Essay example --

In the novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey we are introduced to the theme of the machine controlling the patients in the ward. The combine, as it is referred to several times throughout the novel, is a machine that is used in farming that is used for cutting crops. In Cuckoo’s Nest, the combine is used as a metaphor for society and how it controls, destroys and manipulates the patients. The character Nurse Ratched is a â€Å"high ranking official† (p. 165) of the combine with nearly every character in the novel under her control. With extreme intelligence, she uses her power to influence how the population of the ward acts and what they do. Fear is a major component of the nurse’s tactics as she uses it to get what she wants and gets things done exactly how she wants it. The two types of patients in the novel, the Acutes who are â€Å"still sick enough to be fixed† (p. 13) and the Chronics who â€Å"can’t be repaired† (p. 14) are treated much differently by the nurse and her staff as she must be more strict with the chronics and is allowed to be more lenient with the acutes. The ...