Slumdog Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This week in class we have been talking a lot about the "other" in literature, the character on the outside, and how the "others" are defined. During these discussions I was reminded of a book I read for AP Comp, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. The book takes place in a mental hospital, and it's all about the hierarchy within the hospital, with the patients being the lowest class. On top is Nurse Ratched, the most intimidating and powerful nurse on the ward, with her "black boys" underneath her; they're the ones that clean the ward and also help take care of the patients. On the very bottom, of course, are the mental patients on the ward. In Slumdog Millionaire, one of the major themes is social class. Because Jamal is from the slums, people in the higher castes expect him to stay there. It's practically unheard of to have someone climb the social ladder. Salim, more than Jamal, is concerned with advancing himself out of the slums. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest takes on this same issue of social mobility through the lens of the mental hospital. It's all about the patients' struggle to reverse the power structure within the ward and be treated as worthy individuals, very similar to Slumdog Millionaire. If you are interested in these themes, I definitely recommend this book. Going back to the UW lecture, Professor Zimmerman also compared Slumdog to The Great Gatsby, which I think is a worthwhile read. He also mentioned Across the Universe, which I recommend to everyone as well. It's definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. I thought it was interesting to see it compared to Slumdog. So, if you want to go more in depth on what we discussed this week, it's worth checking out. Let's just say I never listened to "Strawberry Fields Forever" the same way again.