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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Barron's Booknotes
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STYLE
The literary style of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is
perhaps best analyzed within the book itself, when the Chief
describes the ward as looking "like a cartoon world where the
figures are flat and outlined in black, jerking through some
kind of goofy story that might be real funny if it weren't for the
cartoon figures being real guys." Many critics have noted
Cuckoo's Nest's similarities to comic strips; whether you agree
with that analogy or not, you'll probably agree that the book's
characters are larger than life, boldly rather than subtly drawn.
Nurse Ratched and her aides, for example, aren't so much real
people as embodiments of pure malice. Like comic strips,
Cuckoo's Nest is fast-paced and often very funny.
Indeed, though much of what goes on in the book is grim,
humor is one of its hallmarks. Some of it, notably McMurphy's
bragging, harkens back to Western tall-tales; the Chief's
recollection of Santa's disastrous visit to the ward is black
humor, darkened by grotesque irony.
Finally, it's interesting to note that before he became a writer,
Kesey had gathered considerable college acting experience and
had even tried out for parts in Hollywood motion pictures.
Some of that theatrical expertise seems to show in his novel.
Take a look at one of the group meetings and see how well he
orchestrates them, just as a playwright or screenwriter might,
letting each character reveal a little of himself in his words
while simultaneously building tension. Perhaps this dramatic
skill accounts in part for the novel's successful transformation
into a play, and a motion picture.
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