From being labeled “crazy” and denied help, to “sick” with overflowing support, mental health has always been a difficult topic to understand. Living in North America today, where fewer people are excluded from society due to a disease they can't control, one wonders why it hasn't always been this way. In the 1950s and 1960s, when The Bell Jar and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest were set, mental health was a topic no one talked about and anyone who was mentally unwell was immediately scrutinized. Both stories highlight the difficulty of conforming to society's norms and the negative effects of not being able to do so. Both Esther and Bromden struggle to find their place in society, which leads to their mental deterioration, which leads them to seek help through others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Due to mental health issues, individuals often find it difficult to successfully integrate into society, which is what both protagonists experience. Both characters introduce metaphors that express their distorted perspective on the world, in turn preventing them from connecting with others. In The Bell Jar, the title alone represents the madness that is Esther's life; the madness she feels trapped in. Presenting her helplessness and how her mental illness follows her everywhere, Esther recounts “wherever I sat… I would be sitting under the same bell jar, baking in my acidic air” (Plath, 98). Paralyzed by the feeling of inevitability, she is unable to enjoy life and move forward. Likewise, the “fog” and hallucinations that affect Bromden's daily life are debilitating, affecting his ability to function normally. “He [McMurphy] keeps trying to drag us out of the fog, into the open where it would be easy to get to us” (Kesey, 123). He despises the fog, yet finds comfort in knowing that it separates him from reality. Due to their inability to interact with the outside world, their mental state adds to their confidence and difficulty forming new relationships. While out with Doreen and her friend Lenny, Esther is given the opportunity to form a relationship with a new man, however instead of pursuing it, she chooses to return home. This is a key point in understanding Esther's complex personality, because readers are shown that Esther does not glorify relationships and men like her peers do and fails to meet new people. In Bromden's case, he finds it difficult to interact with other patients on the ward, demonstrated by the way other patients describe him. Bromden is known as the dumb and deaf Indian. With such a negative impression on other patients, Bromden chooses to keep to himself, doing his job of sweeping the halls without bothering to interact with anyone, which is largely affected by his self-esteem. Furthermore, in addition to the distorted view of the world and the collapse of trust, they face the negative effects of paranoia. Esther becomes overly aware of the people around her, thus making her unnecessarily suspicious of their actions. Esther feels like people are scrutinizing her too much: “I picked up the pieces of my letter to Doreen so that Doctor Gordan couldn't put them together and see that I was planning to run away” (Plath, 143). Despite the unrealistic situation, Esther finds herself thinking about minor details and assuming that people are deceiving her. FromAs a result, Bromden believes that the Big Nurse is trying to get him: "I crawl along the walls... but they have special, sensitive equipment, they detect my fear and they all look up" (Kesey, 9). Bromden seems to live in fear believing that people will find out what he is hiding, such as the fact that he is not actually mute. Both characters therefore find themselves involuntarily isolated. The harsh reality of someone's differences being used to degrade is what both characters face in the stories. Esther doesn't conform to the typical stereotype of women, one reason is that her mental illness disables her ability to react in a certain way, "I guess I should have been excited like most of the other girls were, but I'm not managed to convince me to react. I felt very still and very empty” (Plath, 3). This leads to confusion and misunderstanding as to why Esther acts the way she does, because she herself does not understand her own mind people surrounding him, forcing him to move away from them, “it wasn't me who started acting deaf; they were the people who first started acting like I was too stupid to hear, see, or say anything in everyone" (Kesey, 178). Because of everyone's perception, he is trapped and misunderstood and therefore chooses to keep to himself . Sexuality is another important theme in both stories. Esther feels that she does not meet the expectations of all other young women, as she is not sexually active. "I saw the world divided into people who had slept with someone and people that they hadn't... I thought a spectacular change would come over me the day I crossed the line" (Plath, 82). This alone forms a great barrier between her and the other girls, yet she accepts the reality of the situation. Bromden is also surrounded by men who have an interest in sex while he doesn't. In describing Nurse Ratched, he says "...Just like she was above him, and sex and everything that he is weak and of the flesh,” showing his disinterest in such matters (Kessey, 138). Describing sex as something weak shows his different mentality which prevents him from fitting in with the rest of the men in the institute. Furthermore, Esther and Bromden find themselves segregated because they are both minorities. Esther feels oppressed by the gender roles created by society, “the last thing I wanted was endless security and to be the place from which an arrow shoots. I wanted change and excitement and to launch myself in all directions like the colored arrows of a Fourth of July rocket” (Plath, 68). Speaking about society's expectations and her own ambitions, Esther expresses her inability to express herself as she would like and her resistance against expectations, affecting her ability to adapt. Bromden finds himself struggling to find his place, as well as his life. it is a constant reminder of racial prejudice. Bromden is struck by his Indian characteristics such as his "Indian face and Indian oily black hair" as he feels that everyone looks at him as an outsider and examines him (Kessey, 26). His stature and appearance seem to be the first thing noticed about him, this is demonstrated when McMurphy says: "I swear you are the biggest Indian I have ever seen", being identified and characterized by uncontrollable features strikes him in as it is one of the reasons for his separation from others (Kesey, 219). Both characters have notable differences, which drastically separate them from everyone else. The overwhelming effects of mental health are impossible to deal with without someone to talk to; Esther and Bromden soon realize this and slowly begin to find happiness again.