One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Historical Context
The 1950s: Conformity and Change
The late 1950s, the time period in which the book was wntten and set, saw the end of a decade in which people outside the mainstream were often viewed with suspicion. The United States was engaged in a "cold war" with the Soviet Union, in which relations were tense and hostile even though no open warfare was declared. Americans feared the possibility of a nuclear conflict, and people identified as communist sympathizers—"reds"— were frequently ostracized and even persecuted for their supposed beliefs by government committees such as that...
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