Transcript Third Section

End of Part One
• What does Mack do early in the morning? How does he attract
attention? How does he win his bet?
• He wakes up early to shower and brush his teeth, then starts singing loudly
in the shower after an orderly tells him that the toothpaste is locked up
and will stay that way (it’s ward policy). Ratched confronts him, and he
talks to her wearing only a towel, explaining that his clothes were stolen in
the night. He then indicates that he could go around without clothes just
fine, which infuriates her to the point of finding him a proper uniform. He
decides to dress right in front of her, and we see that he’s tricked her: he’s
wearing his shorts with the whales on them (they’re just too “abnormal” for
the Nurse to be able to stand).
• The Chief starts to see how laughter and a little rebellion can change
things and the reader understands that he’s waking up from his fog a little
bit at a time.
• What does Ratched assume about how the men feel about their
sexuality? How does this bet show this?
• She seems to assume that they are either embarrassed of it or that they
will take advantage of any poor, unsuspecting nurse. She indicates that
something bad would happen if a naked patient was walking around
when a young nurse showed up for her shift – that he would take
advantage of her.
• This is why the nurse emasculates the men and, according to Bromden, tries
to hide her own sexuality (her large chest) – if she is sexless, then she’s not
a target for the men and she can manipulate them instead of being
manipulated herself.
• How did Mack manipulate the doctor? Why does the doctor fall
for it? How is the doctor manipulated by Nurse Ratched?
• Mack tells the doctor that they went to the same high school, and he uses
his ability to amuse to get the doctor on his side. He comes across as very
understanding and sympathetic for not only those men who can’t hear the
radio, but also for those men who want a quiet moment to themselves, and
he uses the doctor to get a leg up on the nurse.
• The nurse remains calm during the meeting and has been known to
emasculate the doctor just as much as she does with the patients. She
allows the doctor and Mack to have this small victory, knowing that she
will win the war.
• Does Kesey come out and tell you who is speaking through the
Monopoly game? Explain. How is the Monopoly game better
therapy than the talks?
• Kesey indicates who is speaking through the other men’s dialogue and
through the diction – this is indirect characterization and gives you a little
more insight into their characters through how they interact with each
other.
• The game is more therapeutic because the men feel like human beings
again and are not “pecking” at each other, but rather learning how to
work together. They are slowly opening up and becoming friends.
• What get McMurphy really
upset? Why didn’t the men
do anything? Where else in
society do we see activity
like this?
• Mack gets mad when the men
won’t vote to play the World
Series on the TV during a nonTV time in the ward. The men
are afraid of the Big Nurse and
are used to just going along with
policy. This can be seen with
siblings or with classmates.
• What does Mack teach them in the
Tub room? Does it work? What
does he mean when states, “I tried,
though. Goddammit, I sure as hell
did that much, didn’t I?”
• He teaches the men that he’s not willing
to give up, even when something seems
impossible. He shows them that they
should stand up against the Big Nurse,
even when they’re afraid of failing. His
comment only reminds them that they
haven’t tried to stand up for themselves;
and if they don’t try, then they’ll never
know if they can succeed. He’s reminding
them to be men.
• One critic has said that the
men “hate” McMurphy. Why
might this event show this?
What does McMurphy force
them to do?
• This event is forcing the
men to act like men,
something they haven’t
been allowed to do in
ages. It’s forcing them to
see themselves as cowards
and to go for something,
even if they’re afraid.
• Explain the symbolic
significance of Old
Rawler’s death.
• Rawler literally
emasculates himself, which
is what the nurse has been
doing all along. He bleeds
out from his wounds, and
the Chief wonders why he
was so impatient – the
ward is sucking them dry
of their humanity, anyway.
• What will happen if the
Chief lost himself in the
fog? How does
McMurphy bring the
Chief back? What
unusual thing happens to
the Chief when Mac
brings him back?
• What important event
does Ratched miss in the
voting? What trick does
she pull? What do her
actions here illustrate to
the men?
• What insight does Ch.
14 provide with regards
to Broom’s condition?
• You find out that he was in
WWII at one point, and it
indicates that he may have
some shell shock (PTSD)
associated with his time in
the war. We also find out
that he’s had quite a large
amount of shock therapy.
• What happens to Nurse
Ratched when the men stage
the World Series Rebellion?
Explain is in the metaphorical
terms that the chief uses.
• The chief compares her to a bomb that’s
about to blow apart at any moment,
and that’s exactly what happens when
all the men decide to ignore her yelling
at them; she looks just as “crazy” as the
rest of them are supposed to be.
• McMurphy has accomplished a two-fold victory. Explain.
• Not only has he won his bet by getting the best of the Big Nurse and
making her lose her cool, but he has also gained the respect of the men.
His show with the panel and then again with the re-vote and the TVwatching encourage the men to be brave around him and to work on
getting a little of their humanity (and their manhood) back.