The book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest written by Ken Kesey, talks about the story of two men who were committed to living in a mental hospital under condition of extreme control and oppression. The passage that is being analyzed talks about the moment at which one of the main characters, McMurphy, finally decides to react against the Big Nurse after a long period of obedience and resignation. With the discovery that it was the Big Nurse who controlled how much time he would spend in the ward together with the fact that most of the patients in the hospital were not committed, McMurphy felt betrayed and saw all of his plans being destroyed. Consequently, the man entered in a state of complete acceptance of the nurse’s actions, which gave impressions that everything was over and that the nurse had finally gained control over him. The fragment shows the exact moment where McMurphy comes back to his old character and reacts against the nurse and all of her plans. After this happening in the story, McMurphy begins to care much more about the situation of the other patients, who start to see him as a martyr. From this point, it becomes really clear that McMurphy has permanently taken control of the ward and of the Big Nurse.
The key themes that are expressed in this passage are Gambling, Power and Manipulation and Be a man. In addition, there is the use of many motifs and symbols such as Big and small, Machinery, the Glass window, and the Black Boys. To demonstrate and explain how the themes and motifs are developed in the passage, we will study the use of imagery created by the narrator, and the language used by the nurse.
Throughout the entire passage, it is possible to observe a clear predominance of the theme ‘Gambling’. This theme refers not only to the basic idea of gambling just for the sake of it, but it also to the way McMurphy behaves and thinks. In the segment, proofs of the existence and importance of the theme are given by the Chief’s descriptions and thoughts about the situations. “His eyes were blue stripped under those white eye-brown, and they shot back and forth just the way he watched cards turning up around a poker table”. This quotation was made by Chief Broomden as he portrayed how McMurphy was acting during the meeting. By simply observing the imagery and comparison that was used to describe McMurphy, it is already possible to perceive a strong relationship between the man’s actions and the idea of Gambling. Furthermore, the fact that McMurphy was calculating and reflecting about what he was going to do shows us how he always conducted himself as if he was in a poker game. McMurphy was thinking about his strengths and weaknesses, and in how the nurse was taking control over him and everyone else. In addition, he was trying to understand what the nurse had in her mind so that he could still use his ace and play his game. “I eased up…beginning to think I’d been wrong [that McMurphy would react]”. As it is expressed by the Chief, everyone was starting to lose confidence on McMurphy. Nevertheless, as it is done in a poker game, after giving hope to the opponents that they can still win the game, a good player comes back with a major strike that ends up with the hopes of their enemies.
Tied to the idea of enemies and games (battles) for power, there is also the theme Power and Manipulation. In the passage, as well as in the rest of the book, there is a constant battle for power and control over the ward. On one side, there is the Big Nurse and her methods of oppression and diminishment of the patients’ strengths, and on the other side, there is McMurphy with his ideals of freedom and individuality. Some examples of the battle for power can be: “It is entirely for your own good that we enforce discipline and order” and “This was supposed to be her final victory over him…here he comes as big as a house”. The first quotation was taken from the announcement that the nurse made to the patients at the end of the meeting. These words clearly expose how she tried to make the people around her feel guilty and sorry for their actions even if they did not do anything. This way of acting appears throughout the entire book and it is the main source of the Big Nurse’s control over ward. The second quotation is another description made by the chief as McMurphy approached the glass window. By analyzing the Chief’s words, we can see the existence of a battle for power between the nurse and McMurphy. With the fact that the nurse was expecting to have ‘her final victory’ and with McMurphy’s reaction, the readers are able to recognize all of the tension that existed between the two characters. Moreover, with the power that McMurphy gained after this moment, we can observe how decisive these battles were to define who would end up ‘taking control’ of the ward. In this quotation, there is also the use of a major reoccurring symbol in the book, which is related to being Big or Little and that figuratively shows the power of the characters over their opponents.
