Big Nurse And McMurphy example essay topic

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest The significance of the title can be interpreted in this quote. The story is about a struggle in a psychiatric ward, where many 'cuckoos'; reside, 'Ting. Tingle, tingle, tremble toes, she's a good fisherman, catches hens, puts 'em in pens... wire bier, limber lock, three geese inn a flock... one flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest... O-U-T spells out... goose swoops down and plucks you out. ' ; This is where the title comes from, the cuckoo's nest being the psychiatric ward and McMurphy being the goose who plucks 'you'; out.

The author of this book is Ken Kesey, also author of Demon Box and Sometimes a Great Notion. Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado. He graduated from the University of Oregon, and later studied a Stanford. Kesey was head of a group called The Merry Pranksters, who traveled around the country staging happenings.

Kesey's playful attitude is reflected in the main character, McMurphy, who is often pulling pranks in the psychiatric ward. The oppression of society is a big theme in the novel. The narrator (Chief Bromden) often reflects on how the Combine is taking over. The Big Nurse is never happy unless there is complete order in her ward. She often holds group meetings, in which she belittles her patients to where they are merely rabbits, and not men. Often, when a patient would act inflammatory, she would place him in Disturbed.

There was always the threat of Electro-shock therapy, and even lobotomy. The only way to get out of the ward was if you gave up your personality and conformed to her rules. Most of the patients who are in the ward were forced there because of the oppression they faced outside of the hospital. Chief Bromden's father was the chief of his village.

The government was trying to push him off his land, and although he tried to maintain his way of life, his people were being bribed, and his wife would work on him too, until all he became was a drunk, inept man. Harding (another patient) committed himself because he couldn't take society's forefinger pointing at him, whilst millions chanted, 'Shame, shame, shame!' ; Even at the climax of the novel, McMurphy wasn't acting on his own. 'We couldn't stop him because we were the ones making him do it. It wasn't the nurse that was forcing him, it was our need that was making him push himself slowly up from sitting, his big hands driving down on the leather chair arms, pushing him up, rising and standing like one of those moving-picture zombies, obeying orders beamed at him from forty masters. It was us that had been making him go on for weeks, keeping him standing long after his feet and legs had given out, weeks of making him wink and grin and laugh and go on with his act long after his humor had been parched dry between two electrodes. ' ; So, even the patients, who had suffered the oppressions of society, became a society of their own, forcing McMurphy to stand up for them because they were too small to do it themselves.

Another theme in the novel is machinery taking over. Throughout the novel, Chief talks about implants and monitoring devices placed throughout the hospital. In his 'visions'; he pictures the Big Nurse as various types of machinery, 'So she really lets herself go and her painted smile twists, stretches to an open snarl, and she blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell motor pulling too big a load. ' ; Another theme is maintaining your humanity.

The oppression the Big Nurse wields over the patients, shrinks them down until they " re no longer human. 'No. You were right. You remember, it was you that drew our attention to the place where the nurse was concentrating her pecking?

That was true. There's not a man here that isn't afraid he is losing or has already lost his wham bam. We comical little creatures can't even achieve the masculinity in the rabbit world, that's how weal and inadequate we are. Hee.

We are- the rabbits, one might say, of the rabbit world. ' ; Before McMurphy entered the ward, most of the men were husks; they were so chagrined they wouldn't even laugh out loud. Major Characters McMurphy- Robust, strapping, humorous, and large, McMurphy is the main character of the novel. He manipulated the court system to get himself committed into the mental ward (to get out of a work sentence). His entrance into the ward sets off a whole chain of events, as he and the Big Nurse battle each other for the control of the ward. He sees the corruption and immoral acts binding the patients in the ward, and soon sets out to change them.

His character is often paralleled with Jesus. Indeed, he is a martyr for trying to save his people, but there are other hints too. The Shock Shop (Electro-shock therapy) is set up so, 'You are strapped to a table, shaped, ironically, like a cross, with a crown of electric sparks in place of thorns. ' ; In the end, McMurphy receives a lobotomy, and is later killed by Chief Bromden. He is almost a tragic hero, but after his operation, many of the patients leave the ward, since they are no longer rabbits.

Nurse Ratched a. k. a. Big Nurse- Controlling, apathetic, and cold, Nurse Ratched is the villain in the novel. She is in control of the ward, and has the fate of every patient in her hands. She soon butts heads with McMurphy, whose raucous ways soon turn the two into archenemies. Although she conquers over McMurphy, her control over the ward is gone, and in the end, most of the patients leave. Chief Bromden- Pretending to be deaf and dumb for over sixteen years, the Chief is the narrator of the novel.

His observations and input allow you to get to know the characters of the book. Throughout his stay in the ward, he was been sweeping his broom through secret staff meetings, hearing their secrets because they think he is deaf. It is not until McMurphy's arrival that he eventually speaks. Harding- The most intelligent patient on the ward, Harding offers the most insight on the way things work.

He committed himself because of his shame towards himself. He is an obvious intellect who helps McMurphy and the reader understand the reasons behind the Combine. Minor Characters Billy Bibb it- a stuttering thirty-year-old man, who has yet to break free of his mother. Eventually slits his throat.

Dr. Spivey- the doctor on the ward, he is completely controlled by the Big Nurse. The Black Boys- the lackeys of the Big Nurse, they are hired for their extreme hate towards the patients and are cruel to them every chance they get. Martini- a child-like patient who often hallucinates. Candy- a whore who is a friend of McMurphy's. She is the one who took Billy's virginity. Chiswick- drowned himself when McMurphy stopped sticking up for the patients.

The author uses the Chief to illustrate his ideas to the reader. The Chief's in sights help you understand the characters, and what goes on behind the patients' backs. Kesey also uses the actions of the characters to develop their personalities. Desert- The Chief grew up in a desert, which could imply death and hopelessness, because his father fought to keep it and the struggle made a shell of a man out of him. Fog- Throughout the novel, fog is used to symbolize unawareness and confusion amongst the patients. The fog often thickens or thins, depending on what is taking place in the novel.

The Chief once described McMurphy's goal as to lift the patients out of the fog. But they were afraid to leave it, because they would then be exposed. The Scar- McMurphy's scar on his nose, when he first comes in, is very bloody and deep. During his stay on the ward, his scar heals much like the emotional scars the patients possess. The Breasts- The Big Nurse has been very well endowed with enormous breasts. She tries to hide them the best she can, much like the way she hides her feminine side.

Breasts often represent motherly or comforting, even sexy. All of these things, are weaknesses to the Big Nurse. The Chief is the narrator of the novel. The effect this has on the novel is, you get the insight of a patient who is aware of the corruption around him. You gain information as he does, and you experience the events of the novel through him. The novel begins with a ward of patients, thoroughly whipped by society and the Big Nurse.

When McMurphy enters, all of that begins to change. The intended audience for this novel is probably literate, young adults to literate adults. The language is advanced, and some of the ideas are controversial, so if you " re closed minded, this book may not be for you. The story takes place in a modern psychiatric ward in the country. These are significant because, if the story took place in medieval times, there would probably be a lot more torture and mistreatment of the patients. A lot of the language is slang, which you develop from living in the country.

Either McMurphy or Nurse Ratched causes most of the events in the novel. The only role fate plays in the novel is when McMurphy arrives to that particular ward. The novel is relevant to our time because we can gain some insight from it. The novel illustrates the need of individuals in our society, and how you should always stand up for your unalienable rights. Conformists could learn a lot from this book.

Kesey uses many strong words that help illustrate his points. He also applies country dialect to the story, to help it seem more real to the reader. His chapters are usually short and there is a lot of action in the novel, so even those with a short attention span shouldn't get bored with this book. ' That's what they said to him.

He said, 'What can you pay for the way a man lives?' He said, ' What can you pay for what a man is?' They didn't understand. Not even the tribe. They stood out in the front of our door all holding checks and they wanted to tell them what to do now. They kept asking him to invest for them, or to buy a farm.

But he was too little anymore. And he was too drunk, too. The Combine whipped him. It beats everybody. It " ll beat you too. They can't have somebody as big as Papa running around unless he's one of them.

You can't see that. ' ; - Chief Bromden talking to McMurphy. This illustrates Kesey's idea of society beating you. Chief Bromden's father was one of the biggest men he ever knew, and the Combine killed him, in a way.'s he's too big to be beaten. She covers one whole side of the room like a Jap statue. There's no moving her and no help against her.

She's lost a little battle here today, but it's a minor battle in a big war that she's been winning and that she " ll go on winning. We mustn't let McMurphy get our hopes up any different, lure us into making some kind of dumb play. She " ll go on winning, just like the Combine, because she has all the power of the Combine behind her. She don't lose on her loses, she wins on ours.

To beat her, you don't have to whip her two out of three or three out of five, but every time you meet. As soon as you let your guard down, as soon as you lose once, she's won for good. And eventually we all got to lose. Nobody can help that.

' ; - Chief Bromden describing the Big Nurse. This quote helps illustrate the conflict between, not only the Big Nurse and McMurphy, but between the patients and society. ' No. No, listen. They don't bust you that way; they work on you ways you can't fight!

They put things in! They install things. They start as quick as they see you " re gonna be big and go to working and installing their filthy machinery when you " re little, and keep on and on and on till you " re fixed!' ; - Chief Bromden warning McMurphy. This quote illustrates the way the Combine can use machinery as a weapon to conquer you.

They don't just work on your mind, they work on your body too, with their installments. ' ; - Chief Bromden commenting on McMurphy's downfall. This quote illustrates the character of McMurphy. On what a martyr he was, to save the ward from themselves / by giving up his life. ' It's hard to locate my bed at night, have to crawl around on my hands and knees feeling underneath the springs till I find my gobs of gum stuck there. Nobody complains about the fog.

I know why, now; as bad as it is, you can slip back I it and fell safe. That's what McMurphy can't understand, us wanting to be safe. He keeps trying to drag us out of the fog, out in the open where we'd be easy to get. ' ; - Chief Bromden commenting on the fog.

This quote illustrates the fog, which symbolizes confusion and naivete of the patients. Ignorance is bliss to these people and it's hard for McMurphy to understand that. ' Old Rawer. Cut both his nuts off and bled to death, sitting right on the can in the latrine, half a dozen people with him didn't know it till he fell off to the floor, dead. What makes people so impatient is what I can't figure; all the guy had to do was wait.

' ; - Chief Bromden reflecting on the dead guy. This quote helps set the mood for the novel and many of the patients. They seem to possess a prison-like attitude, with scorn and cynicism. It also shows that the ward is not a nice place to live; kind of depressing.