A Comparison between One Flew Over the Cukoo’ Essay Example For Students

A Comparison between One Flew Over the Cukoo’ Essay s Nest and The Bell JarWhat could a convicted rapist possibly have in common with a young aspiring female writer? These characters, depicted by Ken Kesey and Sylvia Plath respectively have a lot more in common than one may think. Ken Keseys novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and Sylvia Plaths autobiographical novel The Bell Jar are two radically different stories. These two stories, however have striking similarities in the message that each of them conveys, a message commenting on the poor manner in which mental illness, or perceived mental illness is treated by the medical community. Similarities in the two novels can be seen when examining the reasons that protagonist of each novel was committed as well as the treatment that was administered, specifically medications given, and Electro-shock therapy treatments. The Bell Jar is a recording of a period of confusion, disintegration, and renewal in the life of its protagonist. In the beginning of the novel Esther Greenwood is portrayed as a fairly successful student and young woman. She is, in essence, the all-American girl. She grew up with fifteen years of straight As, attended an ivy-league womens college and spent her weekends at Yale. This novel is an autobiographical account of Sylvia Plaths breakdown as a young woman. Greenwood, like Plath, was a young woman who came to her vocation early and as a result suffered in creasing isolation from her peers. It is clear from the very first lines of the novel that Greenwood has a few instabilities. As the novel progresses the decline of Greenwoods health is evident. She sinks into not a mental illness, but a severe case of depression. A case of depression that today may be cured with a steady diet of Prozac was treated in a wholly different manner. Greenwood was taken to a psychiatrist who attemp ted to begin to treat her condition. Her meeting with the psychiatrist simply served to frustrate Greenwood further; pushing her deeper and deeper into her depressed state. Greenwood could not even find understanding or comfort in her psychiatrist. So I told him again in the same dull flat voice, only it was angrier this time, because he seemed so slow to understand how I hadnt slept for fourteen nights and how I couldnt read or write or swallow very well. Greenwoods depression escalated and eventually she attempted to commit suicide but failed. This is when Greenwood was first officially institutionalized. Greenwood was thrown into a ward for the mentally ill. Her depression was being treated among schizophrenics and catatonics; people with disorders far more severe than her own. An author writes what he or she knows. Ken Kesey, as a young man, volunteered for medical experiments with the then new drug LSD. His experiences with this drug that often mimics the symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as with the medical community prompted Kesey to write the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The protagonist, Patrick Randle McMurphy, in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a man that never should have been committed. The nurse, during a group therapy session explains exactly why McMurphy was committed, according to his file. Committed by the state from the Pendleton Farm for correction. For diagnosis and possible treatment. Thirty-five years old. Never married. Distinguished Service Cross in Korea, for leading escape from a communist camp. A dishonorable discharge, afterward, for insubordination. Followed by a history of street brawls and barroom fights and a series of arrests for Drunkenness, Assault and Battery, Disturbing the Peace, repeated gambling, and one arrest-for Rape. He is a man that has a long criminal record but no record of mental illness. The state no longer knew what to do with McMurphy, so they sent him away and hoped for the best. McMurphy did not in any way benefit from the treatment he was given; he was being treated for a sickness that he simply did not have. At best McMurphy was simply a loud individual, at worst he was a man suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder in need of some Ritalin. McMurphy was by no means insane. stem cell reserch EssayThe shock treatments are probably the most horrifying and vivid parts of not only The Bell Jar, but also in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. In Keseys novel shock therapy is used not so much as an actual treatment as it is a punishment. It is a deterrent of bad behavior. McMurphy is sent for his first shock treatment after he attacks one of the hospital attendants. He did not attack without reason. More than anything else, the nurse wanted to make an example of McMurphy. She did not want other patients following in his rebellious footsteps. The other patients already looked up to McMurphy, much of the novel, in fact is devoted to showing how McMurphy teaches the rest of the patients to be sane where the doctors cannot, the last thing that the nurse wanted was for them to start imitating him as well. The shock treatment has another purpose as well; it quiets down the patient for a few days. As the narrator of the story describes it:There had been times when Id wandered around in a daze for as long as two weeks after a shock treatment, living in that foggy, jumbled blur which is a whole lot like the ragged edge of sleep, that gray zone between light and dark, or between sleeping and waking or living and dying, where you know youre not unconscious anymore but dont know yet what day it is or who you are, or what’s the use of coming back at all for two weeks. Like other treatments though, the shock treatments did not affect McMurphy in quite the same way that they did other patients. Most patients only experience a few shock treatments before quickly adjusting their behavior. McMurphy refused to change. He was sent for repeated treatments with no success. More severe measures were taken by the nurse in McMurphys treatment after the failed shock therapy sessions. Greenwood and McMurphy reacted to shock therapy sessions in different ways. Despite their different reactions, the outcome of the therapy was similar for both characters the therapy failed. This utterly cruel method of treatment drove Greenwood to her first suicide attempt and it worsened McMurphys condition. McMurphys worsened behavior due to the therapy is what eventually led to his death. Radically different, yet strikingly similar; these two novels tell different stories and yet seem to convey a similar message to the reader about the poor treatment of the mentally ill. Misdiagnosis as well as treatments that simply did not work, such as medications and shock therapy, prevailed in both novels. So now ask yourself: What could a convicted rapist and a young aspiring female writer possibly have in common?