Prejudice and Stereotypes

Abby Hudrlik

Prejudice plays a major role in the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Chief Bromden, the narrator, is considered to be deaf and dumb simply because he is Indian. When he didn't live in the assylum, people would often ignore im even when he spoke because of his race. They just assumed he didn't know how to speak English. The black boys are always called the "black boys" and never by their actual names. The black boys show prejudice against Nurse Ratched, saying they "hate her and her calk doll whiteness"(Kesey 31).

The stereotypes in the book also vary throughout the first couple chapters. Many of the people are grouped together due to something they have in common. For example, the blacks stay together and are all men who are ward workers in the hospital. They're either expected to be mean or drinkers who like to get around with women. Also, the women are either expected to act cruel and evil like Nurse Ratched or easy to get with women with big breast and no brains. This changes the story because it shows how there's prejudice and stereotypes even in the hospital.