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60s Rebellion and The Summer of Love
The 1960s were characterized by a social event known as the summer of love, which consisted of people taking part in various rebellious activities. These rebellions were both cultural and political, and everyone was set out to define themselves as a unique and separate individual in society (Anderson 3). Accordingly, creative artists were not left out in this phase of rebellious expression, and they each created pieces of work that reflected their rebellious thoughts and attitudes. The summer of love was considered the most important social experiments in history, as it was the period when individuals took up unusual lifestyles, more specifically, communal living, and free love. Specifically, the summer of love was characterized by creative expression, sexual and political freedom among other things.
Individuals at that time believed that the society had become so dictatorial and bossy, that there was no room left for self-expression. Instead of the society and the authorities bringing out the best in its people, it destroyed their sense of worth and individuality. This, in turn, prompted the need for rebellions so that individuals can attain the freedom that they required to live in their societies. Additionally, women rebelled from society’s perception about their sexuality, and they demanded more recognition in society just as their male counterparts. During this time, women fancied sexual expression, and they felt that the society had constantly oppressed them by restricting how they acted in the society. Essentially, the rebellion was a platform for women to make their demands, which they acquired immediately after. With this, the society saw the introduction of new ways of living in the society, as well as, the creation of public awareness on the importance of individuality in a highly communal society. Though the summer of love was credited for encouraging individuality and expression, research studies have shown that it was responsible for a considerable amount of violence experienced in history (Gitlin 18). Because individuals were intent on expressing their individual thoughts and perceptions, they tended to use violence to assert themselves, which in turn led to the destruction of plenty of lives. Relevantly, one such creative artist whose work has been linked with the summer of love is Ken Kessey and American philosophical and political author. More specifically, his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, depicts some of the events that took place during the summer of love and the 60s rebellion. In this novel, the author provides an analysis of the human mind, as well as, human behavior and principles. With the narrative set at an asylum, the author critically analyses the behavior of human beings in relation to individuality and personal expression. The author uses each of his characters to communicate his message regarding human thought and behavior, thus providing a link between the book and the concepts of the summer of love.
This paper presents a critical analysis of the novel, One flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kessey. The paper explains how this novel is directly connected to the 60s rebellion and the summer of love.
Analysis
As previously mentioned, the novel, One flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, has been linked to the 60s rebellion and the summer of love. This is because the novel conveys the same ideas as were existent in the events that took place during the 60s rebellion and the summer of love. At the outset, the novel is set at an asylum, which after a critical analysis, resembles the society in one way or another. The author’s depiction of the asylum was as an institution of oppression, where all the patients in the institutions experienced cruelty from those in authority (Roach 457). In his novel, Kessey brings out the asylum as an institution of instilling discipline in patients, thus giving the impression that one these people leave the institution, they will be better people (Roach 457). This is clearly illustrated in the novel in the statement, “Yes. This is what I know. The ward is a factory for the Combine. It’s for fixing up mistakes made in the neighborhoods and in the schools and in the churches, the hospital is. When a completed product goes back out into society, all fixed up good as new, better than new sometimes, it brings joy to the Big Nurse’s heart…” (Kessey 40). However, a closer examination of this reveals that, the asylum does more harm than good to its patients, making them far much worse off than they were when joining the institution. Kessey’s novel also examines the theme of sexuality, which represents the events that took place during the summer of love, as well as, their consequences. Women in the novel are in search of sexual freedom and the author uses the male characters to bring out the idea of sexual expression by women. The men in the novel have lost their masculinity to women, which are seen as a consequence of allowing women to express themselves sexually. This can be interpreted as one of consequences of allowing the freedom of sexual expression by women, thus, relating to the consequences of the 1960s rebellion and the summer of love.
In essence, the author utilizes imagery to represent the events that took place during the 1960s rebellion, and the summer of love. The members of staff, as well as, the equipment used in the asylum represent the different scientific and political mechanisms that society exploits to gain control over the people living in that particular society (Roach 458). By doing this, the author allows the readers to understand the link between his message in the novel, and the events that took place during the 1960s rebellion and the summer of love. The communities at the time felt that they were under oppression from the authorities as the authorities dictated what how people would behave and think. For that reason, individuals expressed themselves as a community, as opposed to, their individuality hence the sudden rebellions that took place during this time. Just like in Kessey’s novel, individuals living in the 1960s felt the need to free themselves from this social control, so as to express themselves accordingly in the society. This further illustrates the link between the novel and the rebellions that took place during the summer of love. Another way that Kessey’s novel can be linked with the 60s rebellion and the summer of love, is in the theme of expression of sexuality and the emasculation of men in society. Just like in the rebellions, women in the novel assert their sexuality accordingly, and they use their sexuality to attain their needs and desires (Horst 15).
Work cited
Anderson, T. The Movement and the Sixties: Protest in America from Greensboro to Wounded
Knee. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print.
Gitlin, T. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. New York: John Willey, 1993. Print.
Horst, L. Bitches, Twitches, and Eunuchs: Sex Role Failure and Caricature in Pratt, J, One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Text and Criticism. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.
Kessey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. USA: Viking Press, 1962. Print.
Roach, Jason O. Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. British Medical Journal, 321.7258
(2000): 457-459.
