Chapters 5-6 (pages 42-84)

(B)

Since Chief has been in the ward for so long, time probably all runs into a continuous cycle and becomes somewhat meaningless. It seems like the Big Nurse has a set schedule for things and that provides Chief with timestamps, but the passing of times often seems to drag or fly by. It's hard for me to tell whether it's all just in his head or if the Big Nurse really does control the time so much. I'm sure she has some control, but, "...that sirup-slow hand of Scanlon across the room, taking three days to lay down a card" (Kesey 78) seems a bit excessive. I believe that Chief's perception of time amplifies the passing of time, making the fast seem faster and the slow seem slower. The other characters probably do experience the changing speed of the time, but I doubt it's to the extreme the Chief sees it as. I think his description of, "...going through the full schedule of a day maybe twenty times an hour..."(Kesey 77) might not actually be literal but instead may just mean that Chief feels time is going by really really fast. I also don't think the other characters actually perceive the fog as dramatically as Chief does, but the fog is probably some sort of chemical that the Big Nurse uses to sedate the patients and keep them under her control. It probably distorts their thoughts and confuses them. This fog could represent an interruption in the cycle of time, and also a show of power.

(C)

McMurphy’s personality is brilliant for a story like this. Everyone else in the ward acts very timidly and scared but McMurphy is the total opposite. He is flamboyant and outspoken. Now that could be because he is new to the ward and does not understand how things run there, but I think it gives the story's dynamics an uplift. Without someone like McMurphy ever entering the ward, it would be so sad and depressing. They needed an uplifting spirit to bring humor and freedom and show that it is still possible to have those qualities while being in there. While reading the story you can tell that McMurphy might not be sane but he definitely knows more than the others. For example, “McMurphy sits forward in his chair a couple of times during the meeting like he might have something to say, but he decides better and leans back” (Kesey 49). This shows that he is able to comprehend a lot more than most people in the ward, which is good because they needed someone who is able to do that and keep them safe. Otherwise, nobody would ever realize or take action about the wrongdoings going on in the ward. “Something strange is going on here, he’s finding out” (Kesey 49). With a character like McMurphy, Kesey is able to foreshadow the thought of McMurphy helping the other patients and making the ward right. That could be getting the ward shut down or just fixing it so it is safe and gives the patients the right care. Either way, it gives the novel positive reinforcement and the reader hope.

Because Chief has been in the ward for so long, time must be different for him. When he talks about time and how he perceives it, it seems very different from everyone else. Because of the way the Chief describes time and how it passes for him, I think that it is hard to tell whether it is all in his head or if time really does "whip around that disk like spokes on a wheel" (Kesey 76) I believe that because the Chief has been there for so long that, although he does have some concept of time, that it is very different from what other perceive. The Big Nurse has set times to do set things which help the Chief move throughout his day somewhat normally, but other than that it seems as though he has a hard time keeping track of time for himself. The fog that is talked about in chapter 6 I believe is an analogy for what ever condition the Chief may have. It seems as though the Chief will somewhat zone out for a period of time and not realize how much time is passing. " When nothing else is going on, you usually got the fog or the time control to contend with..." (Kesey 78) I believe that the reason for there to be no fog since McMurphy came is because the Chief is focused on something else and is not allowing for his brain to switch into the fog.  

B)

Back in January, I was put into quarantine and because of all the different times my family got sick, my release date got pushed back further and further. I was put into quarantine for a little shy of a month. I bring up this example to try and connect with how the chief must feel. Being in a hospital, nursing home, quarantine, though they are all very different, the one thing they share is how minutes feel like hours and hours feel like days. Being away from ‘reality’ for so long, your idea of time is kind of put on a pause as you don’t really have any idea of it anymore. I think that’s what Chief’s perception of time is all about. He is unable to have a realistic sense of time as he’s been in the ward for so long. I mean, it’s only normal for your idea of time to change when every moment of the day looks exactly the same. It also doesn’t help that “The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants by just turning one of those dials in the steel door; she takes a notion to hurry things up, she turns the speed up, and those hands whip around that disk-like spokes in a wheel” (76).  I feel like that quote alone shows and explains how one’s perspective of time could be off. In a way, I feel like the fog could represent moments of your life you wouldn’t necessarily remember. When he said, “When the fogs clear to where I can see, I’m sitting in the dayroom” (10). That quote makes me stop to think about whether time does actually pass when the fog comes into play. 

B.

The way the Chief is talking about time reminds me of “Groundhogs Day '' Not only does the chief feel that everyday's the same and nothing changes. His perception is that everyday has been the same for so long, he doesn't even know when one day ends, and the other begins. The sense of time has been lost in translation and has no significance for him. He relies on others to tell what time of day it is. Such as when the nurses switch shifts. “When the swing shift comes on duty the clock says 4:30 just like it should (pg. 46)” Chief realizes on his daily schedule for times. The events throughout the day do not fluctuate therefore he feels there is no need to keep track of time. The fog analogy seems to me like the Chief finally found something interesting and different to pay attention to (McMurphy) who was not part of the daily routine. The fog is represented like going through the motions of life instead of truly living.

(c)

The ward is an environment full of fear and sorrow. That’s how Kesey set the scene. The patients were abused into submission making them very depressed. Then McMurphy was introduced with his outgoing behavior, creating a sense of ease and relief. I think that is what Kesey was attempting to do with McMurphy’s character. Her technique thus far had been to create a tense atmosphere, having the reader understand and empathize for the patients stuck in never ending abuse. “The guys won't meet her look; they’re all looking for hangnails. Except McMurphy.” (Kesey 43) His satire and smart attitude towards the staff was amusing for the reader, but the patients remained fearful as they know what the Big Nurse is capable of, but they, as well as the reader, don’t know what McMurphy can do. “That laugh banged around the room all evening and all the time he was dealing he was joking and talking and trying to get players to laugh along with him. But they were all afraid to loosen up; it’s been too long.” (Kesey 81) I feel Kesey Is foreshadowing a big throw down, or break out caused by the hope and optimism McMurphy creates with his sarcastic and vibrant personality. 

C) 'Laughter is the best medicine' is the perfect phrase to use when describing the effect that McMurphy had on the ward. With the ward being so dark and gloomy, the environment rubs off on its inhabitants and is reflected through the patients' attitudes' toward being there. When McMurphy shows up, he is bold and funny. The environment doesn't seem to effect him and he begins to lead by example between making jokes, showing them that it is okay to laugh at them, and that it's okay to laugh at themselves too. The mood is quickly lifted for the better and patients begin improving, despite Nurse Ratchet's hold on them.

(b)

I think that Chief’s perception of time is all messed up because of how long he’s been in the ward. When you're just going through the motions everyday with no reason to keep a schedule or know what time it is, time tends to become more and more meaningless as you don’t have anything to keep track of time for. I think that this is what Chief is experiencing because his life is so controlled by the nurses in the ward that he has no reason to keep track of time, and so he’s lost the ability to do so. Along with this, there is a fog that Chief describes and it seems to be some kind of sedation or controlling agent that the ward is using on their patients so they don’t rebel to get out of control. It could almost be acting as a reset as well based on how Chief describes it, and how time seems irrelevant in the fog. I also think that the other patients struggle with their perception of time and what the fog does to them just like Chief does. Chief says that, “...everybody is driven mad to keep up with that passing of fake time; awful scramble of shaves and breakfasts and appointments and lunches and medications and ten minutes of night so you barely get your eyes closed before the dorm light’s screaming at you to get up and start the scramble again…” (76). This shows that Chief feels like he isn’t the only one who is struggling with time because they are all treated the same and all have the same schedules everyday, so it would make sense that the others struggle with their perception of time as well.

A)

In chapter 5 we learn a lot about the set-up of the ward and the other patients. Although some of the information comes from Chief’s narration and flashbacks, most of this new information comes from the dialogue spoken between the characters. We learn that there are weekly meetings in the ward where the patients discuss their problems and what has been written in Nurse Ratched’s log book. Since it’s McMurphy’s first meeting, we get to see an alternative perspective of someone who’s more or less sane as opposed to the patients who are already accustomed to how the ward works. During this meeting, McMurphy makes some comments trying to lighten the mood, but quiets down and observes the rest of the meeting when he realizes that, “There’s something strange about a place where the men won’t let themselves loose and laugh…” (Kesey 49). After the meeting is when McMurphy confronts Harding and the other Acutes about how Nurse Ratched is pitting them against each other during meetings where, “They’ve been maneuvered into grilling one of their friends like he was a criminal and they were all prosecutors and judge and jury” (Kesey 56), and by reporting their friends in the log book. By using the analogy of a chicken’s pecking party, McMurphy tries to convince the Acutes that the Nurse has it out for them and that they should challenge how they are treated. Although he doesn’t admit it at first, Harding confesses that McMurphy is right about how Miss Ratched is not the sweet nurse she makes herself out to be by saying, “... there’s not a man among us that doesn’t think it, that doesn't feel just as you do about her and the whole business- feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul” (Kesey 62). This conversation then reveals how everyone is too scared to do anything about this situation because they could be sent up to the Disturbed ward or the Shock Shop, but McMurphy still wants to do something. He starts to change the dynamic of the ward by giving the Acutes hope for change by devising a plan to beat Nurse Ratched at her own game. Although it is new for the Acutes, McMurphy is slowly making the depressing atmosphere of the ward more positive and into a place where they aren’t afraid to laugh.

A)

The character, Mcmurphy, brings about the true atmosphere of the ward. We begin to see inappropriate stories told by Nurse Ratchet that exposed the patients in the ward. “McMurry, Randle Patrick. Committed by the state from the Pendleton Farm for Correction. For Diagnosis and possible treatment. Thirty-five years old. Never married. Distinguished Service Cross in Korea, for leading and escape from communist prison camp. A dishonorable discharge, afterward, for insubordination. Followed by a history of street brawls and bathroom fights and a series of arrests for Dunkeness, Assault and Battery, Disturbing of Peace, repeated gambling and one arrest-for Rape” (Kesey 45). McMurphy seems to be in this ward not because of his illness, but more so punishment for his bad behavior. The nurse does not mention anything about his illness in this dialogue leaving the reader wondering if he had an illness before the ward. With this said, the reader can infer that other patients in the ward may be there due to punishment and may not even have an illness to be treated for. This character is also the foundation to a new realization of the acutes in the ward, as he attempts to convince them to see his doubt in the way the doctors make them out to be, “... I been surprised how sane you guys all are. As near as I can tell you’re not any crazier than the average asshole on the street-” (Kesey 65). This is just a start to his belief; the other acutes do not yet grasp the idea that McMurphy may be right. 

C)

  Upon McMurphy's arrival, the insensate mood of the patients took a turn for the better. McMurphy’s bold and funny personality brings a new feeling of humor to the ward, “That laugh banged around the room all evening and all the time he was dealing he was joking and talking and trying to get players to laugh along with him. But they were all afraid to loosen up; it’s been too long.” (Kesey 81). With McMurphy's guidance, the patients learned to laugh at jokes and at themselves, eventually becoming able to correct their inadequacies. By learning their inner strengths and interacting with each other in a consolidated manner, I believe that the patients will be able to overpower Nurse Ratched and potentially break her hold on them. I infer that Kesey is using this character as a way to foreshadow a rebellion, a climactic moment in the story.

A) 

Most of the time the characters take place in the day room, they commonly mention the day room but they also mention the tub room, the Nurse's station, and the doctor's office which is down the hall. We tend to get a feel of where things are in the ward based off how he words things, "The day-room floor gets cleared of tables, and at one o’clock the doctor comes out of his office down the hall, nods once at the nurse as he goes past where she’s watching out her window, and sits in his chair just to the left of the door." (Kesey 42) It explains where some places are in relation to others so we know that the doctor's office is down the hall from the day room and that to get to the day room you have to past the Nurse's Station like the doctor did. We learn about some of the mental illnesses and the reason why some of the other characters are in the ward. We also learn what is on McMurphy's record, which is a lot and tends to cause him to act out and get upset. “McMurry, Randle Patrick. Committed by the state from the Pendleton Farm for Correction. For diagnosis and possible treatment. Thirty-five years old. Never married. Distinguished Service Cross in Korea, for leading an escape from a Communist prison camp. A dishonorable discharge, afterward, for insubordination. Followed by a history of street brawls and barroom fights and a series of arrests for Drunkenness, Assault and Battery, Disturbing the Peace, repeated gambling, and one arrest—for Rape.” (Kesey 45) Nurse Ratchet telling them this information leads to a lot of people being in shock and not sure how to feel about the whole situation, and McMurphy attempts to stand up for himself by maing excuses. These things cause the reader to realize that McMurphy is more in the ward to be punished rather than "fixed" since he doesn't really seem to have a mental illness just tends to get mad when targeted which in my opinion would be a normal response to something like that. The thing that McMurphy brings is the fact he isn't really scared and won't backdown from talking to the nurse and doctor.