One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

“I’m rather good at diagnosing pathologies from palm reading, myself,” Harding says. “Good, good,” Cheswick says and claps his hands. He’s never had anybody support anything he said before. “Myself,” McMurphy drawls, “I’d be honored to work a skillo wheel. Had a little experience …” “Oh, there are numerous possibilities,” the doctor says, sitting up straight in his chair and really warming to it. “Why, I’ve got a million ideas….” He talks full steam ahead for another five minutes. You can tell a lot of the ideas are ideas he’s already talked over with McMurphy. He describes games, booths, talks of selling tickets, then stops as suddenly as though the Nurse’s look had hit him right between the eyes. He blinks at her and asks, “What do you think of the idea, Miss Ratched? Of a carnival? Here, on the ward?”