"I been silent so long now it’s gonna roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It’s still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen" (Kesey). This quote is actually from the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, however it pertains to both A Separate Peace and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Hiren, I'm sure that you would understand this analogy. This is what Chief Bromden states immediately after proving to the mental hospital that he indeed has a voice, which disproves his life-long reputation of being both a deaf and mute human being. This is such a significant point in such a terrible story because when people are around Chief Bromden they believe that he can't hear what they are discussing. Thus the most vital and secretive conversations in the story center around the Chief and the concept that he can't hear them. This is where the "Sex Candy" part came from, because two of the characters were bragging about their past sex life (as you commented in your previous post).
The idea of "sex candy" also ties into the ideology that women are bad and negative figures in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Associating "sex" with "candy" by mentally insane is disturbing and another reason why I despised how Kenneth Kesey wrote his novel. Wait... does this book even deserve to be called a novel? The short answer: NO. Why? you might ask. The word "novel" originates from the Latin word "nov" which directly translates into modern English as "new." Because "novelty" has the prefix of "nov" and is a word of high regard and is often categorized with the word "novel," One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest should not be considered a novel. This "book" is more like a junkyard of words bound by a tragic attempt of a binding, where inside lie rotting and defiling pages. Between the two books, not one women (other than that of a prostitute in Kenneth Kesey's book) is portrayed in a positive light. This could be due to several reasons: because the authors of these books seemed to pull their experiences (or what they experienced under the influence of illegal substances) they probably did not have a positive history with women.
What do you think about this, Hiren? If neither Kenneth Kesey nor Jon Knowles associate women with positive adjectives, then do you believe that this could be due to either lack of female support in their early lives or simply lack of respect for women?
Hiren, you referred to the reaction of certain characters. I believe that the character who acted appropriately to countless situations--although I hate to admit because he starred in the book that I despise--was McMurphy. He was forcefully placed into this hospital when there was no need for him to be there and participate in those discussions. He moved on and accepted this fact that he was considered a "chronic" and there was no way for him to escape. Contrary to McMurphys' spirit and intuition that keep him going even when life handed him oranges and told him to make lemonade was Finny. Finny didn't want to accept that he was hurt, that he could no longer hope for a career in the military. He could no longer compete or--if Gene were writing this post--"beat" Gene, but rather stand (or sit) on the sidelines and pretend like he didn't care. Reality is, he cared. He cared so deeply that the photons of his care couldn't reach the outside of his skin in time to show his appreciation/disappreciation for that particular situation.
I believe that life is 20% what happens to you and 80% of how you react to what life throws at you. Because people are given so much leniency (or not) given their situation, I think that Finny should have stepped up. Gene should have as well. But McMurphy drove farther than the tsunami was going to hit, fully aware that it could land higher than anyone predicted. He was an intuitive character--he knew how to cheat the system. Not smart, but intuitive.
Hiren, I can't wait to hear what you say in your final post!!!
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