Em answers “I have long thought of this book as one of...”

Adam asked this question about One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest:

I have long thought of this book as one of my favorites, but noticed some heavy racist and misogynistic undertones when I re-read it. Much of this was left out of the film. Does old fashioned sexism sully an otherwise great work of literature?

Em Yep is is racist and misogynistic. The book highlights these gross faults as the product of American culture. The book divulges a post-puritanical soc…moreYep is is racist and misogynistic. The book highlights these gross faults as the product of American culture. The book divulges a post-puritanical society as full of freedoms but also full of guilt which creates dubious characters who are incapable of comprehending race and sex without the inherited bias of previous generations, devastatingly highlighted by the social and economic freedoms afforded by American culture. I’m not even a communist but this book is saying: here’s what happens when oppressed peoples get the chance to oppress other peoples. Freedom can’t exist in it. (less)

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Adam Interesting! We have come a long way since Kesey wrote this book, and Milos Forman made the film, and even since I posed this question 9 years ago.
Feb 22, 2024 01:35PM · flag

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

by Ken Kesey

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