A Study Of Existential Elements In Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

American literature in the sixties, according to Porter's argument, was "shaped in large measure by its reactions to social, technological, and ethical changes and to altered modes of apprehending reality." (Porter, 1989: 27) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest published in 1962, is a prominent example of American fictions in the 1960s. As the masterpiece of Ken Kesey—a nonconformist and the leader of Counterculture Movement, the novel fully demonstrates the strong notion of anti-institution. It is a satirical critique of the societal conformity of America in 1950s.The madhouse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a microcosm of American industrial society, the internal policies of which reflect the societal conformity of the external institution. By depicting the oppression and dehumanization that the patients suffered in the institutionalized madhouse, the author reveals the absurdity of the institution's demand for social, political and cultural conformity, which seeks to impose order and control on individuals, and exercises it at the expense of men's free spirits, personal identities, independence and freedom of human beings. Although the patients confined in the absurd social institution, the author still confirms that individuals can find freedom through their constant rebellions and actions.Existentialism is an ideological trend caring about human existential condition. The absurdity of the world and the attempt of achieving authentic freedom in the world of entire absurdity are the main doctrines of Existentialism, which are also the themes of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Therefore, the novel has strong existential trend.The dissertation intends to explore the existential elements in the novel through the analysis of its main themes. The thesis starts with an introduction, which includes a brief introduction to Ken Kesey and his works, to criticism of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and to the philosophy of Existentialism.Chapter One intends to discuss the theme of absurdity in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. By adopting Foucault's views about the nature of madness and modern asylum, the author interprets the absurdity of the societal conformity of the modern industrial society. Specifically, it includes: madness—the invention of social conformity in modern mechanical institution, criterion of diagnosis for insanity, and modern asylum—the disciplinary and reformatory agency of social institution.The theme of alienation in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is analyzed in Chapter Two, which mainly focuses on the alienation of the Big Nurse. It includes the dehumanized and non-feminine image of the Big Nurse, the Big Nurse's abnormal curiosity for order and discipline, and the dehumanized governance and oppression to the mental patients.Chapter Three is an attempt to discuss the issue of freedom in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Authentic freedom has been achieved by man's rebellion, free choice, responsibility, and constant actions. It includes Cheswick's rebellion to the institutionalized policies, McMurphy's responsibility for the authentic existences of the inmates, and Bromden's final pursuit for freedom.Finally, the thesis comes to conclusion, which includes the summary of existential elements in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and the significance of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.