Talk:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)

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[edit] Request

could you include a link to a site that would further explain what a peckin party is an why it happens please

[edit] Nurse Ratched

I just noticed that Nurse Ratched doesn't have an entry in the Characters section (neither as main character or as staff member). Can someone ad her? AbCarter 10:14, 6 september 2006 (CET)

She actually has her own individual article. Czolgolz 20:23, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
That doesn't mean she shouldn't be mentioned here. Pele Merengue 05:53, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Totally unacceptable plagiarism on this page

The entire Themes section is lifted directly from SparkNotes.com, word-for-word. Whomever added that content didn't even bother citing SparkNotes, let alone obtaining permission. That's lame. I'm deleting the entire section right now. --Sean Parmelee 23:02, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for noticing and taking care of it. Czolgolz 19:31, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Title

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to put an explanation of the title in the article, I saw the movie but haven't read the book. Maybe somebody who has could just say a sentence about where it comes from? --yoshi 00:46, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

It's in the article about the book. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 | T | C | @ 04:15, 23 May 2006 (UTC)


---The title of the book is explained on the first page of this topic.....it has to do with a nursery rhyme about three gees...one flew east, "one flew west, one flew over the cuckoos nest"

I understand that the name of the book was taken from the poem, but WHY? what made it so special? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.184.44.221 (talk) 15:40, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

I would desperatley like to know why the book/film 'One flew over the Cukoo's nest' why does it have this title what does it mean and represent??? I know it has something to do with an old American rhyme but what does the rhyme mean? Or is it something to do with the behaviour of the cukoo bird, for laying its eggs in other birds nests, therefore them being in the wrong place? Or is it that when we use the word cukoo we associate it with someone being crazy? cukoo's nest being the Institute/hospital? This really has been bugging me for some time I've seen the film several times and read the book I even saw the stage production at the Alexander Theatre in Birmingham, England thsi year. Please help if you know.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Oregon" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.145.166 (talk) 01:02, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New start: novel / movie / disambig on the main entry?

I can not read this talk page. Two polls about the same subject, and the second one is reallly difficult to interpret what the votes want. I can not see how this conclusion [1] can be considered to be reached. Btw, I think the subject should be discussed before polling. I suggest we start from the top, and archive the old stuff to get a more readable talk page.

So, what are the objectives for having the novel, movie or the disambig page on the main entry? My personal take is the novel should have it. The novel and the movie are both very well-known, but the novel is the original work that the movie is based on. // Habj 20:00, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

The old, difficult to interpret discussion on the topic is now archived. // Habj 20:41, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

I would desperatley like to know why the book/film 'One flew over the Cukoo's nest' why does it have this title what does it mean and represent??? I know it has something to do with an old American rhyme but what does the rhyme mean? Or is it something to do with the behaviour of the cukoo bird, for laying its eggs in other birds nests, therefore them being in the wrong place? Or is it that when we use the word cukoo we associate it with someone being crazy? cukoo's nest being the Institute/hospital? This really has been bugging me for some time I've seen the film several times and read the book I even saw the stage production at the Alexander Theatre in Birmingham, England thsi year. Please help if you know.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Oregon"

[edit] Quotes

I think it would be a good idea, if we all included our favorite quotes from the book.

[edit] Cheif Bromden

Should the Cheif be in the characters section? I think probably heshould be up with RP MacMurphy Eldonkeyo 04:16, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Added. --Sean Parmelee 23:01, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

I think McMurphy and Chief should relocated into their respective categories but placed first in each category because of their importance. What do you think? UrbenLegend 20:55, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Putting McMurphy and Chief in their respective categories sounds good to me. - Im.a.lumberjack 19:18, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chief's condition

I have just finished reading this book, and i don't recall there even being a confirmation, or even a hint, that Chief is a Skictzophrenic (sp?) since i cannot recall for sure, i will leave it as is, but i would appreciate someone confirming this fact.

Added. --0beron 30 August 2006

The fact that the Chief was a normal young man who suddenly, after the death of his father, started suffering from hallucinations, makes him seem somewhat schizophrenic. As to a real diagnosis, that remains to be seen. Czolgolz 00:38, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Ive read the book and had no doubt in my mind that chief suffered terribly. I think he had major hallucinations ( such as the fog or the machinery that he saw the one night.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.184.44.221 (talk) 15:43, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Working as an orderly?

Both the Ken Kesey and the Counterculture articles say Kesey volunteered as a subject at Menlo Park, not worked as an orderly. I can't verify which is true, so I'm not going to edit, but can anyone else find a credible source? Livitup 03:48, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

we may never know for sure, i've heard both. kesey himself isn't really a reliable source, i think he was a little crazy himself.--66.133.254.89 12:58, 7 January 2007 (UTC)


I think he did both. We know for sure that he worked within a mental asylum (Menlo Park);

"[I] had nothing to do but a little mopping and buffing, check the wards every forty-five minutes with a flashlight, be coherent to the night nurse stopping by on her hourly rounds, write my novel and talk to the sleepless nuts" (Preface to Ken Kesey's Garage Sale)

Several critics (such as Bloom & Barry) also claim that he took psychotropic drugs and underwent ECT to gain a deeper insight into their effects.84.13.49.115 21:24, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nurse Ratched

There should be a small abstract of Nurse Ratched's character in the characters section, with a "See Nurse Ratched for more information" at the end. - Im.a.lumberjack 19:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Themes

Should we consider a Themes section? There is certainly a large amount of pertinent information that isn't currently in the article. - Im.a.lumberjack 19:19, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Style problem, commentary throughout article

This article isn't in the right style. There's a bunch of interpretive comments throughout it. For instance, McMurphy's initials are "R.P.M" and it says he brings about "many revolutions." It looks like the article was lifted from somewhere else. --Howdybob 00:46, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Subjective POV presented as fact

The whole Christ allusion description in the plot summary section is totally subjective and interpretive and has no place in a synopsis, especially when presented in an empirical manner. To be included (if at all) it should be in a separate section labelled /analysis AND include critical or primary sources to back it up, not presented as fact by an anonymous editor. This subjective POV stance also extends to claiming Nurse Ratched wanted Billy Bibbit to commit suicide. At no point is this made implicit or explicit in the book, just that she callously and unprofessionally wanted to cause him guilt and fear to reclaim power over him. His suicide is what causes her to LOSE control, not reclaim it. Similar arguments can be levied at the passage about The Chief euthanising MacMurphy. Reading on this whole artice reads like somebody's bad English dissertation and is full of psuedo-academic and personal interpretation over fact and content and is not an encyclopedic article at all.

[edit] Narrative style and tense

I'd like to see some explanation for why the book shifts from present to past tense in several places. I couldn't understand the pattern when I read it. Yeanold Viskersenn 23:48, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, the narrator has schizophrenia for one thing. It seems to me that he uses past tense when talking about McMurphy or his own youth, and present tense when he's describing daily life on the ward. Anyone else have an opinion? Czolgolz 03:52, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Racist and sexist?

Where is the evidence that McMurphy is racist and sexist?

[edit] Sketches

In my Penguin Modern Classics edition of this novel (ISBN 0-141-18788-3), it has several sketches in it, all by Ken Kesey. I think a section on these sketches might be of some importance. Troubleshooter 22:01, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Epigraph

In the introduction there is that not about the books epigraph. I believe that doesn't belong in the introduction of the article as it doesn't help summarize the rest of the article and should be removed. Thanks. Marlith T/C 19:40, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Cuckoo nest.jpg

Image:Cuckoo nest.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 20:38, 13 February 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Inappropriate Categorisation?

This novel appears on the list at Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in fiction (girls), and I can't for the life of me work out why. Anyone have any idea? Faerie Queene (talk) 00:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

McMurphy had been previously arrested for sexual intercourse with a 15 year old girl, though it had been consentual and she refused to press charges. Czolgolz (talk) 20:38, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Plot

Some of the plot of the book is confused with the plot of the movie. I don't have time to read the whole book now, but I do remember that in the book McMurphy tricks the Chief into revealing that he can hear, while in the movie the Chief reveals that fact to McMurphy on his own. I think the scene of McMurphy trying to lift the shower room control panel was in the movie and not in the book, but I am not sure.

McMurphy did try to lift the shower control panel in the book in an effort to convince the inmates that they should resist, even if it seems hopeless. In the book, McMurphy doesn't exactly trick the Chief into revealing he's not deaf, he just let's him know early on that he know's the Chief is acting. The Chief still reveals that he can hear on his own, it just comes as no surprise to McMurphy. Czolgolz (talk) 20:35, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cheswick's Death

Someone said Cheswick's death wasn't a suicide, but it's really implied that it was. He tells McMurphy how disappointed he is that McMurphy has decided to toe the line, dives into the pool, and wedges his fingers into the grate. McMurphy, the lifeguard, and the aides can't pull him out and he drowns. When Billy kills himself, the nurse blames McMurphy for Cheswick's death as well. I really think it was suicide. Anyone else have any thoughts? Czolgolz (talk) 14:05, 3 May 2008 (UTC)