PART 3!!

The novel seems to be moving fairly quickly now and there is a lot of new information that develops.  When Bromden talks to McMurphy by accident, he ends up revealing a lot of information about his past.  I think that McMurphy sparked a memory of his father when he offered him the gum.  When he is talking he discusses much about his childhood and how the Native community he lived in, and how people came to talk to his father about buying the land.  He also refers to the Combine again, and how his people were treated poorly, and the ones who wanted to purchase the land were making fun of the places they lived in, basically stating they weren’t fit to be occupied.  Although a valid point was made that their houses were cooler than the people that lived in “normal houses”, so instead of judging one culture’s way of life, it should have been embraced for their intelligence. 

            

            I wish I could retract a statement that I made at the beginning of the study of this novel.  I said that I thought that the Native-American population should be cut off from their government benefits.  I also stated that they didn’t deserve it and that they needed to get over what had happened in the past.  This passage in the novel has definitely given me a different perspective on the Native-American society.  Bromden’s statements about what was going on in that time really opened my eyes as to how they may have felt during that time, as well as today.  I was selfish, and didn’t really consider how people may have had their entire lives turned upside down, all because of the “white man’s” wish to expand to aid their population growth, completely disregarding another culture’s way of life.  I didn’t even think that Native-Americans have constantly had to change how they have been living for many, many years, and the impact that it has had on them.

          

             I am glad that the government still does support the Native-Americans such as giving them benefits, as well as respecting their hunting permits, and giving them their Native Status card to further make their lives a bit easier.  I think that it’s great that they still try and protect their culture, although there has already been an enormous change compared to how everything used to be.  The only thing that I disagree with is when people abuse these benefits that are given to them.  I think that if they are used in the ways that they are intended that it is a wonderful thing. I disagree when people take advantage of the fact that extra bonuses are given to them to help them.  It does slightly anger me when people who aren’t Native-American may have to work extra hard to get where they want to be, without extra assistance ever even being an option for them.  Other than that I hope in the years to come, that the Native civilization continues to be preserved, and does not become a memory of what it used to be. 

PART 2 - pages 152 -218

The second part of the novel becomes a lot more interesting as the characters are much more developed. I love how Chief Bromden develops and evolves with the help of McMurphy.  It’s really touching to see that there is compassion and caring that is emitting from McMurphy and that he is actually starting to care a lot more about the well being of others.  I believe this is based on the fact that McMurphy had discovered that he wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon, and so he had to make the best of it.  This relates back to the religious theme of Christ, as when they go fishing there are 12 of them, which compares to Jesus and his 12 disciples.  Jesus was a compassionate man and cared about others, and it shows it is demonstrated in McMurphy, as well that he is a tragic hero.  It is also shown that Chief Bromden is talking, all thanks to McMurphy just being there, open to whatever needs to be said.  I believe there is a certain amount of foreshadowing that has taken place, but I do think that something bad will be happening in the future as Nurse Ratched has been far too reserved. 

           

I think that people having compassion for others, and trying to make light of a negative or otherwise dull situation makes a lot of changes to an individual or group’s outlook on life.  Many people don’t realize the effects that a kind word or gesture has on someone, especially if you had no idea they may be going through.  I have faith that if everybody took a moment in their busy lives to consider someone else’s feelings for once, the world would be a much better place.  I personally have been trying to make an effort to do this, and it makes you feel great when you can see the impact (whether big or small) that it can have on somebody’s life.  You may also just be satisfied that you are reaching out and not staying closed off in your own selfish world.

          

  You could definitely say that looking at the aspect of mental health in the world, doctors usually just to try to perscribe medication to solve the problem.  Maybe this should be re-evaluated?  Maybe an individual with mental health problems really just needs someone to pay attention to them, to take time out of their day to actually listen and care about the issues they are having, instead of sticking to the 5 minute time slot.  If someone took the time to actually see the improvement in a patient’s behaviour and/or feelings, and it was legitimately done without any medication, the difference that it would make would be enormous.  Individual’s with mental health problems don’t need to be shunned because they need help; they need to be accepted and given an opportunity to actually try and deal with the problems or demons that have been in their lives.  I think that a lot of the mental health problems stem from something underlying in the subconscious of that person’s mind, and it bothers them so much that they can’t make it go away, and so it transforms into a different problem, rather than what it was in the beginning.

Part 2- pages 152-218

pages 9-77

In the first part of the novel, we are introduced to Chief Bromden, a massive Native-American that fought in the Vietnamese war.  He is an antagonist in the story, and it's interesting to take a look into his perceptions of what he thinks the institution is like, as well as getting an understanding that he is smarter than he appears.  I think that it is great that he pretends to be deaf and dumb becausalthough he has mental issues, he is actually aware of what is going on most of the time.  I disliked the fact that he was mocked and made fun of for being Native-American, although it is ironic because the aides that made fun of him were black, which was also an oppressed population at the time.  I liked the comparison of him comparing Big Nurse to a tractor, which is quite true if you look at in a different perspective, as she plows over everyone to maintain order and control.  It is great when McMurphy is introduced into the story, as he makes a gloomy environment entertaining.  The mentioning that the ward hadn't heard a laugh like his in years, demonstrates what kind of situation they were all trapped in, not to mention that it wouldn't have been a very pleasant stay.     I noticed that the patients had very few civil rights in this institution, and it is crazy how much things have changed in institutions nowadays. Society is more concerned about an individual's rights, and back  then it was more or less up to the doctor or nurse in charge, and the patient's wants or needs were pretty much almost completely disregarded.  I think the theme sanity vs. insanity has appeared, and the Kesey is trying to state that people who act crazy are sometimes more crazy than those declared "crazy" by a psychiatrist.  A prime example of this is McMurphy who thinks by making himself look crazy and getting committed, can get out of labouring away at a farm to finish his sentence.  I think this is foreshadowing some events to come, as McMurphy doesn't really know what he has gotten himself into.  I also thought it interesting that McMurphy tries to dominate everyone as soon as he gets there, and his cockiness may get him into trouble at some point.  I can see him trying to manipulate others to try and get his own way.  Something I don't like is when they are talking in the group meetings, and they gang up on the individual up for questioning.  I think that Nurse Ratched uses this as an opportunity to demean and emasculate the individuals, one at a time, but what makes it worse is that it's not coming from her it's directly from the peers.  This also demonstrates a gang mentality that she sets up, and I think that it's absolutely ludicrous that things like that were allowed to go on.  I think it could be very damaging to the characters in the moment, as well as later on in the novel.

Pages 77-151

A general overview of this section is the turning point of McMurphy vs. Big Nurse.  The story unfolds with the protagonist vs. the antagonist, and McMurphy is very clever in going about it, by influencing the men surrounding him to wield his power.  The theme "anti-feminism and the superiority of males" is starting to take place, as McMurphy is slowly turning the tables on Nurse Ratched, by deviating against her but not completely as to not get into trouble (for the most part).  It also demonstrates the theme of the power of laughter, as McMurphy continually laughs and makes jokes at Big Nurse and the aides, and takes nothing they say seriously. This is going against the  movement of feminism that is happening in the 1960's, but it is fitting that the antagonist is the dominant female figure in the novel, as it allows her to fully demonstrate power and control over the men by emasculating them.  She does this by picking out their weaknesses and exposing them in the group sessions, as well as using the three aides as her minions.  There is another source of imagery that I found interesting, which is when the author refers to Big Nurse's torturing as comparing to the crucifixion of Jesus.  I think there may be a hint of foreshadowing with this, as I interpreted it as McMurphy being Jesus as he has been portrayed as the light of the institution.  Whereas Nurse Ratched can be seen as Satan and the ward can be depicted as some sort of hell.  There is also proof in the text that Ratched is a control freak, with her actually stating it in the quote "You are under the jurisdiction of me... the staff,"(pg.144) when McMurphy is making a stand defying her because she won't let them watch the game.  I also think that the narration of Chief makes a lot more sense now that it has been revealed that the fog that is shown is from his memory of being in Vietnam, in combat with the smoke machines.  His analogies and interpretations of the different characters in the ward change a lot as well, and I find it hard to keep up with sometimes.  I also find it annoying when he is going in and out of hallucinations, as it distracts me from the main points of the story at times, and I have to re-read things.  I also found it kind of repulsing that they were using shock treatment so frequently, as a means of punishment.  I think that it is quite sad that this is how many people were treated in the 1960`s in these mental institutions.  It shows the lack of comprehension of the many diseases that exist, and that many people had to suffer before the proper treatment was discovered.