Dear all,
1. Read from p.75 to p.90.
2. Post a journal entry on one focus you have NOT yet discussed.
Thank you all.
Mrs Gougeon
1. Read from p.75 to p.90.
2. Post a journal entry on one focus you have NOT yet discussed.
Thank you all.
Mrs Gougeon
(Page 80, 5th paragraph) "But if they don't exist, how can a man see them?"
ReplyDeleteThis line is said by Chief Bromden without being under medication. It took place right after Bromden experienced a nightmare and he was restless. The chief has a mixed reality where the things he imagines are in fact true but he sees them in a way other people can't. The dream did not physically happen but it exists and it's real. This line also relates back to when Bromden described Big Nurse. He said that she was this giant machine who carries around wires and gears in her bag to control them. Obviously, Big Nurse is not really a machine but she acts like one. She has perfectly calculated movements and her 'perfect' look that allows her to control the patients. She does not install wires and gears into the patients, instead she installs fear.The Chief can see this but in a slightly different way. This shows that there isn't a line between reality and imagination.
Page 88
ReplyDelete6th line: “You guess! –What do you think!”
The passage I picked is when Nurse Ratched sees McMurphy in a towel and discovers that none of the black boys had informed him that he needed to pick up new clothes. She then reacts by speaking to the black boy that is in charge of telling the patients that morning. I picked this section as I think a completely different side to Nurse Ratched is displayed here. A side to her she has not shown up until this point in the story. Through this section her character is seen to be pleasanter and more sympathetic towards her patients and it is the first time we have seen her to have a major impact in the work that goes on in the institution. Her character is developed through the use of language in this passage and they way in, which she speaks to the black boys. The language she uses in the way she speaks to the black boys in the passage is how she is usually portrayed. The first line in the passage “You guess! You’ll do more than guess! You’ll get him his uniform this instant, Mr. Washington, or spend the next two weeks working on Geriatrics Ward!” this quote uses both language as well as punctuation to emphasis that she is bothered by the lack of care that has been given to the patient. Later on in the passage it says “who do you think would be scouring the hall all day? Mr. Bromden here? No, you know who it would be.” This quote indicates to us that she does grasp that the black boys are abusing Mr. Bromden and she takes on her responsibility as a the head nurse. Through the passage she is seen to take control of her authority and provides the patients with decent treatment and this allows us to then question her and her care for the patients because although she has been described as very mechanical and inconsiderate up until now this passage states otherwise.
“when she rumbles past she’s already big as a truck, trailing what wicker bag behind in her exhaust like a semi being a Jimmy Diesel” – page 85, line 30
ReplyDeleteIn this passage metaphors and figuarative language are used as Big Nurse is being compared to a truck by Chief Bromden. The use of figurative language in this passage and in quite a lot of the novel is very effective as it describes Big Nurse through comparison of the truck. It helps elaborate the message and provides greater detail making it more imaginative and picturesque for the reader. ‘Truck’ also connects with the mechanical nature in the book and that’s why he has referred to her once again making her seem inhumane to the readers.
However, as Bromden has schizophrenia this cannot be reliable as what he thinks can be over exaggerated and twisted into his vision.
Pg.79, 2nd paragraph, “The worker takes the scalpel and slices up the front of old Blastic with a clean swing and the old man stops thrashing around. I expect to be sick, but there’s no blood or innards falling out like I was looking to see- just a shower of rust and ashes, and now and again a piece of wire or glass.”
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism in this passage is very strong as it shows, through the eyes of a schizophrenic, the workings of the human body and human behaviour. According to Chief Bromden, we humans are all just machines that get taken apart and “sliced” when we die. The image of “rust and ashes” being what we consist of is dark and powerful. It gives the impression of a burnt out, and overused machine which eventually deteriorated into nothing. The “piece of wire or glass” seems to represents the few exciting moments and ‘sparks’ or life we actually enjoy and remember which makes up some of what we end up as. This passage is moving and affects the reader in the way that they begin to reflect upon themselves and it also shows that only one “clean swing” of a scalpel we can be reduced to nothingness. Another aspect of this passage which got to me is that after it, Blastic really does end up dead even though the reader has to assume that this is a dream of Chief Bromden’s due to him not taking his medicine. This passage explores the symbol of death and life and the human intricacies which make up who we are. The scalpel symbolises death and the fact that the old man “stops thrashing around” symbolises that he is finally at peace. The “rust and ashes” are the inner workings of a worn out and destroyed dead person and the “piece of wire or glass” is the meagre bit of life left in them and perhaps the memories of their youth.
From page 84, first line.
ReplyDeleteTo page 84, line 22 “…not many men could.”
In this passage McMurphy looks like he is higher authority to the black boy. This is noticed by the other Acutes including Chief Bromden. This is different to the normal social hierarchy of the big nurse being on top, then the black boys, then the patients. In this case, the authority has changed to McMurphy. He has gained this power from his informal register and playful/condescending tone. When the black boy says the toothpaste is locked up, McMurphy’s response is longwinded and does little to progress. He does this intentionally which gives him control over the conversation topic. He used this skill earlier when we saw him gambling, persuading the other players. The black boy knows McMurphy is different so he doesn’t respond with the same sarcasm. This gives McMurphy the higher authority.
This is strange to everybody because this doesn’t happen often, someone standing up without being pushed back down. Since the story is told from Chief Bromden, we see it from the perspective of the Acutes. The black boys still have authority over the Acutes but, because McMurphy is supposedly a patient like them, they feel as if they are level with McMurphy, who has just fooled with authority. We know from the passage that the black boy is higher up the ladder because we see him shouting at Chief Bromden.
From the passage he says, “There! Damm you, right there! That’s where I want you workin’…” where he gives orders to Chief Bromden in a demanding way. The way the black boy talks to Chief Bromden is contrasting to how he talks to McMurphy. When talking to McMurphy, he is less aggressive and more passive while with Chief Bromden he is demanding and forward. This can foreshadow the power shift from the staff to the patients through McMurphy’s countering personality and also gives hope to the patients and reader.
(page82, last paragraph) “He’s got his cap on and not much else…they’d be friends all their lives.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage is on the description of McMurphy when he comes out of the latrine wearing a towel around his hips instead of his uniform. The focus of this passage is the character development of McMurphy. It is suggested that he is very carefree and nearly child-like. This is conveyed through the descriptions of his actions such as “rocking up on his toes to keep off the cold tile as much as he can” and “whaps him on the shoulder just like they’d been friends all their lives”. He is portrayed to be loud, confident, free and uncontrollable. It is obvious that not being properly dressed in given clothing is against the rules. However, despite being nearly naked, he is neither embarrassed nor careful about how he’s portrayed or judged. Also, he seems very comfortable with the environment and the people who are in it such as the nurses. This well-noticeable portrayal of McMurphy makes the readers question his role and impact as the story progresses.
pg 79 line 4
ReplyDelete"I expect to be sick but there's no blood or innards falling out like i was looking to see- just a shower of rush and ashes, and now and again a piece of wire or glass."
Bromden’s hallucination is everything that he fears about the Combine. The ash and rust that come out of Blastic’s body shows that he’s not even a person anymore after being in the hospital but more like a tool of the Combine. His gruesome dream where he sees one of the patients, Blastic, is being cut open and he thinks that he is used as an experiment. Whenn Turkle wakes him up from the bad dream and he finds out that Blastic dies. It is evident how Chief Bromden has been taking the red capsule for a long time but then abruptly gives it up which shows that it does not definitely mean he is crazy. Additionally, the fact that he did not take his medication shows how he wishes to follow Mc Murphy and since he is not taken in by The Combine, he probably thinks by not taking the red capsule, he can perhaps escape from it and the power they have.
(Pg. 80, paragraph 4 , line 7) "...if i was a fool enough to try and tell anybody about it they'd say, Idiot, you just had a nightmare; things as crazy as a big machine room down in the bowels of a dam where people get cut up by robot workers don't exist."
ReplyDeleteThis passage suggests that perhaps the reason why Chief Bromden chooses to stay silent and pretends he is deaf is because he feels that people will judge him and call him a "fool" or an "idiot" if he tells them about the things he sees. Here, Chief Bromden mentions that people might tell him that, "things as crazy as a big machine room down in the bowels of a dam where people get cut up by robot workers don't exist", yet all these things do exist to him as they are his reality, especially when he isn't under medication. The diction of sanity such as, "fool", "idiot" and "crazy" makes us think about whether or not we would believe Chief Bromden if he tells us the things he sees. I feel that this passage allows the readers to empathize with Chief Bromden because it shows that he feels a lack of care and hospitality from the people around him. This leads him to keeping his thoughts to himself which may distort his perception of reality even more.
page 83 line 25 "Uh-huh, uh-huh. I think I can see what you're drivin at: ward policy is for those that can't brush after every meal."
ReplyDeleteThis is when McMurphy asks an orderly for some toothpaste and he replies him with saying its ward policy to lock up the toothpaste. The toothpaste in the incident represents the patients at the hospital. They are locked up like the toothpastes because it is simply "ward policy" and McMurphy shares the same reaction as the reader in this part of the story. The reader is left thinking what could be the harm of letting the patient have some toothpaste, but if we dig deeper we realise that if ward policy is not enforced or followed then anything could happen. This is shown when McMurphy tells the orderly "I can see why that would be a real big problem. Why, people might be brushing their teeth at 6:10 or 6:20. They might even be brushing their teeth at 6:00!"
This represent the anarchy in McMurphy's mind and may foreshadow the outcome of his plan to make Big Nurse angry.
pg78 2nd paragraph line 3 "Right away I see what's straight above us- one of those trestle affairs like you find in meat houses, rollers on tracks to move carcasses from the cooler to the butcher without much lifting." This quote takes place when Chief Bromden is having a nightmare where he doesn't take his red pill. He begins to "hallucinate" in his own dream (though these are just conjured images from his sub-conscious). The imagery used here creates a macabre atmosphere and tone as butchering correlates with the notation of a gruesome death, this could be used as foreshadowing for future events in the book. This is done through diction. Chief describes the meat of the butchered animals as "carcasses" instead of food, by doing this we see the meat in a more sinister perspective, allowing us to then also associate the surroundings with the meat as being just as unnerving.
ReplyDelete“It is dark my lord, and I hear them slipping around in their rubber shoes; twice they peek in the dorm and rush a flashlight over everybody.” Page 75 Line 33
ReplyDeleteThis quote gives a strong image of how the security of the asylum is, the dark oppressive aura that is emitted throughout the story. The beginning of the quote begins with a statement that gives a cultic vibe of people answering to a strong force that commands them. A strong sense of silence is shown as the character is able to hear rubber shoes just slipping around the room, and the feeling of isolation and security is increasingly shown as the only light is a rush, creating an image of a sentry patrolling and locking everyone down.
"Now she's madder and more frustrated than ever, madder'n I ever saw her get. Her doll smile is gone, stretched tight and thin as a red-hot wire." pg 87, paragraph 5, line 2
ReplyDeleteIn the following passage, McMurphy has come out of the shower without any clothing except a towel around his waist. Nurse Ratchet then attempts to question the reason behind his actions only to discover that it is a fault made by her very own staff. As a result, Chief witnesses her loose her composure as she is unable to control the situation. The purpose of the following passage I believe is for the plot development of McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet. This is because we witness two opposing forces as Nurse Ratchet treats the situation with seriousness whilst McMurphy treats the situation with triviality. This is a critical point in the novel as we see the nurse loose her composure and abandon her stringent behavior. The author emphasizes this successfully in an informal manner through the repetition of the word ‘ madder’ twice in a sentence. In addition to this, the author also uses a simile as he compares the nurse’s facial appearance to ‘a red-hot wire’. This allows the reader to visualize and have a firmer grasp on the situation.