The famous line from a childhood nursery rhyme rings true as we talk about "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". At first it is not as apparent as it becomes towards the end, but this line is a motif that can relate to all of the characters in the movie, and those of us outside of the story.
When you're a kid, the word "cuckoo" is often used to describe something we find crazy, or a little strange. In reality, Cuckoo birds are known for not raising their own young. They have become incapable, making the "Cuckoos Nest" a very lonely and solitaire place to be. In the movie, I think that the "Cuckoo's Nest" is referring to a stage in your life where you don't have everything together, and it's a stage where these people need a guiding light, or host parents. This doesn't necessarily mean that everyone whose "flew over the cuckoos nest" is mentally ill, but more unstable than your usual self. However, each person's journey "Over the Cuckoos Nest" does has a different duration. Some people, like the birds that are left with a host family, are successful in getting out of their "Cuckoo stage", because the family is the right match. Others cannot become successful enough to leave the nest, as they don't have host parents to nurture them to independence, or their host parents can't offer their "breed" the specific needs they need to triumph.
Randall McMurphy is an example of one who flew over the cuckoo's nest, but never got out. He was dropped with a host family, or Nurse Ratched, but it wasn't a good fit. Ratched could not offer McMurphy the type of nurturing that he needed in order to fully develop. McMurphy ended up a vegetable because once the cuckoo has been dropped with a host family, even if its not a good match, there are no reassignments later. McMurphy died, like all the other cuckoo birds that were not nurtured properly. Had he been dropped in the nest of another, things could be different.
Do you think there is a deeper meaning to the title of the book/film?
I think Chief represents the one that flew over the cuckoo's nest because the Cuckoo's Nest represented, simply, the ward and Chief was the sole person that escaped despite Mac's efforts. I believe that no one expected Chief to do it so it almost went over everyone's head that it was even a possibility. I think Mac furthermore, had a huge impact on the men especially Chief because of his presence and attempted effort.
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