Literary Analysis Essay on "An Enemy of the People" "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Wit"

Paper Type:  Literature review
Pages:  5
Wordcount:  1173 Words
Date:  2022-11-03
Categories: 

Introduction

This essay highlights the role of major characters in confronting such systems in similar circumstances as highlighted in Dale Wasserman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Wasserman and Ken), Margaret Edson's Wit (Edson), and Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People (Miller and Henrik).

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Dr. Stockman

In Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People (Miller and Henrik), the major character that rises up to the system upon the realization of the failure of prevailing assumptions is Dr. Stockman. The setting of the play is a small coastal town in Norway. The Mayor of the city, Peter Stockman, is Dr. Stockman's brother. Representing the system, Peter is the head of a team that sets up The Springs for the town, a venture which is meant to attract visitors to the town. The mayor is ecstatic about the project and reminds everyone how much the project will be a game changer for the town (Miller and Henrik 15). Things, however, take a twist when Dr. Stockman receives a letter regarding a study of the waters of the Springs which he had commissioned.

Among the findings of the tests is the confirmation of Dr. Stockman's suspicions of the presence of microscopic bacteria emanating from the tannery that is stationed on the upper section of the Springs. This confirmation confirms the failure of the initial assumption passed by Peter and his team about the Springs being safe for the public. Dr. Stockman initially believes that renovations should be commissioned to address the danger that is causing sickness to the people. This marks his first step in asking for accountability from the system. Also, the media is ready to take up the story and publish the findings of the report. The media plays a significant role, and their involvement is expected to help advance the results of the tests. However, it does not take long before Dr. Stockman is labeled the enemy of the people ostensibly for trying to disrupt a good project and trying to curtail his brother' development agenda. The media is also intimidated and drops its earlier support. This unfortunate turn of events leaves Dr. Stockman on his own. Whereas Dr. Stockman does not succeed, he exemplifies courage in confronting a corrupt system.

Susie Monahan, R.N., B.S.N.

The one character that confronts the majority when the prevailing assumptions fail in Margaret Edson's Wit (Edson) is Susie. At 28, Susie is young both in age and profession but has to stand up against experienced individuals regarding the nature of their administration of medication to Vivian. The prevailing assumptions here are that the sole objective of the nursing team is to provide Vivian with the best care to help her recover from her cancer situation if possible. However, this is not the case. Upon realizing that Vivian is committed to using her experience with cancer to advance research, Susie's colleagues focus strictly on the academic gains that they seek to achieve from Vivian's medication. Susie knows this is wrong and she is determined to play her part to reverse things. She chooses to prioritize on the human dignity and the comfort which she believes Vivian deserves during her experience with the demanding medication. Vivian's appreciation of Susie's compassion grows (Edson 45).

Susie believes that it is time to stop focusing on wit and verbal swordplay. She insists that it is time for kindness to Vivian. She confirms that her colleagues being smart does not prevent them from taking on stands that are not ethically sound. The kind of engagement between Susie and Vivian makes her the patient's only real friend in her time of need. Unlike her colleagues, Susie spends the time to ask how Vivian feels, and also gets to understand her background with her ailment. This compassion sets her apart. However, in the innate sense of how the status quo fights back when confronted, her request for the dosage to be reduced is not considered. Whereas like most such cases the damage is done and Vivian dies, Susie stands out for having stood up against what is ethically wrong.

McMurphy

McMurphy is the rebel with a cause in Dale Wasserman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Wasserman and Ken). The men who are held in the ward are subservient to the Big Nurse despite her Tyranny. This, however, changes when McMurphy enters into the scene. Like Susie and Dr. Stockman, his unique courage to confront an unjust authority is not received well by the system. Firstly, based on his temper and confrontational nature, he is branded disturbed in the signature fashion of a tyrannical or corrupt system when they realize that the subjects are about to realize that the prevailing assumptions about the system are false. McArthur undergoes painful disciplinary treatments, the price he has to pay for standing up against authority (Wasserman and Ken 23). McArthur is treated as both dumb and deaf. This perhaps equates to a requirement for him to hear no evil and speak no evil.

It is noteworthy that the individuals who are held in the ward found themselves as a result of their nonconformity with the societal conditioning. So, whereas they appear to be having mental problems, the circumstances under which they find themselves in the facility are not genuine. Also, the nature of leadership shown in the facility must be for the purposes of preventing the patients from questioning the treatment. McArthur's cause is just and deserving. However, as it appears, the cost of reforming the system would be an embarrassment to the authorities, so they choose to instead prevent his voice from being heard. In the end, McArthur does not succeed but his cause is noticed, and the cause can probably change how everyone perceives the environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is a considerable cost that characters have to pay for their voices to be heard in fighting against unjust or ethically corrupted systems. McArthur, Dr. Stockman, and Susie all find problems with their systems and they are determined to address them. Whereas the success of their approaches in tackling the issues is subject to debate, what is certain is that, in a literary text, just like in real life, no one is limited in the fight for a just cause. Susi is a young member of the medical team with little experience in the profession. However, this does not prevent her from challenging the more experienced members of the team. It also requires courage for one to stand up to a tyrannical or corrupt system. McArthur has to face tyranny that no one else in the facility would dare challenge.

Works Cited

Edson, Margaret. Wit. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1999.

Miller, Arthur. Arthur Miller's Adaptation of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen. The Viking Press, 1951.

Wasserman, Dale, and Ken Kesey. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: A Play in Two Acts. Samuel French, Inc., 1974.

Palacios, Maura, and Gabriela Sosa. "A Call to Action: Engage, Educate, and Empower Politically Disenfranchised Communities to Advocate for Environmental Justice." (2018).

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Literary Analysis Essay on "An Enemy of the People" "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Wit". (2022, Nov 03). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/literary-analysis-essay-on-an-enemy-of-the-people-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-and-wit

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