Ken Kesey s One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest - 1716 Words

The Geese in the Wolf’s Nest â€Å"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.† (Orwell). Although animals might only look like animals, they are symbols of deeper meanings. Throughout the fiction novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, many symbols/motifs are presented in the form of animals that represent characters. These animals give meaning to the story and illuminate the plot by giving insight on character development, parallels, themes and thought processes of characters. McMurphy represents the Geese, Nurse Ratched is rendered as a wolf and the Patients are portrayed as hens and rabbits. First of all, the geese represent†¦show more content†¦This is similar to how the goose in the quotes swoops down and plucks hens out of the cuckoo’s nest. The geese that are flying opposite directions from the cuckoo’s nest reflect Mcmurphy’s own desire to free himself and not the patients. Furthermore, even though Mcmurphy liberates himself from the ward, he also liberates the patients from the ward, which is the cuckoo s nest. Another parallel between Mcmurphy and geese is when Chief Bromden looks out the window of the ward and sees a dog, geese and a car. For instance, one night when Bromden wakes up, he sees the dorm for how it is instead of the usual machinery he sees. He realizes this and walks to the window and to his surprise sees a dog and geese, â€Å"I tried to look where the dog was looking to see if I could find the flock, but it was too dark. The honking came closer and closer till it seemed like they must be flying right through the dorm, right there over my head. Then they crossed crossed the moon-a black, weaving necklace, drawn into a V by that lead goose†¦when [t]he [dog] couldn’t hear them any either, he commenced to lope off in the direction they had gone,†(Kesey 143). The parallel between Mcmurphy a gain is shown through his leadership and followers. In this quote the geese are only heard at first, and then seen. This is similar to Mcmurphy in the way he says things to the Nurse and to the Patients and then Nurse Ratched sees what actions he is taking. He takes action