Abstract:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is American writer Ken Kesey’s masterpiece published in 1962. It reflects American people’s strong discontent and also desire for freedom through vivid characterization such as Nurse Ratched, McMurphy, Chief and other patients. By using writing technique of symbolization, Ken Kesey compares living conditions of different classes of people, and he questions the real boundary between "normal" and "abnormal". This novel is thought to be authoritative in reflecting the morbidity and repression of American social situation in the 1960s. Through analyzing the symbolic implication of Nurse Ratched, McMurphy, Chief and Cuckoo's Nest, this paper reveals the close relationship between original novel and its history background.

Key words: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest symbolism  freedom

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Introduction  3

  1 The Symbolic Implication of Nurse Ratched  4

  2 The Symbolic Implication of McMurphy7

  3 The Symbolic Implication of Chief.  9

  4 The Symbolic Implication of “Cuckoo’s Nest”  13

Conclusion.  14

Bibliography  16