Composing A Great Critical Analysis Essay On One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) by Ken Kesey is one of the greatest literary works of the XX century. It’s not uncommon for teachers to assign papers on it, the general type being a critical analysis essay. The aim of such a writing assignment has two aspects. You will have to summarize the plot of the novel and give your own analysis of it. Analyzing a novel can be tricky, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Use tips below to come up a great critical analysis essay on One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962):

  1. Clarify your subject.
  2. Since the novel touches upon several important issues that are still relevant today, it can be easy to get lost among the variety of topics to choose from. If your teacher gave you a definite one, make sure you understand it well. If you have to choose a topic yourself, check other people’s examples for ideas.

  3. Read the novel.
  4. This may seem a bit too obvious, but you should read the source before analyzing it. For a critical analysis essay you may also have to re-read the novel several times.

  5. Write down main ideas, metaphors, and key events.
  6. It can be a good idea to make some notes and reminders while reading One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962). This will help you not to mix anything up when you’ll be concentrating on the writing process itself.

  7. Do background research.
  8. To understand what Kasey meant by his metaphors and main concepts, you may have to read about his personal beliefs and views. Knowing that will help you understand author’s perspective better and do a more profound analysis.

  9. Start writing, using a proper pattern.
  10. The structure is very important if you want to get high grades. A critical analysis usually has a certain pattern: first goes the introduction, then several body paragraphs, followed by a summarizing one. Introduce your reader to One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) in the opening paragraph by providing a short description of the novel’s history. Proceed by giving a brief summary of the book, along with your own analysis. You can use quotations from the text to support your point too. Each section has to be dedicated to only one aspect of the story. In the final part of your essay state your opinion on the novel once again, using the conclusions you came to in the main body paragraphs.