Metaphors of Society in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and I Know Why

Metaphors of Society in One Flew Over the pussys Nest and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings In One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Keseys use of description and symbolic representation not only enhance the depth of the narrative, but they provide the ref with amazing insight into the characters minds, hearts and souls. In fact, the characters themselves quarter be viewed as metaphors of society not unspoiled the institution. R.P. McMurphy, for example represents the ill-affected faction of society that was so loudly expressing itself during the sixties and seventies. He, like the hippies, challenges ascendance and brings about change by inciting others to rebel as well. He is both dynamic and crude, both funny and pitiable, as he rallies the other patients nearly him by challenging the dictatorship of Big Nurse. He encourages gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women and openly defies authority whenever possible. In the end, Nurse Ratched teaches him the last lesson on auth ority, which could be seen as a warning against rebellion. His lobotomy is the organization way of quieting the unruly protests of those brave enough to speak their minds. The character of billy is also meant to show us that disobedience can have fatal consequences, when the evil Nurse Ratched drives him to suicide. The Chief, who acts as the narrator, is a tall and strong native Australian American who pretends to be mute and deaf in order to cling to himself from pain. His character is representative of the way society was very silent in the fifties until people finally couldnt take it anymore and permit their feelings be known with a vengeance. McMurphy rescues the Chief from his silence, and he returns the favor by rescuing McMurphy from life as a vegetable.Converse... ...the Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka consequence which struck down legal barriers to school integration. This was the first major achievement that black activists had enjoyed and it gave hope to the author that people really could make a difference when they were united, organized, and had justice on their side. It was in part, because of her enthusiasm about the exit of the case that soon after the Supreme Courts Brown decision in 1954, Jo Ann Gibson Robinson wrote a letter to the mayor of Montgomery, W.A. Gayle, stating that there has been talk from 25 or more local organizations of planning a city-wide boycott of buses. By 1955, the Womens semipolitical Council, the same council who had previously be disinterested in Robinsons plight, had plans for just such a boycott. I found this to be personally inspir ing in the sense that one person really can make a difference.