Hiren Ajudia Post 4 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Pages 249-311
Lauren, it was clear that you did not like this book at all based on the way that you incorporated sarcasm and negative vocabulary. I thought that the highlight of your post was that you thought that this book was very unoriginal in the message: which was dedication to goals. I agree that this may have been one of the messages of this book, but I also think that another message could have been patience and flexibility. I say this could have been a potential message because the story had very unusual characters; each one had their individual story. I think that this book serves as an example of how one should be open to the personalities of everyone around them. This theme reminds me of the concept of acceptance: If the fingers of your hands are not the same, how can you expect other people in the world to have the same feelings.

            Just like you, I was a bit disappointed in the overall plot because it was not something that particularly interests me. However, I think that the writing style was very good. I say this because in certain situations, explaining things to another person is difficult especially when the opposite person does not understand at all. I think that the author did a decent job because even though the story was written from the perspective of a mentally unstable person, it was not extremely difficult to understand. Also, in the reading, I noticed many metaphors and similes in context. For example, when McMurphy first joined the ward, the other patients described their condition as rabbits. Also, in the last section, the nurse describes McMurphy as a fox: “Crazy like a fox”(page 251).

            Just like you mentioned, I also believe that the theme of this section was power and control. Not only does the head nurse execute her power, but I think that McMurphy proves his popularity and authority in the ward when he organizes his party. Throughout this entire reading, I noticed a major difference between McMurphy and the head nurse, and it is the fact that the head nurse always tried to get the patients to go against each other-first with the a daily journal, and also with her plans. McMurhpy, however seemed to me that he was trying to get the ward to unite. In my opinion, I think that McMurphy did everything with the best of intentions. I also believe that if a group of people are going to live together, they might as well be good friends, or at least good “neighbors.” The condition of McMurphy was very tragic. The entire time, he was super powerful, and seeing him action less like the “vegetables” was very hard to accept for me. I wonder why he did not reveal the secret of Bromden when he had the chance before the treatments as a way to cause more harm for Bromden.

            I was actually really disappointed by the fact that the nurse had not learned from her past. There have been many examples before that showed that unity is more important in a group than the power of an individual. If I were in her place, it would have been very difficult for me to make the lives of others very hard by adding hardships to each step of their life. I did not really like the way the head nurse was portrayed. I think that a head nurse with more of an open personality may have been able to run the ward more affectively. If she was friendlier, then the other patients might not have been as afraid.

            I was really surprised at the fact that Bromden decided to kill McMurphy and then flea. I totally did not see that coming, and as a result I was very shocked to see him pull of a drastic move. Maybe it was true that McMurphy had an influence on Bromden, because throughout the entire book, I saw his character as a very kind and caring person. I thought that Bromden thought of everyone. The action of him pretending to be deaf and dumb was not very appealing to me either. I think that his true self should have been exposed. The condition of Bromden makes me think of the lack of technology during this period. One would think that before a person was sent to mental hospital, the officials would be aware of the conditions of their patients. Either through tests were not conducted when Bromden was admitted, or he was a great actor. I wonder if Bromden would continue this act in the future.

            As this book ends, I am looking forward to reading the next book. I hope that it is a bit more interesting than this one had been.

           

Lauren Crom Post 4 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I cannot emphasize to whoever reads this post exactly how glad I am to finish this book.  It was long, and it was extremely depressing to read!  There is NOTHING in this book that would make me recommend this.  Other than if you rebel against the higher power, the head honcho might just die before his efforts really begin to pay off. 

McMurphey throws a party and excites all of the crazies in the Cuckoo’s Nest.  After the party that was thrown, the people realize that they can reach their full potential and thrive in the real world.  However, how long his idea stuck with them is a question.  They realize that they can do anything if they put their minds to it… Just as the theme to every other book ever written in the past 2012 years illustrates. 

The nurse was furious.  This act alone proved that she is the over-controlling, crazy that the room she came back to was disheveled.  She knew that Mr. McMurphey was behind the whole thing.  There were decorations, which showed that there was an outside influence upon these crazies.  One thing that drove the Nurse especially crazy was the fact that Mr. Martini (a psychotic that everyone knows is vulnerable and is easily ashamed of his life and what he hasn’t accomplished) had grab hold of her hat.  He was found in the nurse’s office and brought to an even lower level in the mean and condescending eyes of the nurse.  What he needs is encouragement.  Not a reason to rebel. 

After the party was thrown and Billy had an interesting night, he stopped stuttering as much as he usually did.  He wasn’t scared of anything.  There was nothing he was ashamed of in that night.  This is because he had an enjoyable night—one where he lost himself and one where he didn’t have to worry about Ms. Ratchet beating up on him and criticizing his every move.  But after a wonderful night and an insight into a future life, Billy decided to commit suicide.  McMurphey’s plan fell apart at that moment.  The stress became too great and he took all of his inner anger out on the Nurse.  I am not sure how much a person can hold.  He obviously isn’t crazy, and he is being held in a place where crazy is the norm and he is expected to do such things. 

The readers of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest can be assured that there was indeed a happy ending.  McMurphey dies, and Chief Bromden lifts the “well” that spews water in the beginning of the book.  This is the biggest moment in the book, and possibly for these people’s lives.  Which is sad.  It’s just a well.  And the Chief is strong, he should have lifted it a while ago. 

However it is not the momentous period of time in my life. I will never read this book again yet alone recommend it to anyone that wishes to enjoy themselves and learn something about life. 

Hiren, was this not the worst book you ever read??? 

Hiren Ajudia Post 3 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Pages 150-245         
Lauren, I totally agree with your opinions about the head nurse. It is clear in this section that she shows that she is oblivious to the rebellious acts behind her back. I felt that her confidence in her authority allowed her to overlook the actions of the patients as motivation to stay strong. For example, you brought up the portion of the book were she stares at the piece of cardboard in place of the window. To me, this example is similar to the methods of non-violence that Gandhi had accepted in our current class reading book. I feel that this action of the nurse made it clear to the patients that her confidence would not be brought down as easily as they thought it would. In the current reading, Gandhi influences the Indian society to endure the actions of violence that the British took against them, and in return they should stay non-violent. The head nurse does not let anyone know of how affected she is by that action.

You mentioned that this section of the book is focused around the theme of hatred, and I agree-keeping in mind the examples such as the gas station incident. However, I believe that this section also touches on sexuality. This concept is brought up a couple of times in the section. For example, McMurphy takes interest in the size of the head nurse’s breasts. “…frustrating the whole staff, even going so far as to step up to the Big Nurse in the hall one time and ask her, if she didn’t mind tellin’, just what was the actual inch-by-inch measurement on them great big ol’ breasts that she did her best to conceal but never could” (page 150). Also, while taking to Bromden, McMurphy noticed his erection when he brought up the topic of prostitutes. The last example of sexuality in this section would probably be the chaperones that McMurphy had arranged for the boating trip. I was really surprised as to how he had managed to arrange all of this in a mental hospital.

In this section, I noticed a rise and fall in the actions of McMurphy. At first, he had gone out of his way to cause trouble with the head nurse, but after talking with the lifeguard about his treatment, I noticed that he had tried to get on the nurse’s good side so that he could be let out from the hospital on time. This was a very confusing action, and that is because when he first came to the hospital, I remember him loving it a lot more that he had loved his old life. During this silent period of his, his influence was more evident on the other patients. He had started the rebellion process. I think this because when he was going through his silent phase, Cheswick had spoken against the head nurse’s rules on the cigarettes. This seemed very random because it seemed that McMurphy was the leader of the patients, but he really was not. I remember commenting that I felt that he had come to the hospital with the thought of changing the way the hospital ran, and I saw that vision coming to life in this section.

I was really surprised that Bromden talked to McMurphy. Personally, I would not have done this. I think that in order to blow your cover, it is important to trust the people to whom you show your true face too. Although McMurphy had guessed about his condition, I would have been in denial mode. I think that McMurphy has a very open-mind, and I also think that he as a big mouth. All of the sympathy earned by Bromden could have been destroyed if he had told anyone. While reading the conversation between Bromden and McMurphy, I was wondering if anyone had heard the two talking. I know that the other patients must have been heavily medicated, but someone could have been a light sleeper just as Bromden had been, and he could have learned the truth about Bromden. As the story continues, I hope that the truth about Bromden is revealed, but in a way that does not cause any damage to the hospital.

Lauren Crom Post 3 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This book is possibly the worst book that I have ever read.  I feel as though there is no plot in it whatsoever—and the only several “major” things ever happens; including the Nurse’s flip-outs and violent rampages.  Another major point in the book is the suspicion of Chief Bromden and that he is not actually deaf.  This could put a big twist on the story because the Nurse and everyone else is used to making fun of him right in front of his eyes, without even a second thought.  The Nurse is used to advertising everyone’s problems right in front of Chief Bromden, so if she finds out that he is capable of hearing and has heard almost every word she speaks about the place she despises yet works at, Chief Bromden could be in huge trouble! 

The nurse is the scariest character that I have ever read in a book.  She dominates over everything in a time when women didn’t have such power.  I find it interesting that the windowpane continually being broken and destroyed by the patients (for three times is was broken and then ordered to be repaired by the nurse).  At one point she replaces it with a piece of cardboard and continually stares at it, as if she could see through the pane of cardboard and watch over her insane patients.  This is her ultimate test—no one would ever defy her.  No one would dare of smashing her window.  No one would dare do anything that might set this beast of women off.  No one would dare do anything that might make his or her stay in the physic ward longer than the minimal sentence.  

Another aspect that I found interesting about this section of the book was the fact that Dr. Spivey let several patients out for a fishing trip.  Maybe the doctor is insane letting his insane patients out on a trip by themselves.  This is just a crazy idea that could lead these patients into a maze of trouble that doesn’t even have a solution.  The nurse is sneakier than ever in this scene—posting clippings up on her bulletin board about boats that have crashed and people gone missing from these crashes.  Despite every effort to persuade the men in her hospital that they are terrible people, I believe that the nurse is giving subtle hints that life belongs to one person and one person only—the man whose heart is beating in it.  Although she is portrayed as the antagonist, I believe that she has some hope for these people who she tries so hard to act like she hates. 

I hate this book more than any other book that I have ever read because of its twisted plot, and lack thereof.  The characters focus around hate.  The hate in this book reappears and disappears like a sine function’s path on the y-axis.  However, it is unpredictable who is going to become the next victim in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  

In response to Hiren's last post, I also noticed that the fog machine made Bromden go insane! I think that McMurphey casts a spell upon Bromden... We'll have to wait and see what effects this spell has upon him.  

Lauren Crom Post 2 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This book just gets weirder as the word count increases.  I want to research the author of this book some—because it appears that he takes these “mini themes” from his own life experiences. 

Kenneth Kesey is the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.   He attended a very prominent school—Stanford University.  He studied in their writing program.  At Stanford he also participated as a test subject in the medical department to earn extra money.  This struck me with a thought—that Kenneth Kesey got some of his themes from the book there.  Maybe the reason Chief Bromden cannot talk is because he was the subject of a medical experiment himself.  This could also be the root reason for why Chief Bromden is working in a hospital, because that is where Kenneth Kesey had most of his horrifying experiences. 

The professional wrestler in Kenneth Kesey could have led to the character of the head nurse.   She portrays a mean, self-centered nurse who wants to take control of everyone in the mental hospital.  She works with weak people because she knows that those are the people whom she can easily control and manipulate.  I am expecting a decline in her character because during the time when Kenneth Kesey qualified as an Olympic wrestler, he became injured and was no longer able to compete.  Thus, the one of the many plots in the story could be to overtake this Olympic woman—to defeat her and overthrow her so she no longer lingers over the patients of the mental asylum. 

Since the chemicals that Stanford was testing on him included some of the most dangerous ones known to man today (including LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline), he was often delusional.   He was reported to have hallucinations of a man of Indian decent sweeping the floors.  Thus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was born.  Chief Bromden (Bromden because of the resemblance to “broom”) was brought to live through a writing project he was assigned at Stanford. 

He had a hard life.  Kesey often liked to throw parties.  These parties, people reported, were littered with experimental drugs such as the ones that were tested on him during his experience at Stanford.  He became part of a prank group, as well as a band.  Through this hard life, he was put in jail.  He went so far as to fake a suicide to try and escape.  For possessing marijuana after it had been illegalized, Kenneth Kesey was sentenced to five months in the San Mateo jail.  I wonder if Kesey believed that the hospital resembled some sort of a jail; a prison to those inside, and vice versa during his stay at Stanford. 

Overall, I believe that Kesey was one weird man.  I would not willingly experiment drugs just for the sake of things.  This is just crazy.  He ruined his life in a way—while at the same time creating a name for himself because without those loopy drugs he was willingly testing, he wouldn’t have come up with such an odd and unrealistic character as Chief Bromden, or the little lady nurse.    

Hiren Ajudia Post 2 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Page 73-150
While reading this book, I had not given any thought to the author like you had. It was interesting to learn that Ken Kesey was a wrestler. Although you took the time to research him, I don’t really see any significance of his character towards the book. Maybe the strength that Ken had may have influenced him to write a story where physical strength has no value. Since the story we are reading takes place in a mental ward, I think that it would be safe to assume that the physical characteristics of the patients has no importance, and instead mental strength is important. I really like how you compared this book to the Book Of Mice and Men.  I have not read it, but based on your description, I can relate to the story. While describing the book, you mentioned that the two main characters were in a way outcastes. In this story, I feel that this is not the case. I do not really see the Chief as an outcast. I feel this way because I never felt that the character of the Chief was asked to do something that the rest of the ward was not asked to do. In terms of his role in the cleaning of the ward, everyone had a cleaning job, however since the Chief is the main character, as readers, we know the most about his job.

            In terms of the writing style, in my first post, I commented that the character of the Chief is more like a narrator as well as a main character because of his mute and deafness. The Chief is very detail oriented, because he picks up a lot of information that others may miss. For example, when watching the other patients play cards, he noticed that McMurphy may have been winning against the other patients, but he also let them win in the end. “Then just before nine-thirty he started letting them win, lets them win it all back so fast they don’t hardly remember losing” (page 79). The Chief also noticed that ever since McMurphy came in the ward, the fog machine was going on a lot less. I think that this observant nature of his may come in handy for the rest of the story.

            I noticed that the fog machine is mentioned again in this section of the book. I think that the fog machine is part of his craziness. When the fog machine affects Bromden, it seems to not affect the rest of the patients. My real question would be, what is happening to the Chief whenever he mentions the fog. In my first post I thought that it might be some after effect of some type of medicine or something, but that does not really make a lot of sense because these reactions had no fixed time for the Chief and also, the arrival of McMurphy made these reactions come less. What do you think Lauren?

            When we first left of in the story, McMurphy made a bet with the rest of the patients that he would make the head nurse lose her temper in a week, and I think that he was able to complete that bet in this section. First, McMurphy tried to make the head nurse made through humor with the towel incident. “You can’t run around here—in a towel!” (page 93). And he also tries to anger the nurse with his demand of a vote for the baseball tournament. And finally, when he gets the rest of the hospital to join him in his “non-violent” methods of protest, the nurse finally breaks down and yells at the patients. I am really curious as to why McMurphy went to such an extent to anger the head nurse. To be in the position of nurse in this type of situation must have taken a lot of will power. I really commend the nurse’s efforts to keep her feelings of distress a secret from her patients for so long.

            Now that the McMurphy and the head nurse are types of rivals, I wonder if the two will ever come to a friendly end.

Hiren Ajudia Post 1 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Pages 1-72          
  This book is very unique in the way that it is written. Because it is writing from the perspective of a mentally-unstable person, I thought that it was very difficult to comprehend at times. I thought that the perspective of Chief Bromded allows readers to witness the story from a first person’s perspective as well as from the personal thoughts of the Chief. I say this because during portions of the book, he describes it as a narrator would, but as readers, we constantly are reminded that the Chief is mental himself. The mindset of the Chief causes him to hallucinate. For example, during his shaving routine, the Chief senses fog around him. “When the fog clears to where I can see, I’m sitting in the day room” (page 8). Considering the fact that he is mentally unstable, I thought that it was very unusual to have him be a janitor in the mental facility. Personally, if I were in charge, I would not have the patients work around the ward. I would think that it would be too dangerous having a mental person working around cleaning chemicals and such.

            I am really curious as to the Chief’s motives behind his self-made muteness and deafness. The beginning of the book makes it clear that the Chief brought his condition upon himself. “Everybody think so. I’m cagey enough to fool them that much” (page 3). I thought that this was a really bad joke because this state of being is really unfortunate for those that are naturally deaf and mute. I would never be able to stand in the shoes of the Chief because I cannot go a long time without speaking. In my mind, I also have a doubt that the Chief was naturally mute and deaf and the reality of his condition made him believe that he decided to become like that himself. However, when the new patient saw through his act, my doubts were cleared. I am sure that he hears a lot of things around the mental hospital that he is not supposed to hear. Just as he states, I think that many people around him take advantage of his condition and talk about their secrets thinking that he is deaf.

            To answer your question about the cruelness, I think that it seems reasonable that patients would be treated that way in a mental ward. I think of mental patients as people with underdeveloped brains. I know that sometimes, working with people under your age level—such as children may be frustrating because they cannot fully understand everything that you can. Maybe out of frustration, the ward officials get the patients to do something using force because that may seem to be the only option for them.

You mentioned that the two different types of mental patients kind of resembled the communities of the Hindus and the Moslems in Freedom at Midnight*, but I have a different opinion. It is evident that there is an establishment of two different groups in the mental ward, but I don’t think that the groups resemble “classes.” I mean, the two groups are not really competing with each other. Their placement in the groups only relied on their mental capabilities. The two seemed rather comfortable around eachother. You mentioned that the two groups in the mental ward did not really mingle with each other, but I think that is quite the opposite. I thought that both of the groups were rather friendly with each other-they listened to each other, and they also lived with each other.

I do not like the actions of the new comer, McMurphy. I think that he is wrong in his actions. Before he comes, the ward seems to accept the reality of their position in relation to the head nurse. They all seemed to think very highly of the head nurse. I did not really like how McMurphy acted around officials. I know that he thought very highly of himself, but I did not think that he deserved the authority to worsen the relationship between the head nurse and the ward’s patients. I thought that it was really brave of him to try to change the way the ward operated on his first day. What do you think about his character, Lauren?

*Collins, Larry, and Dominique Lapierre. Freedom at Midnight. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. Print.

Lauren Crom Post 1 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This book is by far the most interesting writing style that I have ever come across.

"The Dalles" as mentioned on page 6 when Chief Bromden reminisced about his childhood days.  It is the third oldest city in Oregon (founded in 1857), and served as the ending point for the Oregon Trail.  In its early stages of a city, it was one of the Pacific Northwest's largest trade, commerce, and economical centers.  Now, it is just a pretty little town in Oregon.

It always amazes me how cruel people are to other people.  When Chief Bromden is illustrating how "they hold me down while she jams wicker bag and all into my mouth shoves it down with a mop handle" (Kesey 7).  Chief was drugged, as he writes in the next two paragraphs, and confirmed in the next section:  "When the fog clears to where I can see, I am siting in the day room" (Kesey 8).

I found the section where Kesey is embellishing on the Chronics and the Acutes.  I was trying to piece together which one the Chief would be in, and on page 15 it is said flat out:  "But there are some of us Chronics that the staff made a couple of mistakes on years back."  They make these people sick.  The "installations" that is talked about makes me sick to my stomach--how can you go through ones eye and change his brain?  Does the Chief really know that these people are the same people, or maybe they bring in a look-a-like and stick him in the mental ward just to see how he does?  You never know in the sick world of the Acutes and the Chronics.

The Chronics and the Acutes are sort of like the Hindu's and the Moslems in Freedom at Midnight, in the sense that they don't generally mingle with each other, however they live in the same place and look at one another.   In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, there is also a social hierarchy within this mental clinic.

We can tell the time period of this book because Eisenhower was mentioned several times, and the craziest of all the people are considered to vote for Eisenhower.  He was a Republican, and the thirty-fourth president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1951.

It surprised me how Chief Bromden didn't' even make one action when the two men were prodding at him, and making fun of him.  I believe that this far into the story, he can hear, although the people in the Cuckoo's Nest seem to think that he is deaf.  Maybe it appears that he is not deaf because the Chief watches carefully every single person that is in the hospital.

Hate is the resounding theme throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest.  Hate reappears throughout the chapter, reappears because the Nurse wants the black aids and the doctors to hold so much inner hate within them that one day their pipes could burst and no one will dare speak to them ever again.  Hate bounces off Chief Bromden because he wants to love.  It is written that he had love in his childhood with his father.  He does not want to hurt anyone, or hurt himself because he just doesn't possess the hate to do so.  He won't scream when he is being captured or held "hostage." The other patients are taught to hate one another and write secret confidential facts in the "logbook" where people confess things they shouldn't, so the nurse is aware of it.