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.
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