Comparison of Two Texts, “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”...

Comparison of two texts, â€Å"One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest† and â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† | How do the authors of To Kill a Mockingbird and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest use literary techniques to explore the concepts of isolation? Isolation and courage in the form of racism and discrimination is an analogous concept explored in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird and Ken Kesey’s novel One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. The authors exemplify the conflicts of isolation displayed by the protagonists and glorifies a broad range of literary techniques to foreshadow the ideas contrasted within the novels. The historical, cultural and social values of society are prefigured throughout the novels displaying the author’s ideas and†¦show more content†¦1962 was known as the freedom summer, which developed the fight for civil rights among black people in the US and worldwide. This historical setting of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest influenced the ideologies throughout the inscription of this novel. Ken Kesey developed his conceptual ideas of isolation through the setting of the characters. These concepts are developed through the protagonists, B Randle Patrick McMurphy an d Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy challenges all aspects of rules and regulations within the psychiatric ward. McMurphy’s rebellion forces the reader to observe his understanding of insanity. The ward is a metaphor of a social statement being made by the author, perceiving society as the same as the ward; controlled, under authority and McMurphy is an example of chaos, change, and hope for the patients within the ward itself. â€Å"I hide in the mop closet and listen, my heart beating in the dark, and I try to keep from getting scared, try to get my thoughts off someplace else-try to think back and remember things about the village and the big Columbia River† , (chapter 1, lines page, 121, line 23). McMurphy’s actions throughout the novel are foreshadowed thus positioning the reader to question if he’s truly insane â€Å"And the third boy mutters, Of course, the very nature of this plan could indicate that he [McMurphy] is simply a shrewd con man, and not menta lly ill at all. Chapter 2, Line.1, .Page 32-37).