One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey - A Short Summary & Review
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey - A Short Summary & Review
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review
A short summary :
Set inside a rigidly controlled psychiatric ward, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest follows Randle McMurphy, a loud, rule-breaking patient who refuses to submit quietly to institutional authority. His arrival disrupts the carefully maintained order enforced by the coolly tyrannical Nurse Ratched.
As McMurphy challenges the system, sometimes recklessly, sometimes generously, he awakens something vital in the other patients: laughter, self-respect, and the courage to see themselves as human rather than managed. The novel asks whether sanity is obedience, and whether freedom is worth the cost when the odds are stacked against you.
My favorite quote from the book:
Questions to ponder while reading:
My review:
This book is a battle cry.
McMurphy’s fight isn’t just against Nurse Ratched, it’s against a system that values control over care and compliance over dignity. His chaos is intentional, a refusal to let fear pass as order.
In pushing back, he gives others permission to hope.
Fight the good fight. Believe in hope.
And remember that sometimes, you just need a friend willing to stand up for you when you can’t stand alone.
Kesey’s novel is funny, brutal, and deeply compassionate. It reminds us that resistance doesn’t always win, but it always matters.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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