One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest

The film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, produced by Milos Forman, contains
many similarities to the novel, however the differences are numerous to the extent that the story,
written by Ken Kesey, is overlooked by anyone who only saw the film.   Ken Kesey wrote the
novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, after experimenting with drugs and working on a
psychiatric ward in 1960 and the novel was published in 1962.   "Kesey became a night attendant
on the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital psychiatric ward so that he could concentrate on his
writing." (Magill 1528)   Kesey's rebellious novel explores the world of mental patients
struggling against authority and society through incredible imagery.   He was able to describe
this struggle because of his personal experiences.   Kesey was "disturbed by the dehumanizing
treatment of the patients" (Beetz 3089-3090), so he decided to write this novel about them.   In
his surrealistic life's work, Ken Kesey has managed to capture both the
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gloomy asylum atmosphere and the mental patients' demented attitudes.   Kesey's novel
proclaims a classic struggle between good and evil or the hero and the villain.   This
contemporary classic was brought to life through the film version in 1975 and is considered "one
of the greatest American films of all time" (Dirks 1).   It was the first film to receive all the major
Oscar awards.   These included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best
Screenplay.   The same name as the novel was chosen so that it would appeal to contemporary
audiences, which proved to be a big hit at the box office.   "Its allegorical theme is set in the
world of an authentic mental hospital, a place of rebellion by a wise-guy hero against
institutional authority and attitudes." (Dirks 1)

The initial difference between the novel and the film is the main character.   In the novel, the
story is told through the eyes of the narrator, Chief Bromden.   Chief Bromden is the main
character and "the most fully...
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