Hello,
If you need help, the best place to always look is in the library search database.
I would sign out a general book such as: Ken, kesey. "One flew over the cuckoo's nest: text and criticism." Pratt, J.C. (ed). Penguin Books: New York, 1996.
author: Kesey, Ken.
Title: One flew over the cuckoo's nest : text and criticism / Ken Kesey ; edited by John Clark Pratt.
Edition: Rev. and expanded ed.
Publication info: New York : Penguin Books, c1996.
You need to site books as follows: Author, Title (Underlined, I used quotes because I cannot use an underline here), Editor, Publisher, Place, Date.
You can also go to some credible websites such as: http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC10-11folder/CuckooVanwert.html
But make sure you properly site the websites. For example, the above website should be sited (according to the MLA Style guide) as follows: Author, Title (in quotation marks), source (name of website), date, http address
VanWert William. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: An Aerial View of the Nest." Jump Cut, A Review of Contemporary Media: 2004. http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC10-11folder/CuckooVanwert.html
If your library has journal articles, you might also want to read some of those as they often have the most up to date and useful information that can help you figure out what you want to include in your essay.
Two examples of journal articles are:
Title: Pynchon and Kesey
Author: McCarron,-William-E.
Source: Notes-on-Contemporary-Literature (NConL). 1991 Nov; 21(5): 8-9
What is this article about (keywords): American-literature; 1900-1999; Pynchon,-Thomas (1937-)Gravity's-Rainbow (1973); novel-; treatment of power-; compared to Kesey,-Ken (1935-2001); One-Flew-over-the-Cuckoo's-Nest (1962)
Record 2 of 2 in MLA Bibliography 1981-1993
TI: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and the Myth of the Fisher King; Selected
Papers from 2nd Annual Florida State Univ. Conf. on Lit. & Film
Author: Yonce,-Margaret-J.
Publisher: 92-102 IN Carrabino,-Victor (ed.). The Power of Myth in Literature and Film.
Tallahassee : UP of Florida, 1980. x, 126 pp.
What is this article about (keywords): American-literature; 1900-1999; Kesey,-Ken (1935-2001); One-Flew-over-the-Cuckoo's-Nest (1962); novel-; archetypal-approach
In your essay you'll need to tie in Kesey's personal life to the themes in the book (mental illness, power, ideology, etc). Try to find a book on his life or try one of the books mentioned above about the novel (it may well likely also talk about Kesey's life). Try also the Internet - see if you can find a biography of Kesey's life. I found this website, for example: http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/about_ken_kesey.html
Also, the two main themes of this book are mental illness and power. You may want to look at books with these themes. Try going to your library catalogue and typing in the keywords: mental illness and power. See how Kesey's life relates to these themes and how are these themes symbolized in the book (i.e. for example with the main character's relationship to the big nurse).
When I typed mental illness and power into my library catalogue I got this hit (among many non-relevant ones, you'll just have to keep searching)
Personal author: Felman, Shoshana.
Title: Writing and madness : (literature/philosophy/psychoanalysis) / by Shoshana Felman ; translated by Martha Noel Evans and the author, with the assistance of Brian Massumi. --
Publication info: Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1985.
Subject: Literature and mental illness.
Ask your librarian for more possible subject headings. After you have read one or two books (not the entire book, perhaps just one relevant chapter from each book) on the topic, you can decide if you agree with the viewpoints of the authors (of the books which you selected on the topic).
Then you can decide how you position yourself within those arguments. Go look at One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest again and think about if you can find instances in the book that support the arguments you have started to formulate in your mind. For example, if you realize after reading books on the topic that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest demonstrates how mental illness can be a social construction (i.e. not a real medical illness but determined by those in authority - the nurse, the doctor - "the man"), see if you can find passages in the novel to back up your argument. Write down the page number and the quote.
You are now on a good path to writing your essay. Make an outline of the key points you wish to argue. Remember that you'll need an introduction that introduces the topic and the points which you will argue in the body of your paper. Choose three important arguments with PROOF from the book and perhaps quotes from some of the other books/internet sites/journal articles supporting your argument. Make sure to use proper citation (your teacher or librarian will be able to give you more details on how to cite within a paper).
Then you will be ready to write!
Your essay should flow smoothly from introduction, to three paragraphs containing your three main arguments, then you should have a conclusion summarizing your main points, and voila, you have an essay!
If you need help writing your essay once you've done some preliminary reading you can ask for me to look over your outline/draft. Ask for T.A. # 104630.
Good-luck!