May I have my Cigarettes please, Nurse Ratched?

Perhaps one of the most exciting times in the novel is when McMurphy punches through the glass to get back his cigarettes. It marked the breaking of the barrier between the nurses power and the rest of the ward. It was also McMurphy's first physical form of protest against the nurse and her unfair treatment to those on the ward. This important turning point in the book was also by far my favorite moment. I was able to find the movies depiction of the scene. The movie doesn't exactly follow the book, but it does a good job. In the movie, Cheswick makes a big scene about how he really wants his cigarettes. To get Cheswick to calm down, McMurphy punches through the Nurse's glass window. This gets him into a fight with the black aides, and the Chief even gets involved. The scene is very well done.
Watch the Video Here.

McMurphy's Rage

One turning point in the book that interested me is when McMurphy uses physical actions against the nurse, in lieu of using his words to attack her in a way. Billy's suicide effects McMurphy because two people in the ward have killed themselves, and some would argue that it is McMurphy's fault. they were both his friends, and they both looked up to him. The last thing that sets off McMurphy is when Nurse Ratched tells McMurphy it is his fault that Bill slit his own throat. He physically lunches out at her and chokes her until he is pulled off. In the clip below, it shows how McMurphy's rage against the Nurse is finally let out, which results in unpleasant consequences.

I Am The Walrus With Lyrics

This song by the Beatles is known for its psychedelic lyrics. Though many believe these lyrics were wrote completely at random descending from drug intoxication, they were actually somewhat thought out. The lyrics stem from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and The Carpenter," which hints on the controlling of a societal system as well as the capitalist system. This directly connects to the Combine in Cuckoo's Nest.



In the poem, the Walrus is depicted as the villain with the Carpenter as the protagonist. Interestingly, John Lennon mixed the two characters up as villain and protagonist when writing his lyrics. Thus, he wrote "I am the Walrus" though it should have been "I am the Carpenter."

McMurphy's Mixtape

I was really interested in getting into the minds of our characters from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Along the way, I stumbled upon this really interesting article that created a mix-tape for the late Randle McMurphy during his time on the ward. I listened to each of the songs and read the lyrics and these songs really depict McMurphy's thought process throughout his time in the ward and what he was probably musically feeling at certain points in the novel. Take a listen to a few and draw some parallels if you would like!

McMurphy's Mixtape Article

Mac DeMarco // "Ode to Viceroy" (OFFICIAL VIDEO - YouTube

So many cigarette references in the book I just had to add this song

The Chief Succeeding

When I was reading the last few pages of Cuckoo's Nest, I found it very interesting that McMurphy was providing the patients with hope and not succeeding himself; however, in the end the Chief succeeds for both himself and McMurphy. Throughout the novel McMurphy is seen as a powerful male figure who provides the other patients with hope for change on the ward. He also helped them to find courage at different times which helped them to each be heard by the nurse and the Combine. He tried many courageous acts like defying the nurse, trying to lift the control panel, and actually taking them fishing. Although McMurphy was not able to follow through with his planned escape the night with the two girls, Chief Bromden was the one who defied the nurse by successfully lifting the control panel all the way, and escaping the ward the way McMurphy was supposed to.

The link below is a scene from the One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest movie. This particular scene is when Chief Bromden successfully escapes the ward. 

When I was searching for something to submit to the blog I stumbled upon this quote, "Man, when you lose your laugh, you lose your footing." (Ken Kesey)

This quote caught my attention because Mr.McMurphy seems to be infatuated with laughter, and immediately notices that there is an absence of laughter in the ward. However, through perseverance and dedication, McMurphy prompts laughter amongst the patients, and by the end they are all laughing and making jokes.

Charles Manson: counter culture maniac

As I said today in class, I've been really into a podcast called "You Must Remember This" by a woman named Karina Longworth. She does a multi-part series on Charles Manson and his cult, looking at their role in the late 1960s counter culture of California. He and his "family" provide an interesting antithesis to Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters since Manson often used hallucinogens to manipulate the women in his cult and take advantage of them (of course under the pretense of opening their minds). Charles Manson is a fascinating megalomaniac, and I'd suggest listening to all of the episodes, but if you want to listen to just one or two, focus on any of the first three that focus on Manson (episodes 44-47). You can find them for free on iTunes here. Or, you can go to the webpage for her podcast here.

Mental Hospital Timeline

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nash/timeline/timeline2.html

This is an article that gives a brief timeline of mental hospitals in the US.  As we know in the book, the patients are subjected to electroshock therapy and other controversial treatments.  I thought this timeline was interesting because it shows the advancement of the treatment of mental patients over time.  They have been progressively treated more humanely.

Sheep in Fog

I found that this poem by Sylvia Plath made an interesting connection between The Bell Jar and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. The poem's subject, as well as the title, seem to strongly symbolize the condition of the patients on the ward.

Sheep in Fog:

The hills step off into whiteness.
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.

The train leaves a line of breath.
O slow
Horse the color of rust,

Hooves, dolorous bells ----
All morning the
Morning has been blackening,

A flower left out.
My bones hold a stillness, the far
Fields melt my heart.

They threaten
To let me through to a heaven
Starless and fatherless, a dark water.

Ken Kesey takes the Grateful Dead on a field trip

This is a short video from a documentary about Kesey's attempt to write a ballet with the Grateful Dead. It contains an interesting reference to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Does the Nurse represent LSD?

The following excerpt is taken from Encyclopedia.com (sections I found important are colored red) 

Could Ken Kesey's experience with LSD have had particular influence on The Chief in his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? The Chief is schizophrenic and we often are shown his strange, often confusing interpretations of the world, distorted like a person's perception during a "trip" (the period of time under LSD's effects). Also, the Chief has mentioned the ward's clock and how it seems to move slowly or quickly as the Nurse wishes; LSD can make "time appear to move very slowly". Lastly, injuries and pain from LSD are not attributed to its direct effects but reactions "ensuing from the intense LSD-triggered illusions". In this way, does the Nurse represent LSD, manipulating the experiences and sensations of the ward? Does her control elicit reactions from the patients, causing punishments, and thus the patients' fear, to occur "from the panicked reactions ensuing from" the Nurse's 'fog'?______________________________________________________________________________

Description

LSD is produced synthetically from a fungus that grows on rye grass. This odorless, colorless, and slightly bitter-tasting chemical is generally ingested orally and absorbed from the gastrointestinal system. Manufacturers commonly distribute LSD in small squares of absorbent paper soaked with the drug, which users chew and swallow. Use of LSD and other hallucinogens by secondary school students has decreased since 1998, but has increased among older teens and young adults attending dance clubs and all-night raves, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

LSD alters perceptions by disrupting the action of the neurotransmitter serotonin, although precisely how it does this is unclear. Studies suggest LSD acts on certain groups of serotonin receptors, and that its effects are most prominent in two brain regions: the cerebral cortex and the locus ceruleus. The cerebral cortex is involved in mood and perception, and the locus ceruleus receives sensory signals from all areas of the body. Natural hallucinogens resembling LSD, such as mescaline and psilocybin, have been used in social and religious rituals for thousands of years.

After its discovery in 1938, LSD was used experimentally to treat neuroses, narcotic addiction, autism, alcoholism, and terminally ill cancer patients, and to study the mechanisms of psychotic diseases like schizophrenia. Nearly 30 years after its discovery, manufacture, possession, sale, and use of LSD was restricted in the United States under the Drug Abuse Control Amendment of 1965.

LSD's effects generally begin within an hour of taking the drug and last for up to 12 hours. The drug is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and circulated throughout the body and to the brain. It is metabolized in the liver and excreted in the urine about 24 hours after ingestion. Physical effects of LSD may include loss of appetite, sleeplessness, pupil dilation, dry mouth,salivation, palpitations, perspiration, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, and anxiety, as well as increased body temperature, heartbeat, blood pressure, and blood sugar.

The major effects of LSD are emotional and sensory. Emotions may shift instantaneously from euphoria to confusion and despair, and users may feel as if they are experiencing several emotions simultaneously. Colors, smells, and sounds may be highly intensified, and time may appear to move very slowly. Sensory perceptions may blend in a phenomenon known as synesthesia, in which a person sees sounds, or smells colors, for example. Users may have out-of-body sensations, or may perceive their body has changed shape or merged with another person or object.

Precautions

Unlike cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, alcohol, and nicotine, LSD is not considered addictive, but it is considered dangerous; users are at risk for several short- and long-term side effects. LSD's effects are unpredictable and may vary with the amount ingested and the user's personality, mood, expectations, and surroundings. Users may experience enjoyable sensations on some "trips," and terrifying feelings of anxiety and despair on others. Most LSD-related deaths stem not from the LSD's physical effects on the body, but from the panicked reactions ensuing from intense LSD-triggered illusions.

Mad World by Gary Jules

This variation of Mad World by Gary Jules I think really fits with the book. The lyrics, "all around me are familiar faces..." at the beginning of the song, really seemed accurate to the Chief and his fishbowl-like perspective. It's very appropriate to the quote when the Chief says, "I've seen a million faces like it" (78)