Cuckoo's Nest Final Project; Grace Kaufhold

Grace Kaufhold

Intro to Lit F

Mr. Dilworth

12/8/14

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

• Chief Bromden

1. “I been silent for so long it’s gonna roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, plese. 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.” (Kesey pg. 13)
2. “I was seeing him different than when he first came in; I was seeing more to him than just big hands and red sideburns and a broken-nosed grin…..” (Kesey pg.140)
3. “I had sat there, feeling whole and good, sipping at a beer; I could hear the beer all the way down me-zzzth-zzzth, like that. I had forgotten that there can be good sounds and tastes like the sound and taste of a beer going down. I took another big drink and started looking around me to see what else I had forgotten in twenty-years” (Kesey pg. 202)  
4. “Watching him sit there frowning all to himself, I remembered what the Big Nurse had said in the meeting, and I began to feel afraid” (Kesey pg.149)
5. “I’m just getting the full force of the dangers we let ourselves in for when we let McMurphy lure us out of the fog” (Kesey pg. 130)

These quotes that I have chosen for Chief Bromden give examples on how throughout the book he let Mcmurphy pull him out of the fog. He also sees a different person in Mcmurphy than anyone else on the ward. Chief Bromden finally becomes a normal person and realizes that he has feelings again and that he can try to live out in the real world.

Chief Bromden's character develops throughout the book and as the reader you definitely want to keep rooting for him along his journey. He is an Indian that left his tribe and  had been trapped in the mental institue way before McMurphy. He is deaf and does not speak to anyone. He is an observer and observes other patients in the ward and especially McMurphy. He tries to find the good in McMurphy and looks at him differently than Nurse Ratchet and the other staff and patients in the ward. He is an important character in this novel because along his journey you can see how he comes a stronger person mentally and physically. He is able to have his own opinions and not be manipulated by other people and he is able to lift the panel that no one is able to. “Watching him sit there frowning all to himself, I remembered what the Big Nurse had said in the meeting, and I began to feel afraid” (Kesey pg.149). This quote is an example of how he feels for McMurphy he is starting to regain his emotion. He was lost and had no mentor but thanks to McMurphy coming to the ward he is finally changing. I think a big theme in this book is reassurance and that sometimes people have to re-evaluate themselves and start to change their life and not be trapped.

• McMurphy

1. “My name is McMurphy, buddies, R.P. Mcmurphy and I’m a gamblin fool.” (Kesey pg. 17)
2. “The flock gets sight of a spot of blood on some chicken and they all go to peckin’ of it, see, till they rip the chicken to shreds, blood and bones and feathers. But usually a couple of the flock gets spotted in the fracas, then it’s their turn. And a few more gets spots and gets pecked to death, and more and more, Oh, a peckin’ party can wipe out the whole flock in a matter of a few hours, buddy, I seen it. A might awesome sight. The only way to prevent it- with chickens- is to clip blinders on them. So they can't see” (Kesey pg. 55)
3. “Everyone was shouting at him to do something, but he wasn't moving. Even the doctor, who had the deep pole, was asking McMurphy for assistance” (Kesey pg. 210)
4. “He asks her how about turning that infernal noise off for awhile” (Kesey pg.95)
5. “It took just a couple of seconds. He turned and left her sitting there with her face shifting and jerking and walked back across the day room to his chair, lighting up a cigarette. (Kesey pg. 69)

All these quotes about Mcmurphy show how he came into the ward with a big attitude. He was proud of himself and had a lot of courage and he used his powerful personality to try to take over Nurse Ratchet. He grew during the book with all the other patients and trying to help them become like him.

Randle Patrick McMurphy is a big ginger man with a strong big personality and he has the courage to try to take over the ward. Throughout the book there is like a mini battle Mcmurphy vs. Nurse Ratchet. In many parts of the novel you can see when McMurphy gets on Nurse Ratchets nerves and when Nurse Ratchet is shooting down McMurphy. McMurphy plays an important part in this novel, when he first comes in the ward its like his instincts is to help the patients and turn them into their better selves. He actually does a great job at it, he does not let anyone or anything in his way. Except for Nurse Ratchet and the other staff members they can get in his way sometimes. “Everyone was shouting at him to do something, but he wasn't moving. Even the doctor, who had the deep pole, was asking McMurphy for assistance” (Kesey pg. 210). This quote shows how everyone didn't know what to do even the doctor who should know so they go right to McMurphy and ask him what to do. “He asks her how about turning that infernal noise off for awhile” (Kesey pg.95). This quote shows how McMurphy tries to get on Nurse Ratchets bad side and makes it a big deal that the music is too loud in the ward but she replies to him saying that they are other patients in the ward but himself. I would say the major theme in this novel that he brought was rebellion. While reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest it was interesting to see Mcmurphy change over time and help out the other patients.

• Nurse Ratchet

1. “The Big Nurse tests a needle against her fingertip. “I’m afraid”-she stabs the needle down in the rubber-capped vial and lifts the plunger-”that is exactly what the new patient is planning: to take over. He is what we call a ‘manipulator’ Miss Flinn, a man who will use everyone and everything to his own ends” (Kesey pg. 29)
2. 2. “Right at your balls. No, that nurse ain’t some kinda monster chicken, buddy, what she is is a ball cutter. I’ve seen a thousand of ‘em, old and young, men and women. Seen ‘em all over the country and in the homes. People who try to make you weak so they can get you to toe the line, to follow their rules, to live like they want you to. And the best way to weaken you by getting’ you where it hurts the most…’” (Kesey, pg 62)
3. “Her lips part, and her tongue comes between them, a chunk of slag. Her eyes open again, and they have the strange dull and cold and flat look the lips have, hut she goes into her good-morning routine like there was nothing different about her, figuring the patients will be too sleepy to notice” (Kesey pg. 90)
4. “She’s in there, looking out through her window, got a tape recorder hid out of sight, somewhere getting all this down” (Kesey pg. 66)

5. “Then she stopped. She saw McMurphy wasn’t listening to her anymore.” (Kesey pg. 198)

I had chosen all these quotes for Nurse Rachet because they had shown her personality and how she was afraid of McMurphy. She was afraid of him and she knew that he was trying to take over her. But, she tried very hard to not let that happen with her strict rules like her routines and not let McMurphy get what he wanted in the group meetings.

Nurse Ratchet is the what the readers would call a “bad guy” in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She opposes everything that the patients want to change in the hospital and she doesn't listen to anyone but herself. “The Big Nurse tests a needle against her fingertip. “I’m afraid”-she stabs the needle down in the rubber-capped vial and lifts the plunger-”that is exactly what the new patient is planning: to take over. He is what we call a ‘manipulator’ Miss Flinn, a man who will use everyone and everything to his own ends” (Kesey pg. 29). This shows how Nurse Ratchet is admitting that she knows that McMurphy is planning on to take over the ward and she is afraid of him. But, with her willpower and strength she is going to try her hardest to take McMurphy down. The major theme in this book that she shows is power. She also tries to hide her femininity with her huge breasts because she thinks that she won't be able to taken seriously given that she is a female ruler in the ward. Nurse Ratchet overall is a very important character in this book because she makes the patients strong with the challenges that she gives them.

• Staff

1. "She rubs and rubs and hails Mary to beat thunder, but the stain stays. She looks in the mirror, sees it's darker'n ever. Finally takes a wire brush used to take paint off boats and scrubs the stain away, puts a nightgown on over the raw, oozing hide, and crawls in bed...In the morning she sees how she's stain again and somehow she figures it's not really from inside her - how could it be? a good Catholic girl like her?" (Kesey pg. 166)
2. “ When she finally gets the three she wants- gets them one at a time over a number of years, weaving them into her plan and her network- she’s damn positive they hate enough to be capable. (Kesey pg. 31)
3. She worked over his cuts, flinching every time he flinched and telling him she was sorry...'It's not all like her ward,' she said. 'A lot of it is, but not all. Army nurses, trying to run an Army hospital. They are a little sick themselves.' " (Kesey, 214)
4. “The lifeguard raised up slowly and rubbed his arm. He acted hurt that McMurphy had asked that, like he thought he was being accused of being soft and licking his wounds” (Kesey pg.148)
5. “The fat black boy and a black boy named Geever run us out of the day room and commence turning lights off with a little key on a chain, and as the ward gets dimmer and darker they eyes of the little birthmarked nurse in the station get bigger and brighter.” (Kesey pg.75)

All of the staff members in the ward are strictly under Nurse Ratchet’s rules. These quotes show how they all are a little frightened or brave in some way. It shows how one of the characters are strongly religious and that is an important part in this novel.

All the staff are important in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because they all help Nurse Ratchet keep the ward under control. Also, many of the staff are different and have believe in different things like the catholic nurse is very religious unlike the black boys. "She rubs and rubs and hails Mary to beat thunder, but the stain stays. She looks in the mirror, sees it's darker'n ever. Finally takes a wire brush used to take paint off boats and scrubs the stain away, puts a nightgown on over the raw, oozing hide, and crawls in bed...In the morning she sees how she's stain again and somehow she figures it's not really from inside her - how could it be? a good Catholic girl like her?" (Kesey pg. 166). This quote shows how she keeps realizing that her birthmark is still there but she keeps rubbing at it and everytime she is frightened she holds tight onto her cross necklace. Unlike the catholic nurse, the black boys are not afraid of the patients or anything and they follow Nurse Ratchets strict rules so that they can act like her. But, both of the black boys and the catholic take good care of the ward.

• Patients

1. “He’s pleased to be sitting next to McMurphy, feeling brave like this. Its the first time Cheswick ever had somebody along with him on his lost causes” (Kesey pg.105)
2. “I’m a rabbit. The doctor is a rabbit. Cheswick there is a rabbit. Billy Bibbit is a rabbit. All of us in here are rabbits of varying ages and degrees, hippity-hopping through our Walt Disney world. Oh, don’t misunderstand me, we’re not in here because were rabbits-we’d be rabbits wherever we were-we’re all in here because we can’t adjust to our rabbithood. We need a good strong wolf like the nurse to teach us our place” (Kesey pg. 61)
3. “Billy was talking about looking for a wife and going to college someday. hs mother tickled him with the fluff and laughed at such foolishness. “Sweetheart, you still have scads of time for things like that. Your whole life is ahead of you” “Mother, I’m th-th-thirty-one years old! (Kesey pg. 247)
4. " 'If we had the g-guts! I could go outside to-today, if I had the guts. My m-m-mother is a good friend of M-Miss Ratched, and I could get an AMA signed this afternoon, if I had the guts!'...'Well, I'm not big and tough. Neither is Harding. Neither is F-Fredrickson. Neither is Suh-Sefelt. Oh-oh, you-you t-talk like we stayed in here because we liked it!' " (Kesey, 255)
5. “Harding is having a tough time holding his hands still, but he keeps trying to act calm” (Kesey pg. 55)

I picked all these quotes for the patients because it shows how all of them are different and what their specific problem is. It also shows how they are seen as a whole and not just one specific patient. All of them are confused throughout the novel and do not to follow Big Nurse or McMurphys path.

All of the patients have different problems and act differently with McMurphy. They all have changed themselves over the course of the book. “Billy was talking about looking for a wife and going to college someday. hs mother tickled him with the fluff and laughed at such foolishness. “Sweetheart, you still have scads of time for things like that. Your whole life is ahead of you” “Mother, I’m th-th-thirty-one years old! (Kesey pg. 247). This quote shows how Billy Bibbit is very close to his mother and that when he was older he wanted to be normal and explore the world. But, his mother care to much about him and decided that the best for Billy was to put him in the ward. “Harding is having a tough time holding his hands still, but he keeps trying to act calm” (Kesey pg. 55). This quote shows how Harding is nervous and couldn't keep himself still when talking to McMurphy. “He’s pleased to be sitting next to McMurphy, feeling brave like this. Its the first time Cheswick ever had somebody along with him on his lost causes” (Kesey pg.105). This quote shows how Cheswick thought McMurphy was a hero and he thought it was great to sit next to someone as great as McMurphy. All of the patents are alike to because they are all in the ward for a mental issue.

• Motifs (3)

1. Laughter
1. “He stands looking at us, rocking back in his boots, and he laughs and laughs” (Kesey pg. 16)
2. “Even when he isn’t laughing, that laughing sound hovers around him, the way the sound overs around a big bell just quit ringing-it’s in his eyes, in the way he smiles and swaggers, in the way he talks” (Kesey pg. 16)

McMurphy is always laughing throughout the book. In many situations it isn't funny and it confuses the other patients in the ward especially Nurse Ratchet. When he first came into the ward he started laughing and the ward is not such a happy place. Thats when everyone started to know McMurphy was strong because he had shown an unrare emotion. Also, when they went on the fishing trip and  it is chaotic he still starts laughing. That joy out of him makes the patients feel good and it shows that McMurphy is strong and fearless.

2. Combine
1. “The ward is a factory for the Combine. It’s for fixing up mistakes made in the neighborhoods and in the schools and in the churches, the hospital is” (Kesey pg.40)
2. “He’s what he is, that’s it. Maybe that makes him strong enough what he is. The Combine hasn’t got to him in all these years; what makes that nurse think she’s gonna be able to do it in a few weeks? He’s not gonna let them twist him and manufacture him” (Kesey pg. 140”)

The combine is a big theme in this novel because it is a motif for the patients insecurities and that they are all throught the book. Nurse Ratchet tries to make sure that the patients are trapped in the combine and that it is hard to get out of. Nurse Ratchet especially tries to get Mcmurphy into the combine but that will be very very hard. Bromden also knows that the combine is very bad and he will never let himself be in it. This motif is very strong throughout the book and it is based on how society is looked at. Overall the combine is represented as power in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

3. Fog
1. “I believe the fog affects their memory some way it does not affect mine”
2. “The first thing I saw when I landed in Europe was the fog machines make” (Kesey pg. 116)

Fog happens throughout the book its everywhere in Chief Bromden’s mind in the beginning of the book. But, he tries to get out of it because it is holding himself back from his true self. The fog makes patients feel lost and not know what's happening. It’s what causes some of Bromden's hallucinations. Bromden has to face the fact that the fog is taking over his life. But, he tries to get out of it with McMurphys help. Fog is an important motif throughout the book and it shows what some of the patients struggles are.