One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest By Ben Kesey

Ken Kesey ( ) Born in La Junta, Colorado; raised in Springfield, Oregon Star wrestler in high school and college; nearly qualified for the Olympics Married high school sweet- heart Norma “Faye” Haxby, and had 3 children Fathered a fourth child, Sunshine, with fellow Prankster, Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Adams

Ken Kesey ( ) Graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism with a degree in speech and communication Enrolled in the creative writing program at Stanford University, and developed friendships with other famous writers Program director at Stanford "saw Kesey...as a threat to civilization and intellectualism and sobriety" While at Stanford, Kesey began the manuscript that would become One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey: A link between two countercultures

Counter to what culture? The House Committee on Un- American Activities (HUAC) continued the hunt for Communists A culture of suspicion and silence among those with something to hide and those who feared being misunderstood Institutional conformity and its effects on people became the subject of much fiction and popular sociology in the 1950s

Rise of Countercultures Psychedelic drugs Sexual revolution Second Wave Feminism Civil Rights Movement

Project MKULTRA While working as a night aide at Menlo Park Veterans Hospital, Kesey volunteered to take part in a secret CIA funded program – Experimenting with behavioural engineering of human minds (mind control) – Studying the effects of psychoactive drugs (LDS, psilocybin, mescaline, cocaine, etc.) Kesey also used LSD recreationally and promoted its use as a way to open one’s mind to new ways of thinking and to open doors to unknown aspects of reality

Merry Pranksters A group that formed around Kesey and often lived comm- unally at his homes Motto: “Never trust a prankster” 1964: travelled across the country in a psychedelic-coloured school bus called “Further” What started as a celebration of Kesey’s new book, became an experiment: what happens when hallucinogenic-fuelled spontaneity meets the banality and conformity of American society?

Acid Tests Parties held by Kesey in the 1960s where he passed out and promoted the use of LSD Regularly featured performances by Kesey’s favourite band, The Warlocks, aka The Grateful Dead Chronicled in Tom Wolfe’s famous book, The Electric Kool- Aid Acid Test

Psychiatric Institutions Psychiatry is not univer- sally respected Controversial treatments: – ECT: electroconvulsive therapy – Lobotomy – Over-prescription of drugs Deinstitutionalization: a shift from long-term inpatient to short-term outpatient care for mental health

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Written 1959; published 1962; an exposé of sorts, revealing abuses of power he observed during his time volunteering at Menlo Park – Told from the perspective of Chief Bromden, a Native American with undeniable mental health issueswho pretends to be deaf and dumb so he can observe the ward in detail. – Along comes R.P. McMurphy, who’s brash independence and vulgarity clash with the rigid authoritarian rule of Nurse Ratched. – Can McMurphy “get her goat”? How does authoritarian power that insists upon conformity cope with strident individualism?

Themes Individuality vs. conformity Individuality vs. insanity Individuality vs. deviance Masculinity and virility Corrupting nature of power Manipulation Sexism Racism Dehumanization Moral courage Moral responsibility Sexuality

Controversy One of America’s most highly challenged and banned books: – 1974: Five residents of Strongsville, Ohio sued the local Board of Education to remove the novel from classrooms. They deemed the book "pornographic" and said that it "glorifies criminal activity, has a tendency to corrupt juveniles, and contains descriptions of beastiality, bizarre violence, and torture, dismemberment, death, and human elimination.“ – 1975: The book was removed from public schools in Randolph, New York and Alton, Oklahoma

Controversy One of America’s most highly challenged and banned books: – 1977: Removed from the required reading list in Westport, Maine – 1978: Banned from the St. Anthony, Idaho Freemont High School and the teacher who assigned the novel was fired – 1982: Challenged at Merrimack, New Hampshire High School

Controversy One of America’s most highly challenged and banned books: – 1986: Challenged at Aberdeen Washington High school in Honors English classes. The local Board of Education voted to keep it for the "promotion of secular humanism.“ – 2000: Challenged at Placentie Yorbu Linda, California Unified School District. Parents say that the teachers could "choose the best books, but they keep choosing this garbage over and over again”