“If you don’t watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what t

“If you don’t watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.”
—Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Whoa, what a novel! Can’t believe I hadn’t read it before (or even watched the film). I finished the book a couple of weeks ago yet it is still whirling around in my head. Overall I thought is was a stand out classic. It definitely kept me entertained right up until the end. Oh, and that ending!

One thing, however, quite early on I noticed that the few women in this story are not depicted well. They are actually referred to as “ball-cutters”. What?! This had me scratching my head. So, I quickly searched online and found this;

“By polarizing the battle between repression and freedom as a battle between feminization and masculinity, machinery versus nature, and civilized versus wild, Kesey offers a simplified mythology much like the comic book heroes he reveres. The war isn’t between the sexes, but an archetypal battle between the more positive masculine qualities and the more negative feminine qualities. This motif suits his purpose because it allows Kesey to express a worldview of good against evil in which one of the cardinal virtues of McMurphy’s world is masculinity. It is the masculine virtue that engenders nature, spontaneity, sexual freedom, and rebellion against the feminine qualities of societal repression under the guise of civilization.”

Have you read this book? If so, please weigh in on your thoughts.
#oneflewoverthecuckoosnest
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