(no subject)
Victoria Peters
Monday, November 21
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
(Part One)
Chief Bromden suffers from hallucinations and paranoia. From this man’s point of view we witness the on goings of men within the Oregon psychiatric hospital. “When a completed product goes back out into society all fixed up good as new, better sometimes, it brings joy to the Big Nurse’s heart. Something that came in all twisted different is now a functioning, adjusted component, a credit to the whole outfit and a marvel to behold.” (pg.40) Bromden sees modern society as a huge, oppressive conglomeration that he calls the Combine and the hospital as a place meant to fix people who do not conform.
Nurse Ratched or “Big Nurse” is the antagonist of the novel. She rules the ward with an iron fist and, masks her emotions and behind a stiff front. She represents authority, and with her methods of control she slowly weakens her patients and drains them of their humanity through destroying their self-esteem.
One of the main focuses of the novel is a disturbance on the ward that shakes Big Nurses rule. This is where McMurphy’s character comes into play. The novel offers a vivid description of his character as a large scarred and tattooed redheaded gambler, a conman. He is the novel’s protagonist.
As a new admittance from a prison, McMurphy fights Big Nurse’s calm stature and precise method of control with his singing, attempting to arise laughter out of all the patients and gambling. Not to mention the scandalous incident of being exposed in merely a towel and a vote to watch the baseball World Series. The last paragraph of part one I think represents McMurphy’s impression on the ward and the change that it will and has inevitably brought about. “If somebody’d of come in and took a look, men watching a blank TV, a fifty-year-old woman hollering and squealing at the back of their heads about discipline and order and recriminations, they’d of though the whole bunch was crazy as loons.” (pg.128). Not only are there evident changes among the patients as a whole, learning to stand up for themselves through voting. There are changes mentally as well within Bromden. As the “fog” thins around him he seems to be developing his perceptual abilities and with hopefully regain once again a sense of himself as an individual.
This “fog” or “fog” machine is extremely difficult to categorize as merely an illusion of Bromden’s or an actual form of control over the patients. At times it appears as a means to escape, an escape from reality and Big Nurse’s mind-numbing routines and prying eyes. Bromden starts to slip away from reality, because of his medication, electro-shock or out of fear. When he does, he hallucinates fog drifting into the ward. He imagines that there are hidden fog machines in the vents and that they are controlled by the staff. Although it can be frightening at times, Bromden considers the fog to be a safe place; he can hide in it and ignore reality. “I had figured that anything was better than being lost for good, even the Shock Shop. Now, I don’t know. Being lost isn’t so bad.” (Pg.118)
“That’s that McMurphy. He’s far away. He’s still trying to pull people out of the fog.” (pg.123) With McMurphy’s outgoing personality and strong connection still with a world outside of medications he begins to slowly drag the patients out of this fog. His determination to revive life shows a lot about his personality, his constant drive and unwillingness to succumb to the rule of the war that the Big Nurse domains.
An aspect of the novel I find very interesting is the perspective of Bromden, his hallucinations are so, vivid so three dimensional. There’s a section where he fantasies about climbing inside a large painting of a beautiful landscape and looks out. “I can see him stabbing some point into the palm of his hand but I can’t hear what he says because of the crash of the cold frothy stream coming down out of the rocks…He stands there, hugging his elbows and shivering. Maybe he feels the cold snow wind off the peaks too.” (pg.113) You really see what he sees, what is an illusion is just as much reality to the reader as it is the Broaden.
Though no weapons come into play, at this point and time the upper hand keeps shifting from McMurphy back to the Big Nurse. Who shall win, will the hospital break McMurphy done, really create an insane man out of a sane one? Or will he escape the fog completely with Bromden and the other patients by his side? It seems all a matter of time. Something they both enviably have.
Monday, November 21
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
(Part One)
Chief Bromden suffers from hallucinations and paranoia. From this man’s point of view we witness the on goings of men within the Oregon psychiatric hospital. “When a completed product goes back out into society all fixed up good as new, better sometimes, it brings joy to the Big Nurse’s heart. Something that came in all twisted different is now a functioning, adjusted component, a credit to the whole outfit and a marvel to behold.” (pg.40) Bromden sees modern society as a huge, oppressive conglomeration that he calls the Combine and the hospital as a place meant to fix people who do not conform.
Nurse Ratched or “Big Nurse” is the antagonist of the novel. She rules the ward with an iron fist and, masks her emotions and behind a stiff front. She represents authority, and with her methods of control she slowly weakens her patients and drains them of their humanity through destroying their self-esteem.
One of the main focuses of the novel is a disturbance on the ward that shakes Big Nurses rule. This is where McMurphy’s character comes into play. The novel offers a vivid description of his character as a large scarred and tattooed redheaded gambler, a conman. He is the novel’s protagonist.
As a new admittance from a prison, McMurphy fights Big Nurse’s calm stature and precise method of control with his singing, attempting to arise laughter out of all the patients and gambling. Not to mention the scandalous incident of being exposed in merely a towel and a vote to watch the baseball World Series. The last paragraph of part one I think represents McMurphy’s impression on the ward and the change that it will and has inevitably brought about. “If somebody’d of come in and took a look, men watching a blank TV, a fifty-year-old woman hollering and squealing at the back of their heads about discipline and order and recriminations, they’d of though the whole bunch was crazy as loons.” (pg.128). Not only are there evident changes among the patients as a whole, learning to stand up for themselves through voting. There are changes mentally as well within Bromden. As the “fog” thins around him he seems to be developing his perceptual abilities and with hopefully regain once again a sense of himself as an individual.
This “fog” or “fog” machine is extremely difficult to categorize as merely an illusion of Bromden’s or an actual form of control over the patients. At times it appears as a means to escape, an escape from reality and Big Nurse’s mind-numbing routines and prying eyes. Bromden starts to slip away from reality, because of his medication, electro-shock or out of fear. When he does, he hallucinates fog drifting into the ward. He imagines that there are hidden fog machines in the vents and that they are controlled by the staff. Although it can be frightening at times, Bromden considers the fog to be a safe place; he can hide in it and ignore reality. “I had figured that anything was better than being lost for good, even the Shock Shop. Now, I don’t know. Being lost isn’t so bad.” (Pg.118)
“That’s that McMurphy. He’s far away. He’s still trying to pull people out of the fog.” (pg.123) With McMurphy’s outgoing personality and strong connection still with a world outside of medications he begins to slowly drag the patients out of this fog. His determination to revive life shows a lot about his personality, his constant drive and unwillingness to succumb to the rule of the war that the Big Nurse domains.
An aspect of the novel I find very interesting is the perspective of Bromden, his hallucinations are so, vivid so three dimensional. There’s a section where he fantasies about climbing inside a large painting of a beautiful landscape and looks out. “I can see him stabbing some point into the palm of his hand but I can’t hear what he says because of the crash of the cold frothy stream coming down out of the rocks…He stands there, hugging his elbows and shivering. Maybe he feels the cold snow wind off the peaks too.” (pg.113) You really see what he sees, what is an illusion is just as much reality to the reader as it is the Broaden.
Though no weapons come into play, at this point and time the upper hand keeps shifting from McMurphy back to the Big Nurse. Who shall win, will the hospital break McMurphy done, really create an insane man out of a sane one? Or will he escape the fog completely with Bromden and the other patients by his side? It seems all a matter of time. Something they both enviably have.