce all of his inmates to life and living life. His arch foe, the dreaded Nurse Ratched, is always dogging him, but McMurphy always has another plan.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chief Bromden, the half-Indian narrator of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, has been a patient in an Oregon psychiatric hospital for ten years. You can notice his paranoia from thefirst lines of the book, and he suffers from hallucinations and delusions. Bromden’s worldview is dominated by his fear of what he calls the Combine, a huge problem that controls society and forces people into conformity. Bromden pretends to be deaf and dumb and tries to go unnoticed, even though he is six feet seven inches tall.

[Jacob Wegleitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mordant, wickedly subversive parable set in a mental ward, the novel chronicles the head-on collision between its hell-raising, life-affirming hero Randle Patrick McMurphy and the totalitarian rule of Big Nurse. McMurphy swaggers into the mental ward like a blast of fresh air and turns the place upside down, starting a gambling operation, smuggling in wine and women, and egging on the other patients to join him in open rebellion. But McMurphy's revolution against Big Nurse and everything she stands for quickly turns from sport to a fierce power struggle with shattering results

[Aaron Oshlack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, says everything it wants to say and doesn't waste a page of writing. However, the writing is a little alienating but I suppose this was intentional as the story takes place in an asylum for the insane.

[Sherwin]

as well as the film...

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, lost me a bit in places, reminded me of Hunter S Thompson, the amusing drunken babble, but this writer seemed to sober up the more you read on.

[Paulette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helps students understand literary elements.