A Comparison between One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest and The Bell Jar
A Comparison between One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest and The Bell JarWhat could a convicted rapist possibly have in common with a young aspiring female writer? These characters, depicted by Ken Kesey and Sylvia Plath respectively have a lot more in common than one may think. Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Sylvia Plath’s autobiographical novel The Bell Jar are two radically different stories. These two stories, however have striking similarities in the message that each of them conveys, a message commenting on the poor manner in which mental illness, or perceived mental illness is treated by the medical community. Similarities in the two novels can be seen when examining the reasons that protagonist of each novel was committed as well as the treatment that was administered, specifically medications given, and Electro-shock therapy treatments.
“The Bell Jar is a recording of a period of confusion, disintegration, and renewal in the life of its protagonist.” In the beginning of the novel Esther Greenwood is portrayed as a fairly successful student and young woman. She is, in essence, the all-American girl. She grew up with fifteen years of straight A’s, attended an ivy-league women’s college and spent her weekends at Yale. This novel is an autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath’s breakdown as a young woman. Greenwood, like Plath, was a young woman who came to her vocation early and as a result suffered in creasing isolation from her peers. It is clear from the very first lines of the novel that Greenwood has a few instabilities. As the novel progresses the decline of Greenwood’s health is evident. She sinks into not a mental illness, but a severe case of depression. A case of depression that today may be “cured” with a steady diet of Prozac was treated in a wholly different manner. Greenwood was taken to a psychiatrist who attempted to begin to “treat” her condition. Her meeting with the psychiatrist simply served to frustrate Greenwood further; pushing her deeper and deeper into her depressed state. Greenwood could not even find understanding or comfort in her psychiatrist.
So I told him again in the same dull flat voice, only it was angrier this time, because he seemed so slow to understand how I hadn’t slept for fourteen nights and how I couldn’t read or write or swallow very well.
Greenwood’s depression escalated and eventually she attempted to commit suicide but failed. This is when Greenwood was first officially institutionalized. Greenwood was thrown into a ward for the mentally ill. Her depression was being treated among schizophrenics and catatonics; people with disorders far more severe than her own.
An author writes what he or she knows. Ken Kesey, as a young man, volunteered for medical experiments with the then new drug LSD. His experiences with this drug that often mimics the symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as with the medical community prompted Kesey to...
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