Gender Issues in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay...

A.P. English A 8/24/07 Reoccurring Gender issues in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest One of the major themes expressed in Ken Keseys One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest is gender role reversal. Stereotypically speaking males are hardened authoritarians and women are passive non-aggressors. In One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest these roles are inverted, showing the inhumane, chaotic world of a mental institution. Nurse Ratched, Mrs. Bibbit, and Vera Harding, are the three main power figures of the novel that demonstrate how this is accomplished. Nurse Ratched is the head nurse of her ward. Unlike the other head nurses of the mental hospital Nurse Ratched thrives off the power that she holds, and demands control of every aspect of her†¦show more content†¦Bibbit, Billys mother, has on him. Even when he is not directly in contact with her he lives in fear of her. Because of this influence Mrs. Bibbit prevents her son from becoming a full functioning adult and thus even at the age of thirty-one Billy appea rs to be no more than a kid to Nurse Ratched and the other patients of the ward. When Billy asks his mother to treat him like and adult she asks Sweetheart, do I look like the mother of a middle-aged man?(Kesey 247). When Nurse Ratched catches Billy sleeping with a prostitute even mentioning to Billy that she will tell his mother drives Billy to kill himself. The power that Mrs. Bibbit has over her son is an excellent example of how Ken Kesey was able to reverse gender roles in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest. Vera Harding, wife of Dale Harding, is another predominate female power figure in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest. Vera is very pretty and openly sexual, unlike Nurse Ratched. Dale feels very inadequate around his wife, and most of their problems seem to stem from their sex lives; this leaves suspicion if Dale is a closeted homosexual. Dales feminine hands which Bromden says are so long and white and dainty (Kesey 23) that it seems they carved each other out of soap (23), are a symbol of his insecurity and homosexual tendencies. Veras persecution of such details makes Harding want to stay in the mental ward voluntarily until such tendencies are cured. Hardings willingness to stay inShow MoreRelatedSexism/Racism in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest1542 Words   |  7 Pagesand Foremost, i must Explain this, I payed little attention to the novel and movie, but this Essay will more then likley get you a C or a B, Depending on if you make changes to the paragraph that starts with The portrayal of woman in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest is in a way, a role reversal. 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