The quantity of characters in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may seem unusual and perhaps even a little overwhelming. The patients and staff of the ward make up the long list of characters in the novel. However, Kesey's choice of numerous characters goes beyond simple names. From Nurse Ratched's "ball-cutting" tendencies to Dale Harding's homosexuality, the characters seem to represent a problem that was present in society in Kesey's time. Although the issues of mental illness itself are evident in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey shows and promotes the racism, homophobia, and sexism present in society through the characters on the ward. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Living as a minority in a discriminatory and judgmental society was a common problem in Kesey's time. Blacks were disrespected and almost always treated as inferior to whites. Instead of addressing racism and engineering change in a positive and revolutionary way, Kesey reinforces the inferiority that black people have faced. This is seen in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, when the only orderlies in the department are black and seen as slaves. For Nurse Ratched and the patients, they are seen “as executors of the will of the Big Nurse, they have little identity of their own. They are strong, silent, and full of inarticulate hatred” (Horst 469). This idea relates to the vision of black society in Kesey's time. The fact that Kesey portrays the orderlies in this business as slaves shows that he has accepted such racism as a reality in society. Kesey makes a racist remark in his writings when the orderlies state, “Why do you think, who hired Chief Bromden for this nonsense? The Inniuns cannot write” (Kesey 191). Fortunately, in today's society, illiteracy is not a racial stereotype. However, such racism and stereotypes existed in Kesey's time and he expresses this through the characters in the novel. At the time Kesey was writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, women didn't have the freedom they have today. This sexism and lack of freedom is applied throughout the novel. Nurse Ratched, the "boss" of the ward, is powerful and emasculates the other men. However, should a strong, independent woman be portrayed so negatively? Nurse Ratched's dominance over the patients on the ward is probably necessary to properly run a mental institution. Her management, despite being a woman, is immediately seen as emasculating. On the other hand, if a man were to take his place, would his actions be equally "castrative" to men? According to the patients on the ward, Nurse Ratched's only feminine thing is her breasts; “A mistake was made somehow in the production, putting those big female breasts on what would otherwise have been a perfect work, and you can see how bitter I am about it” (Kesey 5-6). This quote shows that Kesey may have believed traditional gender roles that women are sexual objects revolving around the world of men as Nurse Ratched's large breasts appear to be the only attractive feature to men. Therefore it is not surprising that men consider prostitutes like Candy and Sandy to be the "girls of their dreams". As Leslie Horst states, “The social role of the prostitute is, of course, to serve men, be available, and ask for nothing but money. As many feminists have noted, these expected behaviors are fundamentally little different from those of the traditional wife” (Horst 467). When.