Christine Witmer
English IV
Spring, 2009
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The ending of “One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has a bittersweet resolution. The very end is exciting, with the Chief busting out of the ward into the night. However, the fact that McMurphy ultimately looses to the system and become a victim of the lobotomy really got to me. All though the book, I thought that he could really win. Even though he didn’t win every “challenge” that the Nurse threw at him, I really felt that he would what it takes to beat her and the combine.
The fact that McMurphy delayed his escape to help Billy really showed me his true character. He knew the consequences of his actions and he stayed after to help his friend. This shows that McMurphy really didn’t care about himself, and he wasn’t just in the institution to “get something out” of the other patients. He sacrificed his escape, and really his sanity, to be with Billy, and I really admired that.
Looking back on it, I really cannot decide who really won, McMurphy or the combine and the nurse. Literally, the combine won because McMurphy was forced to receive his lobotomy and bend to the rules that were given to him. But instead of going down without a fight, the Chief busts him out right at the last minute, and in a very fitting fashion. By lifting up the water fixture, the training that he had done became full circle and everything fit into place.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (3)
Christine Witmer
English IV
Spring, 2009
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
On this blog I wanted to discuss the theme in the book regarding freedom. Sometimes I think that the book shows a bias. It seems that you can only be “free” or controlled by the combine. It also shows that if people choose to be “free”, than they are shunned by society and considered mentally unhealthy and thrown in an institution. I’m not sure how it was back in the sixties, but I feel that now, in this century, people have become more accepting of the “avant-garde” and conformity is not necessarily the most important thing.
When Chief Bromden is discussing the Combine, he makes it seem that it is the worst thing in the world, and that is a valid point. He says that if you begin to be controlled by the combine than your life is over, you become a person of the system, and I agree with that. However, I think that there aren’t just the two extremes, being free in the mind and being physically imprisoned, or being physically free but imprisoned in the mind. That’s one of the flaws of the book in my opinion. I think that people can find a happy medium and aren’t always put away for being different.
Maybe this book comes across like this because of the time period it was written in. Things back then were very different, especially with the treatment of the patients in the institution. Maybe back then it was those two extremes, and you had to choose which path you wanted to take. But I like to think that in these times, people are more accepting of people who are different.
English IV
Spring, 2009
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
On this blog I wanted to discuss the theme in the book regarding freedom. Sometimes I think that the book shows a bias. It seems that you can only be “free” or controlled by the combine. It also shows that if people choose to be “free”, than they are shunned by society and considered mentally unhealthy and thrown in an institution. I’m not sure how it was back in the sixties, but I feel that now, in this century, people have become more accepting of the “avant-garde” and conformity is not necessarily the most important thing.
When Chief Bromden is discussing the Combine, he makes it seem that it is the worst thing in the world, and that is a valid point. He says that if you begin to be controlled by the combine than your life is over, you become a person of the system, and I agree with that. However, I think that there aren’t just the two extremes, being free in the mind and being physically imprisoned, or being physically free but imprisoned in the mind. That’s one of the flaws of the book in my opinion. I think that people can find a happy medium and aren’t always put away for being different.
Maybe this book comes across like this because of the time period it was written in. Things back then were very different, especially with the treatment of the patients in the institution. Maybe back then it was those two extremes, and you had to choose which path you wanted to take. But I like to think that in these times, people are more accepting of people who are different.
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