Chapter 24

" Papa says if you don't watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do , or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite at of spite." (179)
The Chief remember this quote from his Papa, this is such a good passage to relate to the Big Nurse (BN) because she is all about control and having power of the men in the ward. Like she likes telling them when to brush their teeth, etc. The BN likes the control that she gets from the fellow men for example he control over billy's emotions, his reaction whenever she brings up how he is not holding up to his moms expectations. Its just that she gets them where she wants them to be or "force you one way or the other.. into doing what they think you should do". Big Nurse in her head has a way of doing things because she believes that thats the way it should be and no one can tell her anything!

" The other Acutes were beginning to follow his lead. Harding began flirting with all the student nurse, and Billy Bibbit completely quit writing what he used to call his 'observations' in the log book" (177)
After McMurphy started standing up to the Big N and changing things around in the ward, many of the acutes seem to follow and thats a very big step for them. The Acutes are starting to break out of the shell the nursed had them in for a while. Even though at frist it was a big game to McMurphy, I think he then realized how much of an impact it made on the boys. This quote is very important for this chapter because it’s the big stepping stone for them to get the lives back into their control and finally be themselves like the chief always was afraid to be.

Chapter 29

"First Charles Cheswick and now William Bibbit! I hope you're finally satisfied. Playing with human lives—gambling with human lives—as if you thought of yourself to be a God!" (266).

After the Big Nurse saw that Billy Bibbit had slit his own throat, she walked straight to McMurphy and started yelling at him. She believes he is the reason that they are now both dead and it is his fault that no one is behaving properly anymore. She is upset because she has lost to McMurphy, and says he thinks of himself as a "God". She is just humiliated and looking for someone to take it out on and uses McMurphy as her scapegoat.

"For the rest of the afternoon Scanlon and Martini and I ridiculed what Scanlon called the crummy sideshow fake lying there on the Gurney..." (268).

When McMurphy returned from being away for so long, he was different. But the guys in the ward did not believe for one second that that was the real McMurphy. It did not seem to be alive. It did not move or speak, but laid there for the rest of the day. Everyone thought that the Big Nurse just sent this thing out there to get them to believe that that was really McMurphy. They knew that McMurphy had won the battle with the Big Nurse, and he was just too good at getting to her that she could not do anything.

"The big hard body had a tough grip on life. It fought a ling time against having it taken away, flailing and thrashing around so much I finally had to lie full length on top of it and scissor the kicking legs with mine while I mashed the pillow into the face" (270).

That night after McMurphy had returned and everyone was asleep, Chief decided to do something about McMurphy. He knew it was really him and knew what the Big Nurse had done. He decided to kill McMurphy so that the other guys did not have to see him like this. As long as they did not see that the Big Nurse had won in the end, his spirit would live on inside the walls of the ward. The other guys would still think highly of him and appreciate everything he had done while he was there. In the end they will believe that it was McMurphy that won and not Big Nurse Ratched.

Chapter 29

"I've given what happened next a good lot of thought, and I've come around to thinking that it was bound to be and would have happened in one way or another, at this time or that, even if Mr. Turkle had got McMurphy and the two girls up and off the ward like was planned. The Big Nurse would have found out some way what had gone on, maybe just by the look on Billy's face, and she'd have done the same as she did whether McMurphy was still around or not" (Chief, p. 260) This quote is important in the way that it explains how the Chief really is aware of what is going on around him, perhaps more so than others. He accepts that things are the way they are, and there is no sense in attempting to change them; fate is fate. He is perhaps more attuned to the way things work around here than others, having spent a decade of his life solely observing. He knew this was going to happen, and he understood there was nothing more than to accept it.

"'It's all right, Billy. It's all right. No one else is going to harm you. It's all right. I'll explain to your mother.'" (Nurse Ratched, p. 265) It was shortly after this that Billy Bibbit committed suicide by cutting his neck. Yet another display of Ratched's manipulative power, this one sticks out because it caused a death. She knows that Billy's mother is his weak point, and that she can get him to switch sides at the snap of a finger.

"I been away a long time." (Chief, p. 272) As the closing line to this novel, it carries some weight. This is about how far he has come--from pretending to be a deaf, dumb mute to finally achieving escape. Throughout the story, we are given snapshots from his memory, about how he used to live a good strong life, and was a gifted fisherman in his hometown village. He has gone from insane and returned, all because of the power of the influence of McMurphy, who protected him from the manipulative tendencies of the Big Nurse.

Chapter 28 by Ben Hatfield

"There had been times when I'd wandered around in a daze for as long as two weeks after a shock treatment, living in the foggy... gray zone between light and dark." (242)

I chose this quote because the gray fog is a major reoccurring theme in the book. It seems as though the Big Nurse and the rest of the ward use shock "therapy" to daze the patients into submission, making it easier to take care of them. This quote shows a bit of a description of the foggy daze, talking about how it's gray and in the balance between dark and light. Like the difference between being awake and asleep, they're just kind of there.

"Billy got more and more nervous, afraid the girl might not show up, afraid she might." (248)

I liked this quote because I thought it was a special part of this chapter, where Billy gets to have some privacy with "his girl". It kind of shows the progression of the story through one character. Billy has been growing and changing just like the story has. At this major turning point in the book (McMurphy leaving), it is also a major turning point for Billy.

"McMurphy put his hand out, and Harding shook it... 'You can be bull goose looney again, buddy, what with Big Mack outa the way.'" (258)

I decided to use this quote because it shows what kind of a man McMurphy is, gives insight to who he is as a person. It's like he is renouncing his title, and giving it back to Harding. Saying that even though he is a better leader, now that he's leaving Harding can lead again. It's kind of nice but it still shows how McMurphy wields his power.

Chapter 28

"She saw that McMurphy was growing bigger than ever while he was upstairs where the guys couldn't see the dent she was making on him, growing almost into a legend" (244).

I chose this quote because it shows the ongoing struggle for power in the ward. Even though the Big Nurse has the clear power to end things immediately for McMurphy, McMurphy hangs around in the "battle" and makes the Nurse embarrassed too. McMurphy's latest move, however, is what really forces the Big Nurse to go through with his lobotomy. Ultimately I think that this quote is what symbolizes the Big Nurse's last straw in the fight for power and rule over the other patients at the ward.

"'I don't think, it was the feeling that the great, deadly, pointing forefinger of society was pointing at me- and the great voice of millions chanting Shame. Shame. Shame' It's society's way of dealing with someone different'" (257).

I think that this quotation is particularly one of the most important in the book. I believe this because when Harding describes how he feels about his fluttering hands to McMurphy it not only applies to Harding, or even just the patients in the book, but it applies to every individual in the world in their own different way. This quote shows how the social norm is easiest to follow, and in Harding's case his hands are what sets him apart from the normal image of everyone else. And every patient in the ward has a similar situation and doesn't fit in outside.

"I grinned back at them, realizing how McMurphy must've felt these months with these faces screaming up at him" (243).

This quote explains how Chief Bromden feels when he returns from Disturbed and everybody is asking him questions and congratulating him for taking down one of the black boys earlier. Chief is suddenly in the limelight of the ward since McMurphy is still in Disturbed, and he is enjoying every moment of this popularity. The quote also shows how much more comfortable Chief has become with himself over the past few months when McMurphy has been around. With his guidance and positive reinforcement, Big Chief Bromden is finally himself again and is able to talk (instead of being dumb and deaf) with all the other patients.

Chapter 27

"It's not at all like her ward," she said. "A lot of it is, but not at all. Army nurses, trying to run an Army hospital. They are a little sick themselves. I sometimes think that all single nurses should be fired after they reach thirty-five." "At least all single Army nurses..." "...Yes. I'd like to keep men here sometimes instead of sending them back, but she has seniority. No, you probably won't be very long-I mean-like you are now."(234) I found this quote interesting because it seems like this nurse doesn't quite agree with how the Big Nurse runs her ward. She makes it sound like when men get sent to Disturbed, it's better than being in the Big Nurse's ward because men are treated better. It also shows that McMurphy probably won't be in Disturbed much longer but the nurse didn't say anything about how long the Chief would have to be there....

"She talks to him about how they, the patients downstairs on our ward, at a special group meeting yesterday afternoon, agreed with the staff that it might be beneficial that he receive some shock therapy-unless he realizes this mistakes.All he has to do is admit that he was wrong." (235) The Big Nurse has her normal smile back and she thinks that by forcing McMurphy to admit he was sorry, that she has won their power struggle. If he admits he was wrong, he is accepting that she has proved more powerful than him, and McMurphy just can't let that happen. He needs to be on top.

"I stand, stood up slowly, feeling numb between the shoulders. The white pillows on the floor of the Seclusion Room were soaked from me peeing on them while I as out. I couldn't remember all of it yet, but I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands and tried to clear my head. I worked at it. I'd never worked at coming out of it before." (241) The fact that McMurphy and the Chief are friends, I think it is positively influencing the Chief to really try and get better. The Chief is actually trying hard this time and it's only been since he became friends with McMurphy, which shows that although McMurphy can be a hassle to the Big Nurse and whenever he feels like it, he is a positive influence to some of the patients. Such as, voicing their opinions and he's rubbed off on the Chief to try harder for what he wants.

Chapters 20, 21, 22, & 23

“You know what I’m talking about, Harding. Why didn’t you tell me she could keep me committed in here till she’s good and ready to turn me loose?” (166). From the moment McMurphy walked into the ward and declared himself ‘bull goose loony’, he has been trying to get Nurse Ratched’s goat. Since then, the nurse and McMurphy have been ‘battling,’ each trying to assume power. Up to this point, it looks as though McMurphy is on top, due to the TV incident. A shift in power is made when McMurphy learns he is committed. Being committed means that he can’t leave the ward until Nurse Ratched says so. If he continues to fight with her, he will never leave. Because he now knows that the nurse holds his fate, McMurphy decides to back off from rattling her.

“You have more to lose than I do,” Harding says again. “I’m voluntary. I’m not committed” (167). McMurphy learns for the first time that he is one of the only patients who actually is required to stay. Not many of the other patients need to be in the ward. They are all just too scared to face reality and they can’t cope with society’s rules. Each one has a particular reason for being in the ward, but none are actually because they are ‘nuts.’ McMurphy tells them to take advantage of life and leave, but no one listens.

”I’m sure sorry ma’am,” he said. “Gawd but I am. That window glass was so spick and span I com-pletely forgot it was there” (172). Moments before McMurphy broke the window, the patients were at their group meeting. Nurse Ratched expected this to be her final victory over him and establish her rule. Instead, McMurphy stood up for the others in the ward by punching the window “by accident” and taking cigarettes. He finally learned the consequence of not standing up for something (when Cheswick died, he realized it). Also, the window was a symbol of the nurse’s barrier from the ward. McMurphy just broke the barrier between her and the patients.

Ch. 25 By Max Ruditsky

"Look here at the Big Chief; here's an example of a good sailor and fisherman: up before day digging red worms"(192). This quote is a great example of McMurphy's body building course for the Big Chief. This body building course has nothing to do with weight lifting, but rather it is all about McMurphy praising the Big Chief in order to bring him out of the "fog". By telling Chief that he is a great member of he crew, this gives the big Chief confidence to speak his mind and become more of a normal person.

"did that monster bite you? Somebody fix the chiefs thumb-hurry!"(211). This quote shows that McMurphy really cares about the Chief and doesn't want anything to happen because once he is completely out of the "fog" he and McMurphy can form a powerful alliance. This is foreshadowing whats to come, because McMurphy is protecting the chief now, and when McMurphy gets in trouble with the black boys later, the Chief is there.

"Everybody was kinda surprised that Billy had volunteered, took his life jacket off right away, when we found we were short"(214). This is a major turning point in the story, because for his whole life Billy Bibbit has been a timid stuttering rabbit of a man. No one ever knew him to do something this courageous, it seems that McMurphy's trip is bringing the patients out of there shells and giving them new found confidence. This quote is a perfect example of a personality change in one of the patients.

Part 3, Chapter 2

In this section of reading, the boys of the ward go on a fishing trip with McMuprhy's "widowed aunts" (who we later find out are hookers). I found many significant quotes in this section of reading that I think has deeper meaning than what they just appear on the surface.

"But seeing her coming lightfooted across the grass with her eyes green all the way up to the ward, and her hair, roped in a long twist at the back of her head, jouncing up and down with every step like copper springs in the sun, all any of us could think of was that she was a girl, a female, who wasn't dressed white from head to foot like she'd been dipped in frost, and how she made money didn't make any difference" (195). As clearly seen in this long quote, the men in this hospital are being deprived. Being locked up in this ward deprives them of the outside world. It is so refreshing to them to see a woman who is not a nurse. This is probably because the nurses essentially take away the men's masculinity by restricting them with rules and regulations. As seen in earlier chapters, the nurses tell the men when to wake up, brush their teeth, take their medication, and everything else they do during the day. By doing this, the nurses are taking away the men's independence as well as masculinity. However, they finally are able to see a woman who does the exact opposite. Instead of depriving them from their masculinity, Candy (the woman), is essentially giving them their masculinity back. By being a representation of sex, the men are able to feel more masculine and powerful than they did before.

"...I think apparatus burned out all over the ward trying to adjust to her come busting in like she did- took electronic readings on her and calculated they weren't built to handle something like this on the ward, and just burned out, like machines committing suicide" (197). This quote's meaning is very similar to the previous one. Candy is an example of something that the nurses deprive the men on the ward of. They are not use to seeing a woman who is not a nurse, and the hospital staff is not prepared either. The hospital staff expected to see McMurphy's old aunt walking in to gather the boys for a fishing trip. Instead, they were fooled when they saw the youthful and beautiful Candy walking in. They were not prepared for something like this. In the Chief's mind, the unpreparedness of the hospital staff was seen like machines malfunctioning and dying. Candy was not what they expected and because of this, she took away a lot of power from the nurses and the hospital staff.

" 'Never before did i realize that a mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become. Hitler an example. Fair makes the old brain reel, doesn't it? Food for though there' " (202). This is the first time in the book where we see the men embracing their "mental disabilities". Before, we got the idea that all of the men were uncomfortable with who they were. They shamed themselves because of their disability and they always thought that something was wrong with them. However, this is the first time we see a positive take on their mental disabilities. They think that being called crazy gives them power because people are scared of crazy people. By having this power, the men of the ward are accepting who they are for the first time in the book. They no longer are intimidated by other people, but are intimidating other people. Due to McMurphy, the men are able to be more comfortable with who they are, giving them power and a bit of their masculinity back.

Chapters 20, 21, 22 & 23

"'All right! That's enough! I meant it both ways. I meant it any way you want to take it. I meant you don't have enough of nothing period."' (Mrs. Harding)

""Enough of anything, my bright little child."' (Dale) (pg. 159)

This brief conversation between Dale and his wife, Vera, sums up their relationship. First of all, Dale constantly critiques his wife for her poor sense of grammar and knowledge of the English language. She uses 'nothing' instead of 'anything', and 'didn't' instead of 'nothing'. Instead of listening to the real point of Vera's message, Dale tries to belittle her by correcting her grammar. He emphasizes her mistakes and then calls her pet-names, to seem superior to her. Instead of trying to improve on what Vera is saying, Sale tries to defend himself by picking on his wife. Also, Vera tries to belittle Dale in their relationship. He speech is harsh and sassy, as well as condescending. She complains about the way that Harding handles what he has and how he lives his life. Her criticisms then start his defense again, making a circle of belittling each other. Just one brief conversation shows the relation of Dale and Vera, and their constant struggle to be superior to each other.

"'The thing is, no one ever wants another one [EST]. You... change"' (159). Harding was describing what EST does to a person when McMurphy first went near the Shock Shop room. Although Harding always tries to see how the treatments on the ward are always therapeutic and help the patients, Harding struggles to remain 100 percent positive about EST. In fact, he gets rather worked up about this. By this, Harding was saying that EST was an experience someone only hopes to have once, or none at all. Even though EST may help certain patients, maybe it is not helpful at all. For example, Chief Broom has gotten EST over 200 times. Maybe the reason why he needs so many shocks is to fix the previous ones. Also, another sign that EST may not work is that Harding implies that EST may be random; sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. He makes the comparison to a carnival wheel: sometimes you win and other times you lose and have to play again. By this, Harding proves that sometimes the EST works while other times it doesn't so patients have top try again.

"' Now lobotomy, that's chopping away part of the brain?''' "'You're right again''' ... "'I didn't think the nurse had the say-so on this kind of thing."' '"She does indeed" (164-165).

During this conversation between Harding and McMurphy, McMurphy learns about the seriousness of a lobotomy. He not only learns what it is, but learns that Big Nurse has the power to make any patient get one. This makes McMurphy seriously reconsider his plan about testing the Big Nurse. He realizes that if he does not shape up, the nurse has the power to make him get a lobotomy. Also, this scene could be foreshadowing for the end of the book. This may be because without the threatening on a lobotomy, the book would not really change. They already feel scared enough of getting EST, so why add something else? This conversation may be seen as a warning to McMurphy to behave but might as well be a warning to the reader of what is to come.

Chapters 18 and 19 by Max Weiss

"But me, I know why. I heard him talk to the lifeguard. He's finally getting cagey, is all." (150) The Chief has yet again heard something he wouldn't have if he didn't fake deafness. At first glance you see the obvious, McMurphy has seemed to give up. But, finding out he is a committed patient actually just makes McMurphy realize he can get out, so there is no point to him fighting the system any longer. This is the Nurse winning a battle, making McMurphy realize she has all control, which is what the Nurse does with every patient. She doesn't even need to enforce any rules too harshly once she defeats the fight of every man that walks through the ward's door.

".. he was drowned." (151) When Cheswick drowns there is definitely a suspicion that he committed suicide. He was always behind McMurphy and it seemed to Cheswick that McMurphy had been leading him on. Cheswick's death is an awakening for McMurphy. This is when McMurphy first realizes his responsibility that he took on by leading the charge against the ward, in other words fighting back. He also realizes that he has effectively killed Cheswick and let down everyone else in the ward by giving up his power and letting the nurse win.

"His face has commenced to take on that same haggard, puzzled look of pressure that the face on the floor has." (155) McMurphy had recently come to terms with the responsibility he has in the ward. Now he sees these two men who are stuck between a rock and a hard place, take the epilepsy medicine and have your gums rot or don't take the medicine and have seizures and grind your teeth so much during the seizures that your teeth will probably fall out anyway. McMurphy notices this awful state these two men are in and really all the men are in (in their own way) and I feel it is the final push for him. This incident transforms him from a man trying to just have fun and do what he wants, to accepting responsibility and leading a ward full of insane people on a journey to sanity.

Chapters 18 and 19

"The lifeguard was standing on the edge of the pool; he had a whistle and a T-shirt on with his ward number on it. He and McMurphy had got to talking about the difference between hospital and jail, and McMurphy was saying how much better the hospital was. The lifeguard wasn't so sure. I heard him tell McMurphy that, for one thing, being committed ain't like being sentenced. 'You're sentenced in a jail, and you got a date ahead of you when you know you're gonna be turned loose,' he said" (147). Before talking to the lifeguard, McMurphy continually antagonizes Big Nurse and attempts to gain power in the ward. However, after this conversation, McMurphy questions his actions and rethinks his attitude towards Big Nurse. Since he is a "Committed" patient, only Big Nurse has the authority to release McMurphy from the ward, but he is frustrated with his behavior. As a result, McMurphy begins to show more respect for Big Nurse. Ultimately, he gives up power in the ward and among his peers to ensure that he has a chance of being released from the ward on time.

"And that afternoon in the meeting when Cheswick said that everybody'd agreed that there should be some kind of showdown on the cigarette situation, saying, 'I ain't no little kid to have cigarettes kept from me like cookies!' We want something done about it, ain't that right Mack?' and waited for McMurphy to back him up, all he got was silence. He looked over at McMurphy's corner. Everybody did. McMurphy was there, studying the deck of cards that slid in and out of sight in his hands. He didn't even look up. It was awfully quiet; there was just that slap of greasy cards and Cheswick's heavy breathing" (149). After he learns the consequences of disrespecting Big Nurse and her authority, McMurphy no longer stands up for his peers in these situations. McMurphy is known among the patients as the "Bull Goose," illustrating that he has the most power of all the patients. As a result, they always look to him for help during arguments with Big Nurse. However, selfishly, McMurphy does not stand up for his peers because he is only concerned about his release date, and he does not want to anger Big Nurse.

"McMurphy was doing the smart thing. I could see that. He was giving in because it was the smartest thing to do, not because of any of these other reasons the Acutes were making up. He didn't say so, but I knew and I told myself it was the smart thing to do. I told myself that over and over: It's safe. Like Hiding. It's the smart thing to do, nobody could say any different. I know what he's doing" (151). From the Chief's perspective, McMurphy is acting rationally because he is protecting his own interests. The Chief relates McMurphy's situation to a similar predicament his father was in when the white men arrived out west. They told the Chief's father that they would give him two hundred thousand dollars to move off his native land. Wisely, the father compromised with the white men instead of resisting. In McMurphy's situation, he must also adjust to Big Nurse's rules otherwise he will stay in the ward for several years instead of just a few months.

Chapters 16 and 17 by Emmy Budas

1. "'Patient McMurphy ... does not strike me as a coward'" (136).

I chose this quote, which is said by one of the boys during the meeting, because it shows how each of the members working on the ward have different opinions towards McMurphy. In some minds, McMurphy is brave and is refusing to follow orders because he feels that he is capable of taking charge and controlling some of the patients, as well as the members of the ward, like Nurse Ratched. Others, like the Nurse, think that McMurphy can be controlled as long as he has proper leading. The Nurse feels that eventually McMurphy will give up once he realizes there is nothing he can do, but some of the boys feel that McMurphy is not a coward and that he will never give in, he will continue to fight until he has made his point.

2. "'We have weeks, or months, or even years if need be. Keep in mind that Mr. McMurphy is committed. The length of time he spends in this hospital is entirely up to us'" (137).

I chose this quote, which is said by Nurse Ratched, because it explains the true meaning of "being committed". The Nurse's goal is to be able to get hold on McMurphy and have control over him. The Nurse explains that she will control McMurphy no matter how long it takes because he is committed, therefore, he cannot leave until she allows him to. The Nurse says this to the boys and other fellow members of the ward to assure them that she will have control over McMurphy and she will need them to help her in gaining that control.

3. "I wish McMurphy'd wake up and help me" (144).

I chose this quote because this shows how the Chief looks up to McMurphy. McMurphy has given the Chief courage and the Chief respects how McMurphy is his own self. The Chief knows that McMurphy is smart and is able to handle any situation with the Nurse. Being with McMurphy and having McMurphy on his side gives the Chief a little boost of confidence. The Chief hopes that McMurphy will wake up because he knows that if McMurphy saw what they were doing to the Chief and knew what was going to happen to the Chief, McMurphy would do anything in his power top make sure it does not happen.

Chapter 9, 10, and 11

"The clock at the end of the mess hall shows it's quarter after seven, lies about how we only been sitting here fifteen minutes when you can tell it's been at least an hour" (93). The Big Nurse sits in the control room which gives her access to control every action in the ward. This quote discusses that she is in charge of time. The Nurse decides when things can happen and by doing so, is in full control of the patients lives. She changes the clocks, so that things last exactly how long she plans. This allows her to keep everything on schedule even if there are obstacles. Because of her actions, the ward runs as a machine and she acts as the control panel. Everything works mechanically with no outliers. This denies patients any freedom and reasonable treatment because their minds cannot make decisions and are under the Nurse's control.

"One by one the patients are sneaking looks at her to see how she's taking the way McMurphy is dominating the meeting...She's too big to be beaten...She's lost a little battle here today, but it's a minor battle in a big war that she's been winning...She don't lose on her losses, but she wins on ours...As soon as you let down your guard, as soon as you lose once, she's won for good" (101). These negative feelings, that are discussed by the Chief, are also the views of most of the other patients in the ward. Even though McMurphy has recently come into the hospitol, he has already started making a difference with the way things are run. He stands up for what he wants and battles the Nurse for superiority. However, there is still a problem which is discussed in this quote. The patients in the ward have given up. The Nurse has already made such a strong impact on their minds and they feel that there is no hope. Even with a powerful man like McMurphy, they don't see a reason to try. I feel that this moment is one of the last times the patients feel this way and they will finally get to see that the Nurse can be over powered.

"But I tried, though...Goddammit, I sure as hell did that much, now, didn't I?" (111). This quote is from McMurphy and he says it right after he fails at lifting an extremely heavy control panel. He is saying this to make himself feel better for not lifting it. However, there is more likely a deeper meaning for this quote. I feel that he is actually saying it to the patients with extreme anger. He is tired of them not sticking up for themselves. McMurphy went to lift the panel even when it was hard to do. He did not know whether or no he was going to succeed, but he still tried. All of the patients in the ward will never stick up for themselves. They are too afraid that something might happen. McMurphy is yelling at them because he wants them to stand up for their freedom. He wants them to be in control and to not be cowards. Even if they don't succeed at it, they could at least give it a try. If not they would never know what could have happened.

7

"For an instant that lead goose was right in the center of that circle, bigger than the others, a black cross opening and closing, then he pulled his V out of sight into the sky once more." (143)

The imagery of the geese coincide with how McMurphy acts. McMurphy is the leader. He is the one getting the Big Nurses goat. He does things that no one else has had the courage to do. The one everyone else follows, but he can't stay up top forever. This scene shows a lot of foreshadowing about how he changes to an obedient person when he realizes how much power the big nurse actually has. Later when Cheswick needs help from him he lets him hang instead of standing up for him.

"She's clear-headed and wondering now just how did Mr. Bromden hear that Acute McMurphy asking him to raise his hand on that vote?" (132)

This scene seems like a major point, but the Big Nurse is distracted. It is the first time that someone has suspected Bromden of actually being able to hear. No one really knows if Bromden can speak or hear. They just assume he can't because he never says anything. If the Big Nurse investigated more Bromden's situation might have become much worse. I felt that this also foreshadows something happening with Bromden. People are most likely going to realize that he can hear and speak.

"Whack his leg and throw his head back and laugh and laugh, digging his thumb into whoever was sitting next to him, trying to get him to laugh too." (139)

McMurphy is the only one who laughs in the ward. He tells stories and laughs, trying to get all of the other patients to laugh to. No one laughs because they are all scared of the Big Nurse. McMurphy isn't scared and so he tries to help everyone else. He is really a leader.

Chapter 7 Quotes

"Keep in mind that Mr. McMurphy is committed. The length of time he spends in this hospital is entirely up to us" pg137

This quote shows that although the Big nurse had lost the battle against McMurphy and lost here temper, she still knows that she is the one in control. She is confident that she will win the final battle because she knows that she has the ultimate tool to use against McMurphy; she can keep him in the hospital for as long as it takes for him to become submissive to her oppressive rules. She knows that she has lost some respect in the eyes of the patients (they see she has human qualities, rather than just machine ones), but she still has the ability to use harsh punishments, in the form of medical "treatments".

"No, he isnt extroardinary. He is simply a man and no more, subject to all the fears ans all the cowardice and all the timidity that any other man is subject to." pg 136

This quote has similar significance as the one above. It shows that the big nurse is aware that McMurphy is different than than the other patients, and is more courageous, she believes that there is no lack of fear inside him. She believes that with time she can break his seemingly indomitable will, and make McMurphy like the other patients.

"The rest of the guys are watching too, Though they're trying to act like they aren't... but anyone can see they're all sneaking looks at the big nurse behind her glass there, just the same as I am." Pg 129

McMurphy finally won his bet got the Big Nurse to lose her temper. Now when the patients see here they don't look at her the same way. They see that she is not a machine but a a flawed human. The entire book, (and before) the Big Nurse has been trying to hide her human qualities and become as close to a machine as possible. She even reflects this by imposing a strict machine like schedule on the patients of the hospital. The Big Chiefs delusion that everyone in the hospital is a machine is perhaps insight into what the big nurse wants the hospital to epitomize.

Chapter 6 (by Charlotte)

Chapter 6:


“One Christmas at midnight on the button . . . in comes a fat man with a beard, eyes ringed red by the cold and his nose just the color of a cherry. . .The black boys move in with the flashlights.  They kept him with us six years before they discharged him, clean-shaven and skinny as a pole.”(70)
This quote is important to the book because it shows how being in the ward can take everything away from you including your beliefs.  The man in this quote is supposed to be Santa Clause and when he enters the ward he his jolly old self that everyone knows him to be.  When he leaves the ward he is “shaven and skinny as a pole.”  Which is showing that being in the ward strips the patients of everything that defies them.  Once they leave that have no spirit and have lost who they are.  


“You see that’s a recording playing up there, my friend.  We seldom hear the radio.  The world news might not be therapeutic.  And we’ve all heard that recording so many times now it simply slides out of our hearing, the way the sound of a waterfall soon because an unheard sound to those who live near it.  Do you think if you lived near a waterfall you could hear it very long?”(73)
Harding says this to McMurphy when McMurphy starts to get annoyed with the constant playing of the radio over the loud speakers.  None of the other patients are bothered by the light music because it has become  familiar for them, and it just blends in with whatever else is going on.  This shows that their day never changes and they never get to hear or experience anything knew.  Also they are in isolation by not being able to see what is on the news and what is going on in the world around them.  The patients do not have control on their life, and are almost like the Big Nurse’s prisoners. 


“And throws his head back and laughs out loud at the way the guys hustle to get their bets down.  That laugh banged around the day room all evening, and all the time he was dealing he was joking and trying to get the player to laugh alone with him.  But they were all afraid to loosen up; it’d been too long.”(74)
I thought that this quote was important to the book because it shows how all of the patients are scared to be who they are, and loosen up and have fun.  The whole time that they have been admitted they have been told to me be people other than who they really were.  In the end I believe that this has effected them more than their actual condition, and the only way that they would be able to get better would be if people accepted them for who they were and never pressured them to be someone different. 

Chapter 6,7, and 8

"One Christmas at midnight... in comes a fat man with a beard, eyes ringed red from the cold and his nose just the color of a cherry... They kept him with us six years before they discharged him, clean-shaven and skinny as a pole." (70) This man symbolizes Santa clause and childhood imagination and joy. He comes in a happy jolly big man and leaves stripped of everything that distinguishes him as Santa. The ward changes people and takes away their individuality. Santa is a childish thing and any adult that still believes in childish things like Santa is an outcast and not accepted by society as normal. That is why the ward keeps him for 6 years then sends him out as the ideal man, a perfect product.

"Then, just as she's rolling along at her biggest and meanest, McMurphy steps out of the latrine door right in front of her, holding that towel around his hips-stops her dead! She shrinks to about head-high to where that towel covers him, and he's grinning down on her. Her own grin is giving way, sagging at the edges."(87) This is a big point in the book because McMurphy finally got the best of the Big Nurse. Just when she was the biggest and meanest McMurphy comes out and undermines her with her rejection of sexuality. She shrinks down and McMurphy is the one smiling down on her. The Big Nurse has a plastic doll face with a smile that is always in a perfect red line and that is one of her biggest weapons against the patients. Her ability to keep a straight face no matter what makes her powerful. But at this moment her grin sags and starts to disappear making her less powerful. Here the tables turn and the patients gain the confidence to stand up for what they believe in as long as McMurphy is there to back them up.

"But if they don't exist, how can a man see them?"(82) This quote takes place right after the Chief dreams about the staff cutting up old Blastic during the night. In the morning they find out that old Blastic passed away in his sleep. The Chief has a mixed reality where the things he imagines are in fact true but he sees them in a way other people can't. The staff did not actually physically cut Blastic open and kill him. But they are the reason for his death. The hospital runs men down till they are old vegatables like Blastic and all they can do is wait to die. This quote also makes me think back to when Cheif described the Big Nurse. He said she was this giant machine and told us she carried around wires and gears in her bag to install in patients to control them. The Big Nurse is not actually a machine but she behaves like one. She has perfectly calculated movements and the perfect look that allows her to control the men. She does not install gears and wires in the men to control them but rather she installs fear. The Cheif can see this but in a slightly different way. Where is the line between reality and imagination? The answer is, there isnt one.

Chapter 5

"And that's just exactly what that meeting I just set through reminded me of, buddy, if you want to know the dirty truth. It reminded me of a flock of dirty chickens." (pg. 55)

This quote takes place after the group meeting with the Big Nurse and the doctor. When McMurphy notices the way the nurse picks at the Acutes, he angrily compares the group discussions to a pecking party. Just like the first chicken will peck at a spot of blood, the nurse will target weaker patients like Harding. This moment in the chapter sets off McMurphy's new "war" with the Big Nurse as he is determined to stand up against her. It also is a part in the story where every patient is still weak and powerless, while the nurse has absolute control over their actions and opinions of themselves.

"Why, see here, my friend Mr. McMurphy, my psychopathic sidekick, our Miss Ratched is a veritable angel of mercy and why just everyone knows it. She's unselfish as the wind, toiling thanklessly for the good of all, day after day, five long days a week." (pg. 58)

After McMurphy insults the Big Nurse and tries to convince everyone that she is an evil controlling woman, Harding tries defending her. This eventually leads to an ongoing combination of hand gestures and support for Miss Ratched, however finally Harding gives in. This quote shows how hard Harding is trying to support both the nurse and his past opinions, but also how constricted his words are. His support is not genuine and his change in views of the nurse allows us to know that the patients never truly favored the nurse, but just never could do anything against her.

"You're safe as long as you keep control. As long as you don't lose your temper and give her actual reason to request the restriction of the Disturbed Ward, or the therapeutic benefits of Electro Shock, you are safe." (pg. 68)

This quote is when Harding gives McMurphy advice on how to get on the nurse's nerves and win the "war". He mentions how anyone who tries to bother Miss Ratched must keep calm and steer clear of the chance of being treated of a mental illness. All of the patients in the ward have had previous experiences with Miss Ratched's reactions, but McMurphy is the newest addition to the group. He is overconfident and feels that it will be an easy task to take control away from the nurse. Later, we learn that even McMurphy struggles with the new role of being the sacrifice for everyone else.

Chapter 3

Posting this for Cecilia Tripoli because she can't set up an account: Showing the narrator's pessimistic outlook on viewing the patients as broken machinery, non-human: "What the Chronics are -- or most of us -- are machines with flaws inside that can't be repaired, flaws born in, or flaws beat in ... " (19). "Chronics don't move around much, and the Acutes say they'd just as leave stay over on their own side ... they don't like to be reminded that here's what could happen to them someday" (21). This shows there is a divide between the patients in the hospital, the desire to be superior and create groups and teams, exhibiting human nature. The narrator thinks of the humans as machines, but as he shakes McMurphy's hand, he notes: "I remember the fingers were thick and strong closing over mine, and my hand commenced to feel peculiar and went to swelling up out there on my stick of an arm, like he was transmitting his own blood into it. It rang with blood and power" (27).

Mine: "They spy on each other. Sometimes one man says something about himself that he didn't aim to let slip, and one of his buddies at the table where he said it ... writes down the piece of information he heard -- of therapeutic interest to the whole ward, is what the Big Nurse says the book is for..." (19). This observation shows the manipulative and controlling attitude of the Big Nurse. She uses medical reasons as a way to control and keep track of all the patients. Also, she's slowly turning the patients against each other. If the patients are all divided and wary of each other, there will never be a united challenge against her power in the hospital. Big Nurse says to McMurry, "I'm sorry to interrupt you and mr.Bromden, but you do understand: everyone ... must follow the rules" (28). Big Nurse sees McMurry as a threat to her power already and is clearly warning him with this statement. She can tell that he is different from all the other patients and has the ability to usurp her control. "But there are some of us Chronics that the staff made a couple of mistakes on years back, some of us who were Acutes when we came in, and got changed over." (19). This statement shows how carelessly patients are treated in this hospitals. Some patients, when they were first admitted, had hopes of being cured and returning to the outside world. However, due to errors made by the staff, the patients were completely ruined and thus became "Chronics," or patients who stayed in the hospital forever.

Chapter 2

“I don’t remember if I got breakfast or not. Probably not. I can call to mind some mornings locked in seclusion the black boys keep bringing seconds of everything-supposed to be for me, but they eat it instead-till all three of them get breakfast while I lie there on that pee-stinking mattress, watching them wipe up egg with toast.--pg 14 Although the narrator is clearly delusion one cannot help but feel sorry for him. What interests me is that in this exaggerated description, there seems to be some truth. Like him not remembering if he got breakfast. Bromden most likely can’t remember due to medications but how can a person live like that. Especially an insane person needs to feel a sense of security and safety. As a result this quotation shows me that the mental hospital isn’t doing enough for Bromden if he still feels helpless.

“Whoever comes in the door I usually somebody disappointing, but there’s always a chance otherwise, and when a key hits the lock all the heads come up like there’s stings on them.”--pg 15

In my experience when someone opens a door to a classroom, auditorium or any other such place most people turn to see who it is because everyone is curious by nature. A mental hospital is usually anything but normal but to me this quote expresses that sometimes its just that, normal. However the narrator says that most visitors are disappointing, as is to be expected in a mental hospital where patients are made to be calm and without excitement. But this also means that these patients don’t get to have all the aspects of a normal human life because and there disability, and its disheartening.

“Still, even though I can’t see him, I know he’s no ordinary Admission. I don’t hear him slide scared along the wall, and when they tell him about the shower he don’t just submit with a weak little yes, he tells them right back in a loud, brassy voice that he’s already plenty damn clean, thank you.”--pg 15

“Chief Bromden” is much smarter than most of the people there and especially more than people think he is. Bromden has been around long enough to know the occurrences of life there and the people that go there. But he can tell through subtle clues that this new guy is different. This shows that the Chief knows a lot about the people there and can tell the differences more that most people. It even seems as though he is foreshadowing or predicting an issue surrounding this new patient.

Chapter 2

"They got enough of those things they call pills down me so I don't know a thing till I hear the ward door open." (15)-- This quote made me realize that these people that are living in this mental hospital are not able to control there own bodies by themselves. They don't have any control of their lives and don't know what the nurses are giving to them each day. I wonder what its like to not be able to have a say in what I do? Do these people in the mental hospital trust the nurses that they are keeping them safe?

"Nobody can tell exactly why he laughs; there's nothing funny going on. But its not the way that Public Relation laughs, it's free and loud and it comes out of his wide grinning mouth and spreads in rings bigger and bigger till its lapping against the walls all over the ward. Not like that fat Public Relations laugh. This sounds real. I realize all of the sudden its the first laugh I've heard in years." (16)-- This quote shows how interested the narrator is of the new person in the hospital, Mr. McMurry, and how "dead" the atmosphere is in the hospital. The narrator says he hasn't heard a real laugh in years, this must be a pretty depressing place and nothing interesting of fun ever happens until this man came along. The narrator seems to notice a lot of details about specific things.

"Every morning we sit lined up on each side of the day room, mixing jigsaw puzzles, after breakfast, listen for a key to hit the lock and wait to see what's coming in. There's not a whole lot else to do." (15)-- This quote really hit me and made me feel sorry for the people in this mental hospital. They have nothing exciting in there life, and every day is the same, where nothing happens or is different. Something that is not exciting at all is exciting for them there. I can't even imagine how boring and depressing it is for there people. How could these people be at the hospital for so long doing the same thing every day?

CHAPTER ONE

"They're out there" (9) are the first words we see, all on a page themselves. If that's all you knew of this book was that first line you'd still know a lot. The speaker is scared. There is a threat, feeling ominous, dangerous, foreign. The fact that he doesn't specify who the "they" is adds to the mood. More paranoia, suspicion, fear in this voice as we go on -- it's striking.

"So she really lets herself go and her painted smile twists, stretches to an open snarl, and she blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big a load" (11). Holy cow. The Chief is not like us. He doesn't see the world in our way at all. I wonder how much we can trust of what he says. More than anything, this is a "voice" I want to hear talk more. Compelling.

"It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen" (13).
That line speaks loudly to me. Clearly even the little introduction so far has a lot in it that can't have happened. But is it the truth? Can it be both things? I'm thinking about a literary tradition called magical realism that comes mostly out of Mexico and Central/South America. Very often what seems to be a rock-hard, realistic world is twisted in some way in these books. Their world is just like ours, but with something very otherworldly in it too. Maybe it takes reaching outside reality sometimes to say something about reality.

In many instances in history and in literature, too, insane people have been seen as prophets or truth-seers. Is the Chief one of these?

Commitment

Welcome to the blog our class will be creating during our reading of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Invest in your close reading of this book, and in this site, and we'll find what's very modern (you might even say timeless) even in a fifty-year-old story.

During our reading, expect to contribute to this blog as either an "expert" on one night's assignment or as a member of a "close reading team" with a particular focus. In any case, your job as contributor to this blog matters a good deal. Your contributions will not only be a graded assignment for you, they will also become a part of the study guide for the test at the end of our reading. Your teacher will be creating the test from the content, comments and discussion that show up on this blog. Use it well!