Ken Kesey's life and experiences influenced the writing of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by, him allowing himself to illustrate the different views that he had on society, and also he shares with the audience of readers in the novel some of his life experiences, the beginning battles that he had with the book, the ups and downs that he had with the actors and the big disappointment that he had with a character leaving the set, and him being paid for it. He also influences others with his writing in the novel, and this is why mist people were influenced to write novels about life experiences or other things that may have happened. He really influenced his readers, the movie industry and many other areas to invest in his movie and the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It was very important to reveal his views and conflicts within society, because this is what influenced the writing of the novel. It was the war and the ways that people started acting due to the war and in the ending of the war, this was the reflection of how people used drugs and how people felt about society as a whole. Kesy then used this appraisal to reflect in the novel by introducing the use of LSD, this is what rally sparked the whole influence the use of real life happenings in society and mental institutions. This also helped us to better understand Ken Kesy's life, and the issues that he came across in the 1960's with had a very big impact of flaws that were societal.

Ken Kesy also revealed where he was born and raised which was in Oregon in a small town. The setting of the novel takes place in Oregon in the rural area inside a mental institution. Ken Kesy's family was also religious and this was seen in the movie and the novel itself with the different scenes in the institution that were carried out by Nurse Ratched, who had control over everything and did not make a certain set of rules and used very strong power with the patients. This was in referral to his mother who was just like Nurse Ratched. Kesy studies at the University of Oregon, and then he migrated to California, where he learned about LSD, and promoted those who were nursed with drugs that altered the mind, like LSD. The same lifestyle was reflected by McMurphy in the novel, so this was another influence that Ken had on the novel that influenced his writing. Another thing that influenced Ken Kesy's writing of the novel was the experiences when he moved back home to Oregon. Once he got back home he began to see societal forms that he would then accept and also follow the rules that came with them. Kesy used his personal experiences to make the character named McMurphy, and this represented a very vague depiction of himself, that I really did not notice until I did a little research on him with the internet. McMurphy represented Kesy's return to his previous lifestyle that was shown while in California, and while he was exploring the country. Another thing that I read that showed an influence to Kesy writing the novel was the issues of the 1960's this meant war, the way that people became hippies and did drugs, the trends of clothing that people wore, the way that people were treated by the government, and also the society and the way that society coincided with reality and real life. This is what Kesy was trying to convey, how society was changed an thus people changed also, this created those flaws in the mental institutions and the use of mind manipulating drugs that would alter one's mind and body all in one. This is why he wrote the novel, the use of LSD conveyed the message that this drug really was experimental in many ways and scared him a little, this is why he played with the drug so much.

Kesy posed as McMurphy in the novel and this was another influence that brought the enlightment to the novel that he wrote. McMurphy was observable as non chrecterizable, unbound by any stereo types, rugged and depicted as a relaxed individual. Kesy is known to be the same way, so this was a big influence by him revealing the way that he really was. Kesy also studied creative wring at Stanford University, this was an important aspect to the novel and was very heavily influenced by the Bohemian life style. Kesey used to live in Perry Lane, and Perry Lane is what influenced the novel also. So mainly where he lived, where he went to school, and how his family treated him along with the social life that he had an what went on in the 1960's is what influenced the novel. This is good to know because most influences come from word of mouth of some friend or famous show that like the novel and asks to read the novel and pushes the writer to publish it. His influences were very normal and stood out all through the novel, this is like a cover up of his life in the form of s story that used characters who represent the demons that he came across and the powerful mother that he had.

Kesey then meets a person named Vik Lovell, who showed him what LSD was, and other drugs that altered the minds of others. The experiments that he did and learned were presented in the movie, like how he was a night attendant in a psychiatric hospital, and he used LSD while he worked there. This is where he began to write the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This was also an influence to the novel and reflected what he was presenting to the audience in his biography. College was another thing that influenced Kesey's novel, this is why he wrote the novel because he learned what they did to the people at the mental institution and also experimented with LSD to see what the effects were, so that he could use this in his novel. This was a great influence on Kesy, and with his lifetime experiences, this was another influence. What Kesey experienced in his life, and the way that society was starting to relate to each other, brought a whole new world to Kesey and he revealed his side of the deal and how he felt about what he really did not like and that was the powerful mental institution that he worked for.

It's society and his mother that really influenced the novel, because Nurse Ratched was much like his mother and society as a whole was represented by the new drug use and the way that people were treated. The college experiences are where Kesey learned to write. This is why he knew how to write a novel and what a novel really was based on, and without him knowing that the novel would have never been written. The places where Kesey grew up also influenced the writing of the novel, so you really have to look at what is presented to the audience. He was raised in a small town in Oregon, and place where the mental institution was located was in Oregon. This is what influenced the novel the settings, the experiences in his child hood and grown up stages, and also the people that he dealt with like the guy name Vik Lowell he taught him LSD. This is what made the whole story reflect what it reflected and this was his life story, the background, how he dealt with society, and how his mother was. The characters are another influence because they represented people who he knew and even himself, and the way that they acted depicted real life individuals. Kesy worked on the night shift at the ward in Oregon and this is where he met most of the patients who were later charecters in the novel, this is how he developed the characters. So this was the biggest influence to write the novel his job. Like how I see it, it was the mother of Ken Kesey that influenced him to make the character Nurse Ratched.

The influence basically were just experiences in his life, his family the areas the he was raised in the people that he met, and the colleges that he went to. When a person learns something new especially something in the medical field the usually write about it, or when a person is done wrong by a family member like a mother or father the writer usually masks this person so that he will not reveal what he is talking about in the book. This is his own way to show society and the audience how life really was and what he understood about the 60's era. This was a time of war, and studying of medicine through patients, people who did not really want to be placed in the institution but still were put there. The people that he met when he was working in the institution helped him to write the novel, also the friends that he made. If there were no ups and downs in his life and the big college experience, his influences would have been based on hi family. With all of that crammed together in one big bag, he was able to make reality a mere movie and also a book, with characters that had real life depictions. This is wonderful to be able to influence one's own writing by their own life experiences. It what he had inside of him and revealed to the audience that made this book so popular. Now that I know why he wrote the book this way, I say Kesey is a real start, he really knows how to put a book together and drop a load off. I really think that while he worked at the ward he experienced pain by seeing the patients done wrong by the doctors in the ward. The use of LSD, and seeing the patients all doped up, is why he wanted to talk about what happened. It's like seeing a bad fight that happened right in front of you, and you cannot take the experience though it was not you. This is what Kesey experienced, and the pain from that and his past life experiences made him spill the beans. Kesey needed life in real terms to really write the story; this is what influenced the movie, the real life happenings like the doctor and the Nurse Ratched who was just like his mother. His mother was a powerful lady from what I see, and she really put her foot down no matter what he did. This is why he used her as the central character in the novel and the movie, she really put her foot down with him, and the escaping and leaving of the characters revealed he wanted to see no more happen in front of him. I can almost imagine him crying about what happened to some of those patients when they actually were doped up and put away, because he tells this through the story and also acts out what he saw and how he was treated all in one. This is a fabulous piece of work and will always remain a number one bestselling novel. I have to watch this movie again because it really takes me into the scenes and lets me feel what it was like for the characters especially the chief who had to play crazy just to escape discrimination from others. No matter what the movie is a smash hit and Kesey will always remain a great influence on my writing of my very own personal novels I plan to write. This is how people get influenced by understanding the writer and where he was coming from.

References

How Ken Kesey's Life Influenced "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://hubpages.com/education/How-Ken-Keseys-Life-Influenced-One-Flew-Over-the-Cuckoos-Nest

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Created on January 17, 2016 by Lionel Sharpe (student) || Professor Bonnie Ronson at 10:43 PM