Thesis

Topic, Focus, & Thesis

Topic(s): 1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Focus: In each of the two novels stated above people are forced into some sort of escape where they must abandon their old lives and face a new reality. Sometimes this escape is for the better, but other times it can be for the worse, but even more so, an escape doesn’t necessary mean traveling to another location, but moving closer to a new person in search for help. Having an “escape” experience in one’s life can help people truly identify who they are and discover their own dreams and goals.

Thesis: In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the asylum is a place where individuals who can’t blend in with the outside world are forced to go, until they can properly ease back into the rules and expectations of society. Chief, a patient at the asylum with a Native American heritage and extremely large physical features that make him look like he’s towering over the rest of the patients, remains quiet during the majority of his time at the asylum, until he meets the news patient, McMurphy. McMurphy is unlike any of the other patients at the haven and fights back against Nurse Ratched and the Combine. He doesn’t conform to the society in anyway and remains true to his beliefs. The inspirational actions of McMurphy immediately attract Chief towards him and his beliefs, forcing Chief to escape the Combine and remain true and original. He follows in McMurphy’s lead and using his strength breaks free of the asylum.

Just as Chief finds an escape to freedom through action, Dimmesdale, from The Scarlet Letter, finds himself running away from his sins, unable to take action and confess what he has done to the town. His escape attempt is simply used to retreat from his previous life and leave forever, avoiding the troubles of his past forever. Dimmesdale strategy fails, as he is incapable to remain true to his life and confess his sins. The recognition of one’s self that Chief experiences at the asylum gives him the strength he needs to break free of the Combine, and be true to himself, as opposed to the weak, running away that Dimmesdale attempts to do.