Dear all,
1. Read from p.3 to p.24 of Part 1.
2. Comment on your first impressions, making specific references to the text (with page number and location of extract- sentence, paragraph, word or phrase).
Please sign your post.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
1. Read from p.3 to p.24 of Part 1.
2. Comment on your first impressions, making specific references to the text (with page number and location of extract- sentence, paragraph, word or phrase).
Please sign your post.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe book tells the story in a way that is very surreal. In the beginning, the book attempts to make a strong impression by giving great metaphors for everybody, toning it down and becoming more tame as the book goes on in order to make things clearer. For example in page 4, in the very beginning the book, the author creates a very negative image of the inhabitants of the ward. The "Black boys" are described as "machinery, humming hate and death (...)" their small group creating a device of malice with each individual acting as a gear. In reality this is probably just a group of men talking to each other, but the imagery creates a perspective where reality is warped to a very negative outlook, exploring the protagonists attitudes and views.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way(surreal) about the story. Did the extensive narrative manner in which the story is told and use of third person contribute to this?
DeleteBromden sees society as a giant machine which he calls the Combine. In page 5 when he describes Big Nurse, a metaphor is being used “she blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big a load” (p. 5). i found that when he describes her physical appearance it refers to machinery when he gestures that they are "precise, automatic" and "her face is smooth, calculated, and precision-made"
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ReplyDeleteMy first impressions were that the author is trying to help the readers get the idea of what goes through the mind of a mental patient by telling the story from Chief Bromden’s point of view; I feel that he describes most things as big and he also describes some characters like some sort of machine such as the description of Big Nurse on pg.5, “She blows up bigger and bigger, big as a tractor, so big I can smell the machinery inside the way you smell a motor pulling too big a load.” The description about McMurphy on pg.10, “He sounds big. I hear him coming down the hall and he sounds big in the way he walks, and he sure don’t slide; He’s got iron on his heels and he rings it on the floor like horseshoes.” And about the Chronics on pg. 14, “What the Chronics are – or most of us – are machines with flaws inside that can’t be repaired ….”
ReplyDeleteThe very first thing I thought was "this guy is crazy" and throughout my reading so far I find it hard to believe and trust what Chief Bromden has to say. However the writer Ken Kesey has done cleverly is that he makes Chief Bromden pretend to be dumb and deaf so that everyone else disregards him, but in fact he is actually paying attention to them without them even knowing. Because of this, he becomes a more detailed narrator. Wether or not it is true or false he still is very descriptive in what he narrates.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression of the novel is that I was confused a bit by the gender of the main character at first as well as to who the “black men” were, I was not sure if they were patients or part of the staff at the hospital.
ReplyDelete“They showered me this morning at the courthouse and last night at the jail. And I swear I believe they’d of washed my ears for me on the taxi ride over if they coulda found the vacilities.” (Page 10) From this quote we can tell that R.P.McMurphy is a very loud and outgoing character. He seems to very much follow his own set of rules and refuses to follow what other people want him to do. We can also tell he is a very sarcastic man who likes to joke around a bit.
“Here’s the Chief. They soopah Chief fellas. Ol’ Chief Broom. Here you go, Chief Broom…” Stick a mop in my hand and motion to the spot they aim for me to clean today, and I go” (Page 3) From this quote we can assume that Bromden is almost the opposite of McMurphys character. He seems very quiet and just likes to get by without being noticed. He seems more reserved and introverted.
“The Chronics and the Acutes don’t generally mingle. Each stays on his own side of the day room the way the blacks want it.” (Page 17) This implies that the Oregon State mental hospital is a very strict and an inflexible place to be and the atmosphere seems very monochromatic.
My first impression of the book ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ was that the narrative voice strongly suggests negativity of the environment and sense of discomfort. Chief Bromden, the narrator, seemed very careful and intimidated by the characters which also made me unsettling as a reader. A reason for this was the description of the characters ‘black men’ and ‘Big Nurse’ through the use of metaphors in reference to machinery. The black men are described in the quotes “they got special sensitive equipment detects my fear” (pg3) and “Hum of black machinery, humming hate…” (pg4). The Big Nurse was described in the quote “Her face is smooth, calculate and precision-made… A mistake was made somehow in manufacturing…” The idea of portraying these characters as machinery, I think is to suggest that the characters are very inhumane: being calculative, unforgiving, strict, and inflexible. Also, the narrator’s focus on the description of these characters rather than the focus on the setting implies that the authorities of the place have the greatest impact on the narrator’s (or patient’s) uneasiness and feelings of negativity.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought of Chief Bromden was that he suffers from paranoia since the first section of the novel starts off with the line "They're out there" and it also becomes apparent later in the book. The fact that he views the society as "The Combine" is evidence of his paranoia and the description of how he refers to the combine intrigued me. "...eyes glittering out of the black faces like the hard flitter of radio tubes out of the back of an old radio." inferring that the employees are like threatening machines. He also fears that the electric shaver the orderlies use on him. "Im not sure of its one of those substitute machines and not a shaver till it gets to my temples." Lastly, he hallucinates that The Combine form a thick cloud which he describes as "The fog".
ReplyDeleteMy first impression of the book was the suprising machine-like manner the nurse was described by the chief. This is seen on page 6 "Her face was smooth, calculated and precision-made, like an expensive baby doll, skin like flesh colored enamel, blend of white and..." and "A mistake was made somehow in manufacturing" The use of the word manufacturing indicate a lack of life in an aspect of the nurse's life and foreshadows perhaps her character traits revealed later in the novel. In addition to this, she is described much like a doll with a lack of blemishes in her appearance, which adds to her strict demeanour. Furthermore, the use of the word 'calculate' suggest that there was a strict certainty and control in her facial expressions which further a lack of expressiveness causing it difficult for the reader to 'read' her. The purpose of these descriptions I believe is to develop the character's profile and to establish a strict and morbid atmosphere in association with the nurse.
ReplyDeleteThe book has a very unordinary and strange beginning, as it feels we enter one of the minds of a patient inside the hospital. It begins with vast exaggeration, with the use of metaphors to describe the surroundings and the other characters. We instantly see this on the first page as we see the narrator say, “They got special sensitive equipment detects my fear and they all look up, all three at once, eye glittering out of the black faces like the hard glitter of radio tubes out of the back of an old radio.” This is what the narrator believes made him get found but in reality, he was probably sneaking in plain sight and was seen by the 3 men. It shows his beliefs of the matter and what he believes is occurring in reality, giving us a good view on the different perspectives. And gives a question of are we insane? Or are they insane? Which reality is real?
ReplyDeleteMy first impressions were, confusion and a sense of unease as the first few sentences and paragraphs are different and quite complex, making it hard to understand early on as you are taken into the perspective of the main character/narrator Chief Bromden. As you are taken through his mind and the hallucinations he sees, the way people's physical appearances are to him you start to question the reliability behind what he says and sees. The big nurse is seen to be robotic and huge to him, with her systems all in control and mind focused all the time with her perfect system and unflawed. The hallucinations he visualizes, brings him away from reality but also reflects the personalities and traits of different characters and the way "the insane" are treated in the institution.
ReplyDelete