The Truth – Even If It Never Happened!. Review on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

Deep inside we all want to be rebels. We too want to break free from that all pervading grinding power which forces us to comply. There is no fixed name of this power – sometimes it takes the form of the society, sometimes family and at other times the Government. Just look around, you will find men, like you and me, running around mechanically without knowing to what end. They have an immediate cause – achieving business targets, meeting family demands, complying with law of the land – but no ultimate goal. While often we are victims of this force, sometimes we are also its instruments.

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ is a book about those who refuse to comply. They are misfits in the society, family and workplace and they are therefore placed in the last resort of the non-conformists – mental asylum. However, they do not resent this – in fact they welcome the fact that this is a place where not much is expected of them and nobody is there to laugh at them for there inability to adjust.

But, even the asylum is a part of the system(the author used the word ‘combine’). It aims at curing the inhabitants of their inability and returns them to the ‘sane’ outside world. And, an ex-army nurse is the high ranking official of the combine. She runs the ward with iron fist – punishing any non conformity, either with mental games or in extreme cases with electric shock or brain surgery. Her motive is not to be questioned though; she does all these for the benefits of the patients.

This apparent order was disturbed when one fine day a self proclaimed psychopath, convicted for frequent street brawls, once accused for rape, having penchant for gambling – walked in the ward and decided to take the combine head on. Then started a battle of titanic proportion – the rebel taking on the might of the combine and teaching the rest how to win their own private battles. It was like a boxing bout with the rebel apparently winning the battle but somehow such victories had no impact on the outcome of the war which the combine seem to have already won. But then, some victories are concealed in defeat like sometimes immortality comes through death.

It is a disturbing book which will bring your primal fears and feelings to broad daylight. But once you accept them, you will start enjoying it. You can even at times let out a hearty laugh while reading about the dispute regarding who is the ‘Big Goose Loony’ of the ward. You will also find yourself cheering for a psychopath gambler who made no pretensions about him doing any favour to anybody. You will also nod in agreement when an apparent failure on the part of the protagonist to lift a load will inspire the others to try the impossible.

The author had created some un-forgettable characters in the novel and their interaction often opens a new world in front of our eyes. Many different explanations for the same truth is presented – each as valid as the other. Especially captivating are the places in which the Big Nurse uses the familiar tools like guilt and shame to extract compliance from the inmates. How often have we witnessed these tools stopping us from doing what we would have otherwise done? In fact, each suicide proclaims another victory of the combine over a non-compliant rebellious soul.

Portions of the book took me back to my days in the armed forces. Discipline is the hallmark of the armed forces – they say, not without reason. In no other place in the normal world, the might of the combine is as apparent as in there. As an individual, you lose your right to dissent or even speak critically about your superiors who seem to have absolute control over your actions. There has been instances when the rebels were forced in mental asylums and were made fit for the place through shock therapy(therapy!?). You can be jailed for a day’s absence from your duty, kicked without reason or have your leave cancelled as some high ranking official is due to visit your unit and you are required to cut grass(yah, you have read correctly). You will be abused routinely, made to work without purpose and repeatedly humiliated so that the last trace of self respect and morality is vanquished. Slowly and surely, you will lose your spine so that you are too timid to even run away from your enemies. Then you are fit to be soldiers, ready to kill the faceless enemy of the state at the command of your superiors.

I know, the above description hardly matches the impression a civilian carries about gallant men of our armed forces but then truth sometimes differs from impressions. Even today, eleven years after having resigned from the armed forces, sometimes I wake up in the mid-night having nightmare about being called to do my duty for the nation.

Yes, this book can bring some of your buried ghosts to life.

To conclude, this is a remarkable book which deals with some of the most important questions of our time. It will disturb you as well as enrich you. The answer to the questions may not be apparent but it is important that we continue to ask them.