Abstract

“One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest” is a 1975 American comedy-drama film directed by Miloš Forman, an adaptation of Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name. The movie plot is developed by a hero named Randle McMurphy who wants to escape from the prison punishment then comes into a mental hospital. According to depicting the poor mental patients are controlled by the Big Nurse to show the darkness of the institutional system. McMurphy has made a series of measures for escaping the mental hospital to encourage the mental patients to have their own minds, although his escape plan fails, but “the Chief” escapes from the mental hospital and get real freedom. Up to now, there have been many writers and critics from different aspects to interpret the connotation of the famous movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest”, such as "Anti-hero", "The research of the existential elements ", "Black humor”, etc. About the studies on this classical film, there are still many learners and professors studying on it, different people can get different feelings about it. This paper talks about the symbolism in the movie One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by discussing the numerous symbolic images in the movie, then praise the heroes who fight alone for their liberation of individuality but engulfed by cruel society.

This paper mainly discusses the usage of symbolism in the movie depicting human mind and institutional society. Firstly explaining the definition of symbol and symbolism with its classification and characteristics. It is going to talk about the background (the United States in the 70 s) of the movie "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" and make a brief introduction of the movie. Then, it discusses the characters in the movie with theirs symbolic images to this paper. Finally, analyzing the symbol of the whole movie, including the symbolic meaning of movie’s name, the symbolism of the mental hospital to this paper by discussing the how to use symbolism to describe the fight between human mind and institutional society.

Key Words: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; symbolism; institutional society; freedom; fight

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Literature Review-2

2.1 Related Researches on Guided Learning Plans at Home and Abroad-2

2.2 Definition of Symbolism and Symbol-2

2.3 The Classification of Symbolism-3

2.4 Characteristics of Symbolism-3

3 The Background of the Movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest”-4

3.1 Introduction of Creation Time---1970s’ USA.-4

3.2 Contacting the Social Background and Analyzing the Symbolism of the Movie.-5

4 The Usage of Symbolism in the Movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest”-7

4.1 The Symbol of the Characters-7

4.1.1 McMurphy-7

4.1.2 “Big Nurse” Ratchet-8

4.1.3 “Chief” Bromden-10

4.2 The Symbol of the Scenes-11

4.2.1 A Fishing Trip-12

4.2.2 McMurphy and Brain Damage-13

4.2.3 Chief Escaping from the Mental Hospital-13

5 The Symbolism in the Movie—A Fight between Institutional Society and Human Mind-15

5.1 The Symbolic Meaning of the Movie’s Name-15

5.2 The Symbol of the Mental Hospital-15

6 Conclusion-17

Bibliography-18

Acknowledgements-19