In the novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, many of the patients in the ward have lack of self-respect and dignity. The lack of dignity and self-respect causes many people to become depressed, and even mentally ill. The three patients that lack the most self-respect and dignity are Billy Bibbit, Chief, and Harding. These three characters have had tragic past experience that causes them to lose their dignity, or "man hood". …showed first 75 words of 944 total…

…showed last 75 words of 944 total…the conclusion, Chief is the only one from these three men that actually faces fear. He speaks again, and people listen. Harding never forgives his wife, or realizes that she does not love him, and Billy Bibbit will never forget his college and love destroyed by his stutter. The causes of mental illness can come from many experiences, but how one will deal with the experience is a way to gain back respect and dignity.