A Comparison of Hamlet and McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
It is suggested that in modern literature, the true element of tragedy
is not captured because the protagonist is often of the same social status as
the audience, and therefor, his downfall is not tragic. This opinion, I find,
takes little consideration of the times in which we live. Indeed, most modern
plays and literature are not about monarchs and the main character is often
equal to the common person; this, however, does not mean the plot is any less
miserable nor the outcome any less wretched. The first work I have chosen
proves this fact. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a first novel by Ken Kesey
published in 1962, is a contemporary tragedy describing the downfall of a
rigidly administered ward in a mental institution led by the rebellion of a new
admission. The work I have chosen to compare this novel to is the classic play
by William Shakespeare, Hamlet. There is an intimate relationship......
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