Ken Kesey's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

1. This book is anti woman because of the way Kesey portrays the role of women throughout the novel. One of the major themes in the book is women as castrators. It was demonstrated through characters such as Nurse Ratched, Harding’s wife, Billy Bibbit’s mother and Chief Bromden’s mother. In Kesey’s term, the “good” female characters are the prostitutes like Sandra and Candy who are obedient in every aspect, including sexually and doesn't manipulate them. Even Though this book offers that woman is more superior than man,Kesey uses that woman uses their power in the wrong way.
2. Ratched is a tool that also known as socket wrench. The function of the tool is to fix the loose stuff back in place properly. Nurse Ratched’s name foreshadows that her main job is to “fix” the insane people back into sane.
3. America in this era a “matriarchy” because during the 1960s and 1970s is when the "second wave" of feminism that spread across the United States. Women finally fought to take a role in the society and was accepted by the government. Equal Pay Act of 1963, Women Strike for Peace. Eugenie Moore Anderson was the first female U.S. ambassador. Eleanor Roosevelt and Marilyn Monroe are known as legacies.
4.  This book is anti black because there are not many black characters except the aides. The racism is clearly shown through the Nurse Ratched’s process of choosing aides. She believes that “the blacker they are, the more time likely to devote to cleaning and scrubbing, and keeping the ward in order.” Mostly everything in the ward is white so their “black face and hands seem to float against it like a ghost.”
5. McMurphy is presented as a Christ figure throughout the book. When he had the opportunity to escape the ward, he decided to stay and help the other patients. His scarification at the end of the book is similar to Jesus’ crucifixion. They both sacrificed themselves to better the lives of other people. In the Shock Shop, the table is cross shaped. On the fishing trip, Chief Bromden describes that "McMurphy led the twelve of us toward the ocean," which relates to how Jesus has 12 followers.  Candy is like Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ most celebrated disciples. In the book, we can imply that McMurphy and Candy had a sexual relationship. Many people believe that Jesus and Mary had a sexual relationship too.
6. For Kesey, the insane asylum represents the microcosm of America in the early 1960s. Through the mental hospital, Kesey portrays American fear of communism after the Cold War by the resistance of the patients against Nurse Ratched. The use of drugs of the patients in the novel reflects the hippie's believe about drugs. The matriarchal theme illustrates women's liberation. 
7. We hear so much about McMurphy’s record in resisting the communists in Korea because he was a veteran from Korea. He feels that living in the ward is no different from living in a communist country. People are being manipulated and watched for every action they make. 
8. The fact that he is categorized as the Chronics and his description about things, such as the fog machine, show us that Chief Bromden is not a reliable narrator. It is significant that he is an Indian because it indicates that his point of view could be biased prior to the impacts that the White have made on the Indian's society. According to Bromden, the Combine is a giant machine that manipulate everything and shape them into its standards. The hospital is the machine-like Combine in which Nurse Ratched is the "head." It tries to make machines out of everything, including humans. He escaped from the hospital to liberate himself at the end of the novel.
9. According to Freud, the history of man is the history of repression. This book is influence by Freudian thought because the main theme of the novel is "women as castrators." The doctors, and patients, which are all male, are being repressed and manipulated by Nurse Ratched.
10. The book's concerns about the evils of approved official drugs that these drugs were popular upon the hippies and 1960s dissidents.They thought that the pleasurable feeling that resulted from the usage of these drugs help to expand their consciousness. In the book, Chief Bromden was given drugs to help him to recover but it just caused him to hallucinate. 
11. 1960s dissidents fought to oppose to Communist rules and formed into a human rights movement.In the novel, the patients were opposing the communism of Nurse Ratched and the hospital.The book became such an influential manifesto for 1960s dissidents and rebels because it demonstrates that they have the same motive and that fighting would lead to liberation.
12. Other great political satires of the 20th century it calls is McCarthyism. This is so powerful theme for an author to write in this period because most of the events happened involve it. For Kesey, modern America is too hypocrite and would harm others for their own benefits. 
13. In the book, democracy is hard to form. There was no democracy in the ward, it's more like a communism.
14. The book glorifies criminals and lunatics and that they are the ones who seek for radical changes. It tells us that the 1960s radicalism could go wrong. Insanity is not always the sane response to the insane world.
15. Gambling is so significant to McMurphy's character because it shows that he likes to gamble and is not afraid of doing so. In the novel, he gambles his freedom and life to help the patients in the ward. This is so unpopular to the authorities  because  McMurphy was able to persuade other patients to challenged the authorities.
16. The Big Nurse symbolizes for a member of the Combine system. Chief Bromden sees the hospital as a part of the Combine in which Nurse Ratched is the head of it.
17. Liberation of the patients is expressed through their laughter when they were on the fishing trip. Chief Bromden's escape from the hospital is also a sign of self liberation.
18. The fact that Kesey was making a heavy use of LSD and other drugs when writing this book apparents through the way Chief Bromden describes about the fog machine and his analysis about size and power. It was obviously unrealistic and was just a part of his hallucination state. 
19. Laughter is such a theme for the book because to the patients, it represents the real world outside of the hospital. McMurphy believes that it is potent defense against society’s insanity, For Kesey, laughter represents freedom, expression, and sanity. 
20. The "loonies" are much healthier than the sane because was able to identify the differences and stand up for their belief. Although insanity is a sane response to a crazy world, it does not have to be the only ultimate sane response. It really depends on what kind of insanity it is. The labeling of other problems, such as crime, is insanity but they're not a sane response to this crazy world. Crime rates probably increased from 1960s because people thought that they are sane by acting insane. 
21. The arguments that Kesey put forward suggests that the best way to reform society is rebellion. People must take actions if they want to seek for changes.
22. The author makes use of many rhetorical devices such as metaphor, symbolism , allusion and irony to describe the patients and the condition of the ward. Metaphor and allusion are frequently used throughout the novel.