This article contains references to abuse, prejudice and murder
THE One flew over the cuckoo’s nest the ending was not at all simple and also remains one of the most harrowing of any Jack Nicholson film. The 1975 film adapted Ken Kesey’s novel of the same name and received overwhelmingly positive critical praise due to director MiloÅ¡ Forman’s brilliant handling of the difficult subject matter. The film was a huge success at the Oscars and became only the second film to win all five major categories (and its legacy grew in the decades that followed, including earning a spot on the AFI’s 100 Best Films list).
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest it was a perfect storm of content and execution. Although he is best remembered for his performances as Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher, his star-studded cast was only part of the equation. Randle McMurphy was one of Nicholson’s best roles, but the character was a cog in the machine that made up Kesey’s story. Although the superficial story of rebellion within the institution was present, the intrigue of One flew over the cuckoo’s nest bubbled beneath the surface. The key to understanding the film was through perspective and symbolism.
Why did the boss kill McMurphy
The only way McMurphy could escape his lobotomy was death
After McMurphy’s attempt to strangle Nurse Ratched, the ward’s resident troublemaker becomes the victim of the system’s ultimate punishment and is lobotomized. McMurphy lost in the end, and the film fulfills many of its strongest symbols. McMurphy represents the counterculture in the face of established social structures, and his defeat makes him a martyr in the Chief’s eyes. Upon realizing his new friend has been lobotomized, Chief suffocates McMurphy with a pillow before his grand escape from the infirmary.
Chief is inspired to escape by McMurphy, and when he sees that his friend can’t go with him, he gives Randle his escape.
There is no cruelty in Chief’s act, and in his own way, he frees McMurphy from the bonds that keep him oppressed. Chief is inspired to escape by McMurphy, and when he sees that his friend can’t go with him, he gives Randle his escape. In addition to being a moving ending, it also displays the story’s ultimate philosophy and encapsulates the idea that the system can be unbeatable. The best films of the American New Wave are equally dark and can inspire because they don’t have typical Hollywood endings.
Billy didn’t go out with McMurphy and Chief because he was afraid of the consequences
Nurse Ratched’s Fear Kept Billy Indoors
Although shy Billy Bibbet (Brad Dourif) spends most of the film dominated by the others’ overwhelming personalities, the youngest character in the ward is important to the story. Despite being a voluntary case, Billy is unable to make decisions for himself. Brad Dourif’s decisive turn when Billy Bibbit sees the character spend the entire film harmed by Nurse Ratched, and she is the source of his problems. Billy’s secondary problem is the relationship he has with his domineering mother.
Nurse Ratched’s omnipotent and watchful gaze eventually leads to her death. Billy won’t go away at the end of One flew over the cuckoo’s nest because he is very scared of the consequences, although he was not punished as it was a voluntary case. Unlike Chief and McMurphy, who are committed by the state, Billy can leave if he wants, but he is very afraid of Nurse Ratched to neutralize one of her directives. Billy is a symbol of those who can leave the oppressive system but are too afraid to oppose it.
Why the hydrotherapy console was an important symbol
There’s a reason why the boss chose that specific object to free himself
The book and film versions One flew over the cuckoo’s nest are full of symbolism, though the film isn’t as explicit in its messages as Kesey’s original vision. One of the subtlest images in both versions is the hydrotherapy console, the device that Chief eventually uses to free himself from the infirmary. It takes everything Chief had to lift the console and throw it out the window. Although it seems like the most convenient method of escape, the history of hydrotherapy gives it symbolic value.
Hydrotherapy is one of the most harmless treatments in alternative medicine. There is a history of the practice being used to treat mental health problems in the 19th and 20th centuries. Chief remembers McMurphy’s idea and puts it into practice. The treatment is designed to “free“patients from their afflictions, and Chief ironically uses this to free himself from the infirmary, which is the source of his pain. Chief was able to escape the entire timebut it takes the arrival of Randle P. McMurphy to teach him how strong he is.
Nurse Ratched represented the status quo and conventional ideas
Louise Fletcher’s character is more than just a terrifying presence
Ostensibly the film’s villain, terrifying Nurse Ratched spends the entire story finding subtle ways to torture and punish her charges. Although she is just an instrument of a larger institution, it seems she prides herself on being as strict as possible. Ratched’s character is filtered through the perspectives of the men on the wardand she never acts like the tyrant she always seems to be. Although she is a despicable villain who never gets what she deserves, she is also a symbolic figure for something bigger than herself.
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest has as much to do with psychiatric hospitals as it does with society, and Nurse Ratched represents the status quo. She embodies the dominant ideas that govern American life, and her desire to shape the supposedly sick men in her ward is the status quo she is attacking. Figures like McMurphy fail to fit into Ratched’s society, and it eventually changes him for the worse. For Chief, Ratched’s prejudices stem from the fact that he was an indigenous person who existed outside of his vision of civility.
How One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ending Compares to the Original Book
The book is even darker than the movie
Ken Kesey One flew over the cuckoo’s nest the novel is darker than MiloÅ¡ Forman’s dark film, with some important differences. Jack Nicholson’s character is centered in the film much more than he was in the book. In the book, Chief is the speaker and observes McMurphy’s behavior throughout the story, while Chief is more marginalized in the film. However, he finds his voice in the end. Additionally, McMurphy was more explicitly problematic in the book, delving deeper into incredibly controversial territory like pedophilia.
Readers were much less likely to identify with McMurphy in the book, making a much blunter assessment of the system overall and complicating the film’s drama between rebellion and authority. The film was more hopefulwith Chief escaping the hospital at the end. However, in the book, Chief simply watched through the window as a dog ran uselessly towards a road, suggesting the vulnerability of patients around the world after leaving an institution.
The True Meaning of One Flight Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The film’s final moments reveal Chief as the central hero
The end of One flew over the cuckoo’s nest is as symbolic as the rest of the film, as it essentially reveals that Chief was the main character when he put an end to McMurphy’s suffering. Although Kesey’s idea of ​​comparing counterculture to the struggles of indigenous peoples in the United States was problematicthere is symbolic value. The photos of the ward returning to normal show the status quo achieved in the end, but the images of the injured Nurse Ratched prove that it is possible to defeat the system in One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. It’s a powerful message that continues to resonate.