One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest:Teaching Resources
Notes on
Ken Kesey’s ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
Contains two dozen general questions about the book.
Kingswood College: One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Contains biographical information about Kesey, a short plot summary of One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest and character descriptions, as well as a list of themes
to consider.
Vocabulary from One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Part 1: glare, swivel, croon, hover, chronic, ornery, loony, pinochle, hassle,
callus, heft, efficiency, slurp, replica, knobby, gripe, scowl, embalmer, straggle,
overzealous, grievance, prototype, acoustic, braggart, sadistic, ineffectual,
matriarchy, notorious, cuss, shimmer, deduce, withered, rumble, splatter, nudge,
maudlin, folio, giddy, dingbat, burrow, varnish, humiliation, ample and scour
Part II: bile, vulnerable, suspicious, fidget, latrine, scaffolding, assert,
gurney, punitive, sadism, convulsion, delirious, holler and bellow
Part III: wheedle, hovel, indigent, jounce, expedition, flophouse, keelhaul,
troll, chum, gaff and jetty
Part IV: dismay, venture, rivet, hallucinate, notoriously, shudder, lobotomy,
eventually and ramshackle
Test:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Forty multiple-choice questions from GradeSaver with answers.
Selected Bibliography
for Ken Kesey
This site contains an extensive bibliography of works by and about Ken Kesey
including interviews, critical works, and short stories.
Ken
Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (essay)
"Essay on the life and writings of Ken Kesey and others associated with
the Merry Pranksters and Kesey's Acid Tests. Discusses Kesey's early experimentation
with hallucinogens under the auspices of the U.S. government as well as encounters
between Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and prominent counterculture figures
such as Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson,
and Timothy Leary."
One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Lesson Plan)
This Discovery School lesson plan for grades 7-12 focuses on critical reviews
and the issues involved in adapting novels for the screen. Offers vocabulary,
focus questions, and additional links
Topics for Further Study
(Essay assignment)
" Write a short essay or story on what would happen if McMurphy took a
job in a large corporation with a formal culture and a hierarchical structure.
Be imaginative. Create characters who represent a variety of corporate types
(the boss, the flatterer, the slacker, the busybody). Do not change McMurphy's
personality, character, or behavior. Research the definitions of various mental
illnesses, such as schizophrenia. Was McMurphy mentally ill or just a maverick
who didn't fit into structured society? Defend your point of view with facts
and illustrations."
Brief
Discussion Guide for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Ken Kesey
Interview
This site contains an interview done with Ken Kesey at the Naropa Institute.
Ken Kesey obituary
article from BBC- 10 November, 2001
Ken Kesey Web Site
Mostly memorabilia, but click "Writings" to see an article Kesey wrote
for Rolling Stone about the shootings at Thurston High School in Springfield,
Oregon, as well as his Christmas story and Twister article.
Select Print Sources
*Novels for Students Vol 2. Ref PN 3365 .N6 v.2 - Includes short biography of Kesey and information of his book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Billingsley, Ronald B., The Artistry of Ken Kesey, 1971
Critical edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, ed. John C. Pratt, 1973
Leeds, Barry H., Ken Kesey, 1981
Porter, M. Gilbert, The Art of Grit: Ken Kesey's Fiction, 1982
Some reviews of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest:
- New Yorker, April 21, 1962
- New York Herald Tribune, February 25, 1962
- New York Times Book Review, February 4, 1962
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