The definition of classism is the belief that people from certain societal or economic categories are superior to others. When viewed from a Marxist position. Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness can be seen as a remark on negative intervention of lower category persons. In the Heart of Darkness the manner the Europeans treated the lower category Africans was rather inhumane. As for in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest the patients there were genuinely mistreated because of their category of being mentally ill. A Marxist theory can give you a better thought of how bad the category battle truly was between the Europeans and Africans.
In the Congo the European pilgrims genuinely treated the native Africans like they were worthless because of their category. There were many jobs between them and because of the European’s power many of the Natives were being captured as slaves. An illustration of this is. “each had an Fe neckband on his cervix. and all were connected together with a chain” ( Conrad. 70 ) . Marlow witnessed these events take topographic point at the outer station. This merely shows how disrespectful they treated the Natives. about like they were animate beings. A few of the Africans started to alter their ways and assist the Europeans. They saw this as a manner to remain safe. The Manager’s male child did this. “an over fed vernal Black from the beach to please the white work forces below” ( Conrad. 79 ) . This was incorrect as the Europeans had entire control over the incapacitated Natives and compelled them to their methods.
They were about doing them believe that the Native category was bad and should be more like them. Europeans had no regard for the Native’s wellness and lives as they were merely hapless slaves doing them rich. Marlow observes the over worked and deceasing. “they were deceasing slowly-it was really clear. They were non enemies. they were non felons. they were nil earthly now-nothing but black shadows of disease and famishment. lying confusedly in the light-green gloom” ( Conrad. 83 ) . The Europeans disregarded the wellness of the Natives. utilizing them merely as a agencies to their terminal. This all shows how severely the Native`s category was treated by the Europeans. The weren’t even treated as worlds more of a thing. The patients in One Flew Over the Cuckoo`s Nest weren`t rather mistreated like the Natives in The Heart of Darkness but they were belittled by a higher category by their disablement.
At times throughout the novel the nurses and orderlies genuinely treated the patients unjust and took advantage of their disablements. Each forenoon at that place was a shaving ritual and one of the patients named Chief who is a Native American Indian was held confined and his free will and self finding was violated. They did non care that he was terrified of it. He would conceal in the swab cupboard. “The least black male child and one of the bigger 1s catch me before I get 10 stairss out of the swab cupboard and drag me back to the shave room. ” ( Kesey’s. 1. 123 ) . These hospital orderlies would ignore the patient’s wants to non shave for whatever ground the patient may hold. This showed discourtesy for these patients presuming they were above or better than them. The nurses would drug the patients to seek an control them. The patients would sometimes go so doped that they did non retrieve anything. “This forenoon I plain don’t remember. they got plenty of those things they call pills down me so I don’t cognize a thing boulder clay I hear the ward door unfastened. ” ( Kesey’s. 1. 2. 2 ) .
These nurses didn’t attention about the patient’s good being. they drugged them to do their ain occupations easier. Nurse Ratched and the physicians performed a surgery on patient McMurphy that turned him into a vegetable. They fundamentally killed him. This devastated Chief and he couldn’t go forth his friend this manner. “I mashed the pillow into the face. I lay at that place on top of the organic structure for what seemed yearss. ” ( Kesey’s. 4. 4. 99 ) . Nurse Ratched believed she cured McMurphy of his mental unwellness when he wasn’t even mentally sick to get down with. She was merely utilizing her authorization over him to penalize and hush him.
Chief put McMurphy out of his wretchedness and non leting nurse Ratched to win. She besides used her authorization to fundamentally kill Billy. She emotionally belittled him and threatened to speak to his female parent. She refused to halt even after he begged her excessively. This finally made Billy take his ain life. The patient’s merely had each other for support and comfort despite being in a infirmary where one would presume they would be treated good in every possibly manner and non belittled or abused. The staff believed they were better than the patients and used their authorization to command them nevertheless they wanted. Both books showed a different sort of mistreatment to people by persons who believed they were above or better than them but when looked at through a Marxist theory they are both mistreatment of a lower category.
When interrupting down The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey from a Marxist position you truly see how ill the lower category was mistreated. The Europeans ruined the Native’s lives as they were captured as slaves and forced to work to approach decease. The patient’s on the other manus were manipulated and belittled by the staff and two lives were ended as a consequence. This sort of category mistreatment does non merely go on in novels. Peoples around the universe show bias and ignorance. This is an mundane happening and is unethical and unacceptable.
Work Cited
* Heart Of Darkness. New York. NY: New American Library. A division of Penguin Putnam Inc. 1950 * Kesey. Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. United States: Viking Press & A ; Signet Books. 1962
