Arters AP Literature 2016-17 discussion
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Grant Block
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Dec 12, 2016 07:05AM
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The book has a very unique opening line. It sure catches my attention.
The narrator is supposedly deaf, but hears everything. He is supposedly mute but is recounting all of the events he has seen to the reader. He is an interesting and symbolic narrator.
Nurse Ratched's invisible 'machinery' seems important to the theme of the book. Not only is she controlling everything and everyone with he invisible 'wires', in comparing the mental ward to a big machine, everyone inside is dehumanized, turned from patients to mere cogs.
The opening paragraph of the book sets up the narrator very well for the rest of the story, by presenting him as unreliable and questionable. It was a very surprising start to a book, to say the least.
Sorry Grant, I have been reading but I forgot to comment.
The description of Nurse Ratched is an aspect of the story that really caught my eye. She is described rather mysteriously and differently than other characters. I assumed she would play a major role in the story from her first description.
The way that the mental institution is broken down into categories interests me. Many inmates understand that they will not be cured, and seem to hang around other incurable patients. They even seem to have nicknames for each other based on their condition. This is interesting because they have a surprising sense of self-awareness.
The reoccurring idea of shock treatment is also interesting to me. The after-effects are clearly debilitating and life altering, which makes me question why people were still okay with it's usage. The people affected by it have a certain ghostly nature about their actions, which I find interesting.
Often I forget that Bromben is not completely sane. While his narration of fog and time distortion is prominent to the story, I find it easy to forget that the narration is skewed.
The breaking of the group into categories seems to reflect life, as many aspects of the ward do. People are broken into categories based on ability, and they even discriminate against each other. The society is so ingeniously broken up by Ratched, she doesn't need to watch everyone, they watch each other.
I like the idea of the book that they all report each other in. They are turning against each other. Ratched knows that it is easier to let them keep each other down, than do all of the work herself.
I found the small chapter talking about the suicide in the Disturbed Ward chilling. The death was gruesome, and terrifying, but it was utterly inconsequential in the ward. Nobody even noticed that the man had killed himself, and their eventual reaction was apathetic. The apathy mixed with the striking cause of death made for a poignant chapter.
I wonder what the flexible nature of time the narrator experiences means. It is presented as a symptom of his mental problem, but it has a deeper meaning to the story. Is it just meant to show how slowly time appears to move in the ward, or is it something deeper?
I notice I haven't talked about McMurphy much in these posts. He perfectly contrasts Ratched's rule. His brazenness, his optimism, his joy, and his determination to break the order provide a near perfect figure to go against the system. I really enjoyed that the others didn't immediately go to his side. They were so conditioned they first chose to side with their oppressors. He had to fight for their loyalty, he had to earn it.
I agree with your analysis of McMurphy. He acts as a near foil for Nurse Ratched. He has an attitude and demeanor that is completely unique from other characters in the story and it is a different outlook on the events.
I think your idea on the slow moving nature of time in the ward is interesting, and something I had not considered. I think it can serve as both the nature of time there and a symptom of his illness. The way time is presented gives the story an almost-disconnected feeling.
Yeah, his foil is really well developed. I thought the first group meeting and its aftermath really summed him up well. He understood that what was going on was wrong, and he tried to convince Harding. It took a lot of persuasion to force Harding to accept that he was being abused, but his conviction, his determination to convince Harding was a really good introduction to the character.
I agree. After the first group meeting McMurphy's character is really well developed and understood. The meeting served more for character development and less for the actual plot of the story. I liked that aspect of Kesey's writing. He allows ideas and characters to be developed at any point in the story and it creates characters who are easy to understand and gauge.
What did you think of Bromden's dream about the basement and machinery?
I found that dream really interesting because it develops Bromden's insanity even further. It was bizarre to read but an interesting and important part of the story.
Yeah, it really did look upon Bromden's issues. Until this point I had thought of Bromden as a neutral narrator, but then I had started to see him as he really was. His insanity was an influence on the story, it added to it, it made the events even more meaningful.
