one flew over the cuckoo's nest

                In the section I read (page 243-266) it was kind of funny because all of the guys took a boat out and where fishing.  This scene reminds me of little kids such as when they were all fishing and trading every time they had a hit so everybody got a chance.  This shows a sort of respect between the guys and shows that they all want each other to have a good time. There whole “community” of friends is just cool to see and this part of the story really demonstrates how close all of the guys really are.  Also in this scene they aren’t supposed to be on the boat so this was a big risk so it also shows how desperate they are to be able to have a little fun and have a day like normal people. -Garrett

Law and Order

In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Nurse Ratched is a prime example of law and order. Law and order is control. I'll explain it by saying that in the asylum all of the patients lives are controlled. They have no say in how thy live. Nurse Ratched has rules and the only point of most rules is for Nurse Ratched to display her control over the patients’ lives. Rules range from music constantly remaining on in the main hangout room, the staff members not being allowed to eat with patients, and the toothpaste being locked away as if it could be used as a weapon or a way of escaping. 

I see law and order in the real world today. the government, although not totally controlling, has a sense of law and order on today's society. an example of this is laws like wearing a seatbelt or even banning certain substances. Law and order is a way to keep people in check.

-Tyler Masters

Relevant To Life

As I read One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, the details that the author gives are outstanding. Each paragraph that I read, I get more and more involved and excited to read it. There is so much detail about everything and I love that the author did that.

A passage that related to my freshman year of high school is, “… standing in the cold fall night out on the football field, waiting for the ball to be kicked and the game to get going” (Kesey 198). This passage brings me back to when I went to football games and had anticipation for when the game would start. When a novel can bring back memories that I haven’t even thought about in years, that’s when I start to really enjoy reading because the novel can relate somehow to my life.

A part in the novel I didn’t quite understand was when The Big Nurse came and talked to the guys. In one part she says, “… we do not impose certain rules and restrict you without a great deal of thought about their therapeutic value” (Kesey 199). I don’t see how doing house chores has anything to do with “therapeutic value”. It’s just house chores. I do house chores all the time and there’s no therapeutic value to them at all.

Overall, this novel has been a good novel to read, with the exception of that one part. I would recommend this to read.  

- Jodi J. 

Conversations in the Night

Pages 217 to 224 see what is perhaps the most significant turning point of the novel so far: Bromden has spoken.

It is McMurphy who hears this, naturally, and their ensuing conversation seems to finally bring Bromden's thoughts into a reality more easily perceived by the reader. The gist of their talk focuses on size, with Bromden saying that he can't stand up, that he is simply too small whereas McMurphy is large and tough and much bigger than he. This does not relate to physical size, of course, for McMurphy is initially confused, saying that Bromden is much larger than he. Bromden expands on this, saying that he has been made small, like his father. We learn more about his father's past in a small anecdote here. He was chief of an Oregon tribe until the government basically bought off his people so they could get to the land they lived on. We again see the female gender cast in the role of authority and opponent to independent will as Bromden's mother, in addition to having her husband take her name, is shown to have held significant power over her husband. It is she who eventually convinces him to give up on the land, she who finally forces him to conform to the society's wishes. She is reflected in this role as being described as growing larger than both Bromden and his father combined, even though she was physically smaller than each of them.

Bromden also brings up the Combine, which continues to act in its role of forcing conformity onto the world. McMurphy realizes what Bromden is talking about as he says that Bromden both makes sense, but is also talking crazy - indicating that he realizes what Bromden's Combine delusion really is. Their conversation ends with McMurphy promising Bromden he'll help him get big again after being torn down by the ward, and talking about how he'll be treated better once he is big again.

To all this talk about growing bigger, there is a fairly obvious sexual component. It has been present throughout the novel so far and will likely continue from here. As mentioned before, McMurphy, who is the revolutionary of the ward, believes he has an excess of what he calls "whambam", or sexual energy. By reading between the lines of his conversation with Bromden, we can see that what the two are actually talking about in terms of "size" is also a sexual symbol, particularly when McMurphy takes off Bromden's sheets at the end and observes that he has, "growed a half a foot already" (Kesey 224).

By: Daniel Alexander

Power and Ethics

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the themes of power and ethics are present due to the actions of the nurse, Ratched. Because she has connections to the top, beyond those of the doctors, she can direct any one she pleases to a lobotomy or electroshock therapy. These two procedures are know known to be very dangerous and outdated, yet Ratched disregards the ethical choices. The power of Ratched can also be represented by her choices as well. The authority that she held over everyone else was beyond what she can handle and deserve. This problem is present in todays world also. Not necessarily in the United States, but rather undeveloped countries. Few people maintain all the power and are able to make unethical decisions without second thought. These actions are very common by known dictators in world history, such as Hitler and Stalin. In these two situations, they had authority beyond what they were capable of controlling that eventually led to unethical decisions, much like the actions of Ratched.
Author: Tyler Andrews

What is McMurphys purpose?

The clear glass turned hazy when McMurphy shoved his fist through it. For a while the system, referring to the hospital, had been running smooth. It seemed like McMurphy had given up, but I quickly learned that this was not the case. At first, I, like others around me, thought he was biding his time, but then it appeared not so. McMurphy breaking the glass of the nurses’ station ran shivers down my spine. That incident is where the story changed. Instead of McMurphy simply harassing the Big Nurse he has now sent a message. My question is, what does he really want? My mind drifts with possibilities, but one seems to separate itself from the others; he wants to show the men how to live. There was a time in this book that McMurphy only cared about himself, but the window was his breaking point. I firmly believe that McMurphy, though he hasn’t shown it yet, really cares about the others. I predict that throughout the story McMurphy will take a stronger interest in the Chief, and eventually they will leave the facility together.

-Dallie Flower

 

Chief Bromden's fluctuating sanity

Chief Bromden, the main character of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, appears to have a varying clarity of thought.  His narration fluctuates between being very intelligent, to sounding like it's coming from a conspiracy theorist.  Sometimes he ends up in some weird "fog" in which he loses almost all ability to move or listen.  In his intelligent periods, he is very analytical, and can figure out things that are difficult for most people to realize.  However, in his fits of insanity he is sometimes sure that Nurse Ratched is pouring chemical gases into the room, which make time stop, other times certain that the events of the day are determined completely by Nurse Ratched, and still other times thinks that she has listening devices in the walls.  These hallucinations make it difficult to tell what events are actually happening and what are simply the result of Chief Bromden's deranged imagination. 
-Ian Hines