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.