A Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Authoritarianism on Personal Freedom and Gender Identity in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Handmaid's Tale

This essay investigates how Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale critique authority and the consequences of forced conformity on personal freedom and gender identity.

Utilizing a comparative literary analysis, the author examines themes of psychological manipulation, surveillance, and institutional control. The study finds that while Kesey focuses on medical institutionalism and the suppression of masculinity, Atwood explores totalitarianism and the reduction of women to biological functions.

The work is characterized by its nuanced application of theoretical frameworks, such as Freud’s psychoanalytic concepts and Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist theory, to evaluate how oppressive regimes erode individual autonomy and reshape identity.