Nadeem 1Maham NadeemMiss HallmanfAmerican Literature 033May 27, 2009Shattered Minds: An Analysis of Human Degradation and Its Effect in One Flew Over theCuckoo’s Nest“A hurtful act is the transference to others the degradation which we bear in ourselves”(Simone Weil). Hurtful, malicious acts of degradation are ever-present in
One Flew Over theCuckoo’s Nest
by Ken Kesey. Innumerable agonizing truths about our world hide in Kesey’sdisconcerting novel. One such distressing reality brought forth is the degradation of a human’smind; victimized mercilessly, Dale Harding struggles to survive in a mentally disturbingenvironment. Although Harding cannot be considered as one of the prominent characters in thenovel, he plays an imperative role in the comprehension of dehumanization and what it trulymeans to suffer the state of one who deems himself less than human. Degradation encompassesfar more than merely humiliating a person. When one human makes another consistently bear inmind that he subsists as a low creature, not worthy of anything in life, a beast who should counthis blessings for every single thing this world has spared him. Succinctly, that poor, deprived,unfortunate soul feels that his existence is tantamount to nothing, absolutely nothing, a nonentity.Such feelings can cause so much chaos and mayhem in the mind. Kesey unveils mental turmoilunleashed by Nurse Ratched’s manipulation of anxious sentiments through Harding’s persona.In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey depicts Harding as the embodiment of mentaldegradation.
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