Brooke Kelly
Mr. Dilworth
F Block
12-8-14
Chief Bromden
1.
“And, like I
explain, the Big Nurse gets real put out if anything keeps her outfit from
running smooth.” (Kesey, Page 41)
2.
“…how a guy has to learn to get along in a group
before he’ll be able to function in a normal society; how the group can help
the guy by showing him where he’s out of place; how society is what decides who’s
sane and who isn’t…” (Kesey, Page 49)
3.
“He keeps trying
to drag us out of the fog, put in the open where we’d be easy to get at.” (Kesey, Page 128)
4.
“Maybe all the
guys finally and forever crowded back into the fog.” (Kesey, Page 134)
5.
“Maybe the
Combine isn’t all powerful. What was to stop us from doing it again, now that
we saw we could? Or keep us from doing other things we wanted?” (Kesey, Page
305)
These
quotes from Chief Bromden are all representing the story’s allegory of Ken
Kesey’s depiction of society. Chief Bromden discusses the consequences of
disrupting the order of society and how it functions as a machine, which weeds
out those who do not fit into the machine perfectly. Bromden also talks about
remaining safe in the “fog,” a place where one can hide and hope to be left
alone by society’s torture towards those who are different.
Chief
Bromden is significant to One Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest because his narration is how the reader sees into the
world of the book and his thoughts advance the theme of society’s destructive
behavior towards those who disrupt its order. Chief Bromden is an unreliable
narrator, as he is mentally foggy in the beginning of the story, but this
unreliability is what allows the reader to experience and understand the theme
of the novel in depth. Bromden informs the reader about how society is a
Combine, a machine that discriminates and removes people who do not function in
it perfectly. With the influence of the arrival of a new patient, Randle
McMurphy, Bromden slowly begins to step out of the fog and into the open, where
he is free to be independent and discover who he truly is. When a group of
patients, including Bromden, break the laws of the asylum by sneaking in girls
and alcohol for a late night adventure, Bromden has a revelation. He states,
“Maybe the Combine wasn’t all powerful. What was to stop us from doing it
again, now that we saw we could? Or keep us from doing other things we wanted?”
(Kesey, Page 305) This key quote shows Bromden questioning the authority of the
Combine. He realizes that there really is nothing that can prevent him from
being himself. Kesey is telling the reader that society’s behaviors towards
those who are different should not and cannot stop one’s individuality.
Nurse Ratched
1.
“And yet, he
seems to do things without thinking of himself at all, as if he were a martyr
or a saint.” (Kesey, Page 265)
2.
“What worries
me, Billy, is how your poor mother is going to take this.” (Kesey, Page 314)
3.
“I’m afraid that is exactly what the 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, Page 27)
4.
“…If Mr. Taber
chooses to act like a child, he may have to be treated as such.” (Kesey, Page
34)
5.
“You’re
committed, you realize. You are… under the jurisdiction of me…the staff.” (Kesey,
Page 144)
These
quotes from Nurse Ratched display her symbolizing society as a manipulative
machine that does not tolerate the existence of people who are different. Nurse
Ratched twists her words and exploits the weaknesses of the patients in order
to maintain control over them, the same way society discriminates against
certain people to make them feel inferior.
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Nurse
Ratched, the antagonist of the novel, uses her authority and personality to
symbolize Kesey’s view of society and advance the theme of using power to
conceal self-consciousness. Nurse Ratched is a female who has absolute control
over men, which was not often seen during the 1960’s. She is illustrated as self-conscious of her breasts, because
she does not want her female features to affect her control over the men. Kesey
uses Nurse Ratched’s cruelty and vicious methods of maintaining power over the
men to show that personal flaws could be the reason why members of society
target those who are different. At the end of the novel, McMurphy, driven by
grief and anger, loses control and attacks Nurse Ratched. Bromden narrates, “…after
he’d smashed through that glass door, her face swinging around, with terror
forever ruining any other look she might ever try to use again, screaming when
he grabbed for her and ripped her uniform all the way down the front…” (Kesey, Page
318) Kesey includes this because he is showing how revealing Nurse Ratched’s
insecurity causes her to lose her authority. Society’s flaws are exposed, which
also exposes that the people in the external world are no different from the
patients inside the mental ward. Nurse Ratched’s addition to Kesey’s idea of
society is extremely significant in the novel, because she demonstrates how
personal insecurities could be the cause of cruel, vicious use of power.
R.P. McMurphy
1.
“Ya know, ma’am, ya know- that is the ex-act thing somebody always tells me about the rules…just when they figure I’m about to
do the dead opposite.” (Kesey, Page 26)
2.
“You’re no
damned rabbit!” (Kesey, Page 65)
3.
“All I know is
this: nobody’s very big in the first place, and it looks to me that everybody
spends their whole life tearing everyone else down.” (Kesey, Page 184)
4.
“Look there, Chief. Haw. What’d I tell ya? You growed
a half a foot already.” (Kesey, Page 224)
5.
“The doc
wouldn’t lie like that about just any
patients, but we ain’t ordinary nuts; we’re every bloody one of us hot off the
criminal insane ward, on our way to San Quentin where they got better
facilities to handle us.” (Kesey, Page 236)
These
quotes from Randle McMurphy give evidence to McMurphy’s influence over the
patients and the structure of the ward. He challenges the authority of the
staff, which inspires other patients to come out of the fog and regain their
individuality. He uses his loud, forceful personality to increase the
confidence of the other men, including Bromden.
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McMurphy,
the protagonist of One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, plays a major role in Kesey’s religious allegory while also
advancing the theme of how the order of society can be dramatically altered by
the leadership of one person. McMurphy has various roles in the novel, one of
them being Jesus Christ. He represents this biblical figure throughout the
novel. He leads a group of men, his apostles, and teaches them lessons about
the injustices of society and other significant life skills. Kesey involves
multiple lines in the novel that can be referenced to the biblical story. For
example he writes, “Do I get a crown of thorns?”(Kesey, Page 283) This is said
while McMurphy is receiving shock therapy. Along with his involvement in this
religious allegory, he also demonstrates another aspect of Kesey’s view of
society, that it can be altered greatly under the leadership of one person. Under
the leadership of McMurphy, the patients on the ward eventually defy the strict
organization of the ward. In order to do this, McMurphy had to inspire them to
find their individuality and overcome their fear of the Combine. An example of
McMurphy’s success is seen in Bromden’s first words spoken in the novel, “Thank
you.” (Kesey, Page 217) Bromden is not only thanking McMurphy for the piece of gum
he just gave him, but also for everything else he has done on the ward for the
men.
The Staff: The Black Boys, Japanese
Nurse, The Catholic Nurse
1.
“Are you hurt
anywhere?”(Kesey, Page 278)
2.
“Army nurses,
trying to run an Army hospital. They are a little sick themselves. I sometimes
think all single nurses should be fired after they reach thirty-five.” (Kesey, Page 278)
3.
“Geo’ge, I’m
tellin’ you: bend down! You either bend down and take this stuff- or I lay my hand on you!” (Kesey, Page 272)
4.
“Here’s the
Chief. The soo-pah Chief, fells. Ol’
Chief Broom. Here you go, Chief Broom…” (Kesey, Page 3)
5.
“Stay
back! Patients aren't allowed to enter the—Oh, stay back, I'm a Catholic!”
(Kesey, Page 83)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing
The
diversity of characters on the staff advance Kesey’s theme of the various ways
people approach the rejects of society. The members of the staff represent a
diverse group of people in society that react to the outcasts of society in
different ways. The Japanese nurse and the African-American aides are two
groups of people on the staff who society has discriminated against in the
past. The way in which each person responds to the patients, who represent the
outcasts of society, is drastically different. The Japanese nurse empathizes with
McMurphy and Bromden, when she meets them on Disturbed. This is shown when she
states, “Are you hurt anywhere?”(Kesey, Page 278) The aides are brutal towards
the patients, as they treat them as animals rather than humans. This is seen
when they forcefully wash someone against their will. One of the aides says to
the man who is resisting, “Geo’ge, I’m tellin’ you: bend down! You either bend
down and take this stuff- or I lay my hand
on you!” (Kesey, Page 272)
These two approaches towards
the patients symbolize two approaches towards outcasts in society. The Japanese
nurse represents those who use past experiences to pity outcasts and understand
the position society has placed them. The aides represent those who use cruelty
towards outcasts despite receiving their own abuse and discrimination in the
past. Another member of the staff that represents a person in society is the
Catholic nurse, who fears the patients and tries to avoid them at all costs.
The Catholic nurse differs from the Japanese nurse and the aides because she
does not wish to involve herself in any way with the patients. Many members of
society treat outcasts in the same way.
Other Characters: Dale
Harding, Billy Bibbit, Max Taber
1. “Oh,
you underestimate her!” (Kesey, Page
64)
2. “Miss,
I don’t like to create trouble. But I don’t like to swallow something without
knowing what it is, neither. How do I know this isn’t one of those funny pills
that makes me something I’m not?” (Kesey, Page 34)
3. “She
d-did. And M-M-McMurphy! He did. And Harding! And the-the-the rest! They
t-t-teased me, called me things! (Kesey,
Page 315)
4. “Lady,
I think you’re full of so much bullshit.” (Kesey, Page 320)
5. “You
s-s-saw what she c-can do to us! In the m-m-meeting today.” (Kesey, Page 68)
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The characters that are
patients in the ward represent the outcasts of society, and how different ways outcasts
interact with the external world they are separated from. These characters
advance the theme of the interactions one can have with their oppressors. Max
Taber, a former patient on the ward, represents those who challenge unjust
authority. In the novel, he does something that no other patient has dared to
do. He asks, “Wait just a shake, honey; what are these two little red capsules
in here with my vitamin?” (Page 34) He was bold enough to confront the people
who treated him wrongly. Unlike Max Taber, Billy Bibbit is a patient that
submits to the control of Nurse Ratched and the staff. Nurse Ratched’s
manipulation works effectively on Billy’s self-esteem and independence. Billy represents
those who struggle to stand up for themselves. Dale Harding represents another
form of interaction with the cruelty of the ward. He understands the conditions
in the ward and uses the term “rabbits” to describe the patients. He stands by
McMurphy and defends him when he is absent. When McMurphy leaves, Harding
adopts his mannerisms towards Nurse Ratched. This is seen when he says, “Lady,
I think you’re full of so much bullshit.” (Kesey, Page 320) The way in which
Harding stands up to the nurse is similar to something Max Taber or McMurphy
would do. The different actions and speech of the patients symbolize the
different roles of outcasts in society.
Motifs: Size
1. “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.” (Kesey,
Page 5)
2. “He
was real big when I was a kid. My mother got twice his size.” (Kesey, Page 219)
3. “No.
I’m way too little. I used to be big, but not no more. You’re twice the size of
me.” (Kesey, Page 219)
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Bromden uses size to
describe multiple characters in the book in order to give the reader evidence
of the theme of how society can dictate your worth and power. Bromden often describes
himself as small, despite the fact he is physically bigger than any one else in
the ward. The first time Bromden speaks in the novel, he talks to McMurphy
about how his size prevents him from standing up to the authorities of the
ward. He states, “No. I’m way too little. I used to be big, but not no more.
You’re twice the size of me.” (Kesey, Page 219) When Bromden says these words,
he is telling McMurphy about how the forces of society belittled him until he
was left with no voice to stand up for himself. Bromden also discusses Nurse
Ratched’s size as extremely large, meaning that her status in society gives her
power and influence over others. Kesey makes size a reoccurring subject in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because
he wants to show the reader how society can dictate one’s individuality and
power.
Motifs: Glass
1. “The
glass came apart like water splashing, and the nurse threw her hands over her
ears.” (Kesey, Page 201)
2. “Only at the last-after he’d smashed through that
glass door, her face swinging around, with terror forever ruining any other
look she might ever try to use again, screaming when he grabbed for her and
ripped her uniform all the way down the front…” (Kesey, Page 319)
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The glass
that divides the patients and the nurses is often mentioned in the novel
because it illustrates the theme of breaking society’s tendency to avoid the
unordinary. The glass breaks various times throughout the novel, twice by McMurphy’s
force. The first time that McMurphy breaks the divide is right after the nurse
ends the patients’ privilege of using the tub room. He protests by breaking the
glass of the nurse’s station with his hand and taking a pack of cigarettes. Bromden
narrates, “The glass came apart like water splashing, and the
nurse threw her hands over her ears.”(Kesey, Page 201) The breaking of the glass that separates McMurphy and
the nurse symbolizes the disruption of society that Kesey labels a “machine.”
When the glass breaks, the group of confined people fuses with the people from
the outside world, and any barrier between the two groups disappears.
Motifs: Machinery
1. “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.” (Page 5)
2. “They got to me with the machine again… I wonder…” (Page 287)
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The motif of machinery is significant in the novel because it supports the theme of society functioning as a machine. The machine that Kesey uses to depict society produces a group of people that are the same and eliminates mistakes, or those who do not fit into the group. Bromden often uses terms that are associated with machinery in order to describe someone or something in the ward. In the beginning of the novel, Bromden gives the reader one of the very first descriptions of Nurse Ratched using machinery. He states, “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.” (Kesey, Page 5) The term machinery describes Nurse Ratched, because she symbolizes society as a ruthless piece of equipment that discriminates against certain people.
