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One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest Man wakes up. Man goes to work. Man comes home and eats the dinner that his wife made for him. Man goes to sleep. This has been the traditional role of a man for hundreds of years, yet in the 1960 s that role was being challenged by a strong feminist movement.
Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest in the 1960 s and in it he addressed both the issues of feminism and the role of a man. Through the use of Harding s fingers, Candy on the fishing trip, and Nurse Ratched, Kesey used the weaknesses of femininity to reinforce the traditional role of men. Harding s feminine fingers show his weakness in a way that reinforces the strength of his manhood. His fingers are described as two beautiful ballet women in white (pg. 158). They seem out of place on a man, and their length, and ivory hue are quite feminine. Each time that Harding is shown to have weakness, his hands are focused upon.
Either he [has] a tough time holding his hands still (pg. 55), or he he traps them between his knees (pg. 158) in an attempt to hide them. In this way, their femininity is directly linked to his weakness. However, at times of strength and machismo his fingers are not mentioned whatsoever, as exemplified by the fishing trip, and the party on the ward. When not confronted by his own femininity, Harding does what a man is supposed to do. He takes charge at the party by coming up with a plan to get Mc Murphy out, and on the fishing trip he helps reel in one of the biggest fish. Once the his feminine fingers are overcome, his masculinity is allowed to flourish, and he is allowed to revert back to the traditional role of leader.
Candy s feminine weakness allows the men on the fishing trip to reinforce their roles as men. Candy convincingly plays the role of a typical damsel in distress on numerous occasions, and at each interval, one of the men on the fishing trip is given an opportunity to be a man. The wind had turned cold and mean (pg. 205), and Candy was getting uncomfortable. Billy Bibbit plays the hero and gives her his green coat. Once on the fishing boat, Candy has trouble reeling in her fish by herself, and so, a man comes to her rescue again. Despite the fact that she is reeling in a fish, there is no doubting her femininity.
The T-shirt she had on [was] gone and everybody saw it. At the time that she is revealed to be most feminine, she is also revealed to be weak. Lastly, once the weather gets dangerous, it is revealed that Candy needs a life jacket, and conveniently enough, there are a host of men to prove their honor and manhood, and sacrifice their safety for hers. At the time that the most feminine character in the novel shows weakness, the men revert to the traditional role of hero, despite all of Big Nurse s ball-cutting Despite all of Nurse Ratched s attempts to hide her femininity, it is the time that it is revealed that arguably the most masculine event occurs. She provoked Bibbit to suicide, and in his anger, Mc Murphy ripped her uniform all the way down the front (pg. 266) and assaulted her. Historically, men have gotten angry, and men have expressed their anger by fighting that which they know they can beat, that which often times ends up being a woman.
Physical violence, anger, and unchecked emotion are more likely to be associated with a man than with a women, and it is these qualities that are expressed when the ultimate femininity in the book is revealed. Her victory over the instinct that the men have, to follow the traditional role of men, relies on hiding her feminine weakness, symbolized by those big womanly breasts (pg. 11). That is why She s won (pg. 67) if Mc Murphy can t get a bone up over (pg. 66) her. After her femininity is revealed, in spite of all her attempts to conceal [it] (pg. 66) she looses control over the ward. Once her shirt is ripped open, she is shown to be weak, and the male role of power monger and abuser is reestablished in the ward. Kesey used the weaknesses of femininity to reinforce the traditional roles of men through the use of Nurse Ratched, Candy, and Harding s fingers.
Apparently, men are at their most masculine, when given the opportunity to confront femininity s weakness. The weakness of femininity in this novel is based on the assumption that a man is stronger than a woman, and that a woman can not be strong and feminine at the same time. Almost interestingly, this idea that was present in 1960 is still being validated today. A female candidate for office dare not present her husband, for fear of being overshadowed by him. A woman who is under consideration for a raise will attend the interview with the most conservative business suit she can find. By simply having laws of equal opportunity we have not made women s position equal to that of men, but have forced women to be men in order to be in an equal position.
Man still wakes up, goes to work, and comes home, only now, that man can also be a woman.
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