One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest: Final Response

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest is a complex novel which results in leaving the reader with many different final ideas or thoughts about the book. It presented a few outstanding points about society and their judgment about mental institutes. Nurse Ratched represented mostly society’s view about the mentally ill. Throughout the novel she evolved as a cruel and evil nurse, she treated the men in inhumane ways, almost as if they weren’t people. Much of society views people with mental handicaps and disabilities this way. There was also an understanding that mental institutes during this time weren’t at all equipped with the proper knowledge to run a mental institute. The book also included a recurring theme of power and control, not only did Nurse Ratched crave and control every aspect of her ward, but McMurphy wanted to gain control of situations as well. Lastly, since the Indian, Bromden, was the narrator, the story wasn’t quite clear at all times. He brought the over all sense of not knowing whether things were actually happening or if they were only a “fog” in which he fell in and out of throughout the book. Over all the book could have effected the reader in many different ways, the reader had to relate to it to be able to determine what they got out of it.

The Awakening: Final Response

The Awakening is a novel about a young woman coming to find herself, as well as breaking away from the typical stereotype of her generation. Since women were expected to devote themselves to their children and husbands, not many of them did things for themselves. Edna Pontellier was never the perfect motherly type. She later on discovers herself and her feelings about things that are important to her. The novel is mainly about Edna’s “awakening” and her ability to finally claim herself, for herself. Throughout the book she learns about herself and is surprised by the many things she is able to do on her own. She makes her own decisions, learns how to swim, and falls in love. One of the most important moments in the book is when Edna realizes that her husband doesn’t own her; she is set free from him and his decisions about her life. The two biggest motivations for Edna’s “awakening” were Robert, and the sea. She meets a man named Robert, who she falls in love with; he is the first person Edna really loves. The sea is a recurring scene in the book, Edna learns to swim here, and she finds out she can do anything she wants after teaching herself to swim. The novel ends in a suicide, Edna drowns herself, although some might say she has gone crazy, I believe she was simply expressing her free will and ability to chose what was best for herself, her life was complete.