A.P. English A

8/24/07
Reoccurring Gender issues in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
One of the major themes expressed in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is gender role reversal. Stereotypically speaking males are hardened authoritarians and women are passive non-aggressors. In One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest these roles are inverted, showing the inhumane, chaotic world of a mental institution. Nurse Ratched, Mrs. Bibbit, and Vera Harding, are the three main power figures of the novel that demonstrate how this is accomplished.
Nurse Ratched is the head nurse of her ward. Unlike the other head nurses of the mental hospital Nurse Ratched thrives off the power that she holds, and demands control of every aspect of her patients lives. She also is able to control her superiors, such as Dr. Spivey, head of the metal hospital, through shear intimidation. By many patients, especially by Randle Patrick McMurphy, the protagonist of the novel, Nurse Ratched is referred......

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Title: Gender Issues In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Approximate Word Count: 729
Approximate Pages: 3 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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