One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Examining the Psyche of Literature and of Society The Counterculture
What were the 1950s like? Boring, strict, dull Post-WWII optimism Innocence “Leave it to Beaver” Straight-laced Paranoid Specific gender roles Establishment-building beaveronline.jpg
What do you know about the (late) 1960s? Drugs Vietnam “Revolution” of everything Peace, love—not war A great loosening (morals) Tie-dyed, “Anti-Establishment” Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Credence Clearwater Revival, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Grateful Dead
The Beatles Show the Difference
What do you know about hippies? Drugs Flag-burning Bra-burning Gender role rejection San Francisco Flower Power Woodstock
McCarthyism? The Crucible by Arthur Miller “Witch hunts” Red Scare Hysteria USAmccarthyism.jpg
McCarthyism: The Age of Anxiety
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an allegory with symbolic characters. These characters enter combat that is symbolic of the conflict in America—between the “establishment” and the “anti-establishment.”
“Establishment” “…term for a traditional conservative ruling class and its institutions. In this context the term may also refer to that which is mainstream.” (wikipedia.com) “The Man” is another term for this concept.
“Anti-Establishment” “[An entity that] goes against the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society.” (wikipedia.com) “Counterculture” is another term that applies here.