Revolt And Freedom

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is American famous writer Ken Kesey’s classical work.The novel criticizes the social, political and cultural conformity system under the control of theAmerican government and expresses Kesey’s aspiration for freedom. The madhouse is actuallyan epitome of the American society at that time. Nurse Ratched plays the role of theincarnation of the American system. Revolts under the patient McMurphy’s leadershipreflects Kesey’s revolting consciousness against the American system. The novel ends up withthe scene that Bromden breaks the window and rushes into the open field, which expressesKesey’s aspiration for freedom and wishes for returning to nature.The academic researches at home and abroad analyze the novel One Flew Over theCuckoo’s Nest mainly from the perspective of new historicism, existentialism, psychologicalanalysis as well as cultural and language. Therefore, this thesis attempts to analyze the novelfrom the postmodernist perspective.This thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter one introduces Kesey and One FlewOver the Cuckoo’s Nest and the researches of the novel at home and abroad. Based on this Ibring forward the postmodernist research perspective. Chapter two uses Bell’s theory toanalyze the passive effects of the post-industrial society reflected in the novel. Chapter threeuses Derrida’s deconstruction thought to analyze the characters’ abnormal behaviours. It aimsto questioning the conformity system based on the binary opposition. Chapter four usesFoucault’s disciplinary theory to expose the true nature of American madhouse. Chapter fiveis the conclusion. It summarizes the main contents of the thesis and expounds the significanceof the research. It aims to making people consider the true nature of the American democraticsociety and how to achieve harmonious development between human and human, human andnature, especially in the advanced economic conditions.