One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Dear Ken Kesey,

I was extremely glad to have read your book, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Thanks to your piece of literature, I was able to experience an epiphany. As a result, my eyes were pried open to see the beautiful world that I could not only view but also change. In addition, your book inspired me to ignore our flawed society and speak up, rather than just following blindly where everyone else was going.

As I read through your well-written novel, I began to see how the poor patients in the ward were victims of the over-powering nurse that did not tolerate anything other than order. It wasn’t long before I began to see how the situation in the ward related to my life. I felt like one of those patients and society was a nurse that made me act a certain way or say a certain thing at a certain time. When that thought initially came to mind, it really hit me: I was living a life that had little to no meaning at all. I acted a certain way and never really questioned teachers, or the busywork that I was assigned many times. I was like the drugged patients that aimlessly occupied the halls of the mental ward, living my life with no end to be pursued. Upon finishing your book, it came to me: I was just living for the grade. I would do assignments in all these classes blindly and not see any value in them. But thanks to you I finally set up some goals in my life, such as my dream to enter the medical field and help people. I must tell you that when one has an end to be pursued, he definitely has more hope. That is what your book has given me.

As my English class read your book in tenth grade, we examined many of its aspects and themes. The reading was a part of a unit on order and disorder and after having gone through many of effects of order and disorder, I decided that what was being witnessed in the ward was simply a strong dictatorship, in which a series of rules and regulations stagnated human potential. I did not think that it was okay for someone like the nurse (or in my case the society that she represents) to limit my true worth. I felt as if it were important to do something. I was truly inspired to just ignore society and do my very own thing. After reading your book, I began to look at myself and see