Death is a major element in the story One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 34,598 deaths in 2007 (Suicide in the United States: Statistics and Prevention). There is a link between suicide and mental health disorders. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, the two characters Charles Cheswick and Billy Bibbit commit suicide. Studies show that Cheswick and Bibbit exhibited common characteristics found in psychiatric patients who committed suicide. What's interesting is that Nurse Ratched also fits the description of characteristics found in suicidal patients in a psychiatric hospital. Nurse Ratched imposed her methods on patients, resulting in the perfect formula for suicide. According to a study conducted by The Lancet, “about a quarter of people who die by suicide had contact with mental health services in the year before their death. This represents approximately 1,000 cases per year, of which 16 percent are psychiatric inpatients. Of these, 23 percent occurred within the first week after admission” (Hiroeh). These numbers are staggering, clearly showing a correlation not only between suicide and mental health problems, but also between suicide and psychiatric patients. The reason such a high percentage of suicides come from psychiatric inpatients is that these patients feel hopeless and trapped. In Charles Cheswick's case, he complied with Nurse Ratched's methods before McMurphy arrived, just like everyone else. McMurphy had a lot of influence over the other patients because he was rebellious. Cheswick decided to report Nurse Ratched and she retaliated by giving him shock therapy, which was very painful. After this punishment... middle of paper ...... the rest is the fact that Nurse Ratched also fits the characteristics of psychiatric patients who committed suicide. The ending of this book would have been very different if Nurse Ratched had lost control of the hospital, essentially losing her sanity. Works cited by Hiroeh, Urara, Louis Appleby, Preben Mortensen and Graham Dunn. “Death by homicide, suicide and other unnatural causes in people.” The Lancet 358.9299 (nd): 2110-112. Web. Kesey, Ken. We flew over the cuckoo's nest, a novel. New York: Viking, 1962. Print “Multivariate Analysis.” WordNet Search - 3.1. Np, and Web. March 16, 2014.Patsiokas, Anne, George Clum and Richard Luscomb. “Cognitive Characteristics of Suicide Attempts.” Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology (1979): 478-84. Web “Suicide in the United States: statistics and prevention. » NIMH RSS. Np, and Web. March 16. 2014.