OFOTCN #3

1. Do you think McMurphy would have wanted the Chief to kill him?
        I believe that McMurphy would have rather died than be in the state that the Big Nurse left him in. He was so energetic and full of life that he was basically already dead before the Chief actually killed him. It was his nature to go against society and rebell and be an individual, and I believe that without this aspect of his personality he would not want to continue living. Being as competitive as he was, it became his ultimate goal to defeat the Big Nurse, and to live a life where his existence personified her terrible control over her patients would have been a living hell. I believe that he would have rather escaped into death than remain in his lobotomized prison.

2. What was the fog?
       I believe that the fog was what made the Chief truly insane. It was a combination of his own disorders and the medecine that was given to him. Throughout the story, he often mentions retreating into or coming out of his fog, which seems that the fog is his own universe that he regresses into during bouts of stress or insanity. This creation of a second reality or an extreme defense mechanism is common among schizophrenics, so it would make sense that the Chief would have one as well.

3. How evil is the Big Nurse?
      I saw that the Big Nurse was evil from the beginning. There was just something so insidious and malicious about her manner and system of control that I immediately disliked her. I could see how some people could see where she was coming from and how she might actually be trying to help the patients, but I believe that that persona was merely a guise for her true purpose, which is more sadistic and subtle. Through her unwavering routine and her obeying orderlies, she effectively destroyed what little humanity these poor men had left and created her own little totalitarian regime within the confines of her ward.

4. Why did Billy kill himself?
        Billy, one of the most likable characters in the story, has a revelation at the end of the book that causes him to kill himself. His death comes as such a shock to both the readers and the characters. I think that Billy killed himself because he realizes that the Big Nurse has more power over him than he could ever overcome and that she has abuse that power by making him one of her brainwashed patients. After experiencing a slice of real life, he realizes that the Big Nurse has destroyed almost everything that made such an experience possible. He comes to the conclusion that he would rather die than live in a world without these experiences, hence his suicide.

Cuckoo's Nest Blog 2

1. At the end of this section, the Big Nurse is definitely starting to crack under McMurphy's constant rebellion. His relentless attacks on here composure are beginning to take their tole on Nurse Ratchet. The clearest example of this is when McMurphy pretends to watch the World Series even though there is a blank TV screen (123). The nurse actually loses her temper and starts yelling at McMurphy in front of the rest of the patients. It is clear that McMurphy is starting to get at her.

2. The Chief still is a bit mysterious to me because he does not give very much insight about himself at this point in the book. He does seem to favor McMurphy in this conflict, and he adds to the story by giving an almost entirely removed and very observant perspective. McMurphy definitely gives the Chief confidence and makes him feel that he can stand up to the Big Nurse, such as when he raised his hand to watch the World Series.

3. I am definitely rooting for McMurphy. I not only like him, but I hate the nurse, so the fact that he opposes her and is a likable character makes me want him to win. I have disliked the Big Nurse since the first scene of the book where she reveals how mean she actually is by yelling at the orderlies and then immediately going back into that false passivity.