One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Introductory Lecture

Analysis: Themes, Symblos, & Characters

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The Life and Times of Ken Kesey

Themes & Symbols

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Bibliographic Information Kesey was born in 1935 in La Junta, Colorado

Lived on farms in Colorado and Oregon

Attended University of Oregon's School of Journalism

1958 – Enrolled in creative writing program at Stanford University

Married his highschool sweetheart, Norma “Faye” Haxby, and had three children, Jed, Zane and Shannon.

Known as a cultural icon who some consider a link between the "beat generation" of the 1950s (jazz, poetry, drug experiences) and the "hippies" of the 1960s.

The Beat Generation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJZ9j52X2I

Hippies

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Hippies+In+The+1960S&view=detail&mid=9CDD4E1C3CC8F31A916B9CDD4E1C3CC8F31A916B&first=0

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Experimentation

Menlo Park Veterans Hospital research program

LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and amphetamine IT-290

What does this mean?

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Well ...

Writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

At the end of his participation in drug experiments, Kesey worked in a mental ward at the hospital and felt that the patients weren't crazy at all but did not “fit” in with society.

“[Kesey's] goal was to break through conformist thought and ultimately forge a reconfiguration of American society.”

http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.html

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The Merry Pranksters Kesey's group of friends:

Took psychedelic drugs Wore outrageous clothing Participated in peaceful confrontations with

the law Performed bizarre street acts Were against all levels of conformity and

conventionality

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The Merry Pranksters

Tired partygoers enjoy the vestiges of the Acid Test Graduation, an elaborate Halloween party thrown by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters at the Warehouse, San Francisco, Oct. 31, 1966. Along with live music and psychedelic light shows, large quantities of hallucinogenic drugs were consumed at the Acid Tests, though LSD was outlawed in the state of California (Oct. 7, 1966).

Ted Streshinsky/CorbisBrittanica.com

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The Merry Pranksters

To promote Kesey's novel Sometimes a Great Notion, the Merry Pranksters took off on a tour from San Fransisco to New York in their 'bus‘ nick named ‘Furthur.’

This trip, described in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (and later in Kesey's own screenplay "The Further Inquiry") was the group's attempt at making art out of everyday life.

"What we hoped was that we could stop the coming end of the world." Kesey

The Magic Trip

http://www.key-z.com/video.html

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The Kool-Aid Acid Test

Name given to Kesey's wild parties

Kesey would have his guests ingest LSD, sometimes without acknowledgement

Blue Kool-Aid

Facing one's fears under LSD.

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The Merry Pranksters “Ken Kesey, who was at the center of the

psychedelic counterculture on the West Coast, speaks with his band of Merry Pranksters, San Francisco, 1966. 'I believe man is changing," Kesey said. "Our concept of reality is changing. It's been happening here in San Francisco. I believe there's a whole new generation of kids. They're different. I can hear it in the music.'”

Brittanica.com

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The Merry Pranksters and the Psychedelic Era

It has been said that they were responsible for the introduction of the San Francisco psychedelic era that is the 60's.

In 1966, Kesey has stated that these drugs were “temporary and delusional” but this could not stop the trend that he and the Merry Pranksters has started.

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Became incredibly popular and was viewed as a critical look on society.

Still claimed as Kesey's most popular work.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

• Based on Kesey’s experiences as an orderly at a mental health facility in Menlo Park, CA

• Exposed the public to the inner workings of mental health institutions

• Narrated by a schizophrenic patient Chief Bromden

• Reveals Nurse Ratched’s abuse of power (i.e. shock theraphy & lobotomies)

Analysis: Themes, Symblos, & Characters

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

“It was read as a compelling cautionary tale that viewed society, represented by Big Nurse, as a cold, formidable negation of all that is free, lusty and nonconformist. McMurphy, a malingerer from a penal work farm, tries to rekindle a spark of life among his fellow patients, and is thwarted at each step by the cold, calculating Nurse Ratched”

Lets see what you think!

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Sources Used

http://www.britannica.com/psychedelic/scene/kesey.html#087p1

http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.html 1998 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia / 22903

www.wikipedia.com

American Film Institute: Heroes & Villains

-top 50 villains and heroes in 100 years of film history

Atticus Finch (from To Kill A Mockingbird) the greatest hero of all time

Dr. Hannibal Lecter (from Silence of the Lambs) the top villain

The other within the top 5 villains: Norman Bates, Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West, Nurse Ratched