Jonelle's Thoughts

Journal entry #1
The beginning of the novel was confusing with the way it was being told through the eyes of Chief Bromden. Many of the things he recounts are questionable due to the nature of his illness and it’s difficult to tell what is really going on. He is schizophrenic and compares everyone and the mental hospital itself to machines all part of a combine, which creates a dark atmosphere over the already heavy subject matter. The treatment of the patients by the staff is also unsettling to read about, adding to the darkness. The novel does get considerably lighter when McMurphy is introduced. McMurphy is an interesting character who certainly helps to bring some humor into the novel so it isn’t completely depressing. He is someone who very much wants to be in charge and will bully his way to the top but in an indirect manner – through poker and gambling. McMurphy is a wanderer who does not want to stay in one place more than a few months, and who enjoys finding new people to beat in cards. So far it seems like him and the Big Nurse will be the two opposing forces in the novel and it will be interesting to see what develops for each of them. The novel is also very different from its movie adaptation in the way that the movie wasn’t as focused on Bromden as it was McMurphy. All of Bromden’s narrations and background information is discarded in favor of more information about McMurphy. The movie also portrays the patients as happier and silly more so than mentally ill. The tone between the two works is very different

Journal entry #2

The second quarter of the book was much easier and much more interesting to read. The story progresses mostly onto the actions of McMurphy and how it affects the ward. The novel really develops the conflict and struggle for power and control between McMurphy and the Big Nurse. It’s very interesting how McMurphy has started to be able to get the acute patients to back up his wants. It’s also fascinating to see the methods of persuasion and almost hypnosis he uses to get the acutes to do what he wants by the end of the second quarter. This section of the novel also reveals more of McMurphy’s character threw the Big Nurse’s description of him as a normal, selfish man who doesn't consider the other patient’s treatment schedule of feelings when he attempts change.

The highlight of the chapter is definitely the miniature protest by the patients and the staff meeting about McMurphy. It surprised me that McMurphy was actually able to get the acutes, and the ‘deaf’ Bromden, to vote for changing the TV schedule to view the baseball series and then to drop their cleaning duties and sit watching the blank TV. I didn't see that coming. I also didn't foresee the change in the Big Nurse’s opinion on how to handle McMurphy. I thought she would still persist on moving him to the Disturbed ward or in the very least have some sort of archaic ‘treatment’ performed on him. She does prove a point in stating that this would just make him a martyr.

The hallucinations of Bromden are still a little confusing. He seems to see and feel completely fictitious events like the sleeping ward slipping down into the building where there are workers and machinery, but then he sees a patient killed and it is discovered that the patient actually did die in the night. It’s difficult to figure out what is a product of Bromden’s imagination and what is really a truthful observation. In a way this twisting of reality does make the book more interesting and thought-provoking.


Journal entry #3

I found the third quarter of the novel very captivating. It is clearly the build up to the end and it packs in some many events at once that it was almost hard to keep track of everything that had happened.

I enjoyed finally finding out more about Bromden and having his narration being told in a more clear and personal way. It really helped in terms of relating to the feelings of the character. I can recall many times as a child not be heard or acknowledged when speaking, or being spoken around like I wasn't there. The flashback to the first time he was ignored really helped to clarify why he maintains his deaf and mute routine. I can see and relate to the advantages of hearing things that other may not want anyone to know. I feel that maybe Bromden uses this factor as another way of keeping himself safe like the way he ‘hides’ in the fog. Although, I was excited to see that Bromden finally came out of his shell and spoke with McMurphy. It changes the tone of the book to something a little friendlier for the third quarter and really develops the relationship between Bromden and McMurphy that has always been in the background.

What was most shocking for me reading this part of the novel was the behavior of McMurphy. There are some drastic changes in him as he goes from rebellious to docile to reckless in his feud with the Big Nurse. I didn't expect for McMurphy to stop challenging the Big Nurse to start complying with the rules at any point. It was a strange lull in the drama of the story while he was calm and it was almost a relief when he got back to his old tricks of bothering the Big Nurse after breaking her window – twice.

Journal entry #4

I was completely shocked by the ending of the book. I had never thought that things would turn out the way they did and reading the last quarter I was completely absorbed in the novel. So many things happened in so few pages that it was a lot to keep up with.

I couldn't believe it when Nurse Ratched posted all the patient’s financial records to try and turn them against McMurphy and for a while I almost thought they would. It was a relief when Harding stepped up to defend McMurphy by saying they had known what he was doing and that McMurphy had made his intentions clear from the beginning.

I found the most exciting part of the book was the party in the ward and the events of the morning after once Nurse Ratched arrived as well as the week following. It was interesting to read about the patients letting go of their worries and forgetting about the rules, and it was also intriguing to see them as normal men having fun together for a night. Unfortunately the repercussions of the party were unpleasant, and the last bit of the book was saddening to read.

After Ratched finds Billy with Candy, things go steadily downhill. Billy commits suicide, and after McMurphy attacks Nurse Ratched, all the acutes slowly disband until only Bromden, Martini and Scanlon remain. And then McMurphy returns – as a vegetable and it sad to see someone who was once so powerful and full of laughter so lifeless. The conclusion to the book is almost disappointing but it’s also fitting in a way as it completes the resemblance of McMurphy to Christ. There is also a silver lining, as McMurphy did pretty well accomplish what he set out to do – he set the men free from Ratched tyrannical rule in one way or another. Bromden also finally regains his sense of freedom and the memories of his life before the hospital.

Response to review:

I don’t debate that Ken Kesey’s writing is phenomenal and that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a truly unique novel, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it is my own favorite work of fiction. The writer of the review is definitely enamored with the novel, but I can see why through the various points he makes about Ken Kesey as a man and his writings.

The review writer really explains the concepts and symbols in the book as well as what some of the characters represent. He defined the Big Nurse extremely well calling her a social dominatrix. He also vividly explains the importance of the novel in society through analyzing the character of McMurphy and how he became a fictional martyr.

The part of the review which highlights what the novel is all about best would be the review writer’s factual and personal opinion on why the novel matters. He really goes into depth with Ken Kesey’s past and what lead to his writing the novel. It is really informative and brings to light the reason in which the novel has such energy behind its pages and that is because Ken Kesey really believed in what he was writing about and the message he was trying to convey.

Another great part of the review is that there are excerpts from the book used to help explain what the review writer means and to give context to the reader. All in all I think it is a great review even though it is biased by how much the writer loves the novel and it is worth the read to help further someone’s knowledge and understanding of the novel.