The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest written by Ken Kesey and the play The Crucible written by Arthur Miller are both strong texts that represent a lot of important speeches. This essay will compare and contrast both texts by analyzing the major discourses relevant to both texts. He Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was written in 1959 and published in 1962. It is set in a mental institution that investigates the process and the human mind. The novel constantly raises concerns about authorities controlling individuals through devious and forced methods. The Crucible is set in a fictional society, where church and community are seen as one and religion is a strict passage that controls a person's life. In the Crucible there is no room for deviation from social norms, as any individual whose life does not imitate the established laws represents a great threat to the public and to the rules of true religion according to God. This consequently results in a great punishment and shame on the identity of the guilty. Both texts show strong discourses such as disempowerment/empowerment, the status of women in society and authority. These discourses are represented through characters in both texts that will be compared and contrasted in this essay. In the novel He Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Kesey explores the use of mechanical images to represent modern society. Through technology, society gains control and overwhelms individuality and natural compulsions. The hospital is staffed by the attendants and "Nurse Ratched" who are described by "Chief Bromden" as being made up of heterogeneous machine parts. In "Chief Bromden's" dream, when "Blastic is disemboweled, rust comes out, not blood", he reveals that the help... in the center of the card... a part of his brain. These operations remove a man's individuality and freedom. Kesey successfully portrays the woman as domineering and emasculating while disabling McMurphy from sexual abilities. In contrast, the Crucible witch trials empower several women in the play who were previously marginalized in their society. In general, women occupy the lower, male-dominated area of ​​Salem and have very few options in life. Women are raised to work as servants for the men of the city until they reach an age where they are then destined to marry and have children. Not only is Abigail so limited, but she is also a slave to John Proctor's sexual conceptions. He manages to rid her of her innocence when he instigates adultery with her, and provokes her jealousy when he ends their relationship. Women are depicted as weak, innocent and selfish in this matter.