V5 One Flew (Lesson 4)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2,3

Welcome! Bag at the front. You need: One Flew, laptop, notebook, (notes from last lesson), pen. 

Program

- Learning goals

- Final notes on One Flew

- Work on questions/

Read book

- Reflection/Evaluation 

- Homework

Learning goals

At the end of this lesson...

- I can answer questions about One Flew. 

- I can talk about themes and religious aspects in the book. 

- I can identify literary devices in the book. 

Expectations

1. We come prepared to class. I've done my homework and got all the materials I need for this lesson.

2. We are respectful towards each other. Towards my fellow classmates, as well as my teacher. I help where necessary. 

3. We are focused in class. I focus on achieving the learning goals. 

The Combine: Machine, Nature & Man

Chief Bromdon has an alternated perception: believes that society is, at large, a giant force that exists to oppress the people within it. The hospital ward is a mere factory for remedying mistakes made within The Combine (within neighborhoods and churches), to re-set peoples’ behavior into the “correct” behavior. The ward is a mechanized extension of The Combine. Chief Bromden sees The Combine as a taming force against human nature: it devastated his homeland and, in doing so, stripped him of his human nature. He becomes what others believe to be deaf and dumb, much like an automaton—tasked with cleaning up the ward on schedule like a robot.

The Combine: Machine, Nature & Man

He also feels that the ward is designed to emasculate Man in general. 

(see next slide)

Emasculation & Sexuality

Nurse Ratched > middle-aged Army nurse, enjoys emasculating men at the psychatric ward. Selects staff who are submissive (the black boys) and do her bidding. The patients are afraid of her. McMurphy is the first who doesn't seem to be and questions her authority. 

- Look up the meaning of emasculation > how do we see this in McMurphy? Explain in your words.

- Look up two examples of when the patients are afraid/subdued by Nurse Ratched (or her tactics). Describe in your own words/ write down page numbers. 

- Look up two examples/quotes of when McMurphy defies Nurse Ratched. Describe in your own words/ write down page numbers. 

Emasculation & Sexuality

Reverse: women > Nurse Ratched:

- Machine-like > McMurphy tries to throw her off her track with his overtly sexual remarks. 

- At the end, he rips open her blouse, 'exposing' her. 

Social pressure & shame

The novels makes it clear that many of these men are holding themselves back from living freely because they are terrified of how they will be received by the general population for their behaviors. Not fitting in because of sexual orientation, ethnic background, infantilization—no matter what it is, the men fear what makes them different and would rather hide from society than face its judgment of them. The judgments about what constitutes normal or abnormal behavior, about what is shameful and what is not, are decided by the few who have power. McMurphy helps them to recognize their own internal dignity and self-worth. 

Sanity vs. Insanity

The book insinuates that Nurse Ratched and the other staff are actually the ones who are insane. Ken Kesey's portrayal of the characters within the psych ward further asks the reader to question the line between what is sane and insane. The characters in the ward are undeniably damaged or hurting, but are they insane or do they just not fit perfectly well in a rigid society? The narrator of the novel, Chief Bromden, has successfully pretended to be deaf and mute for years in the ward, though his recalling of events as a narrator are largely lucid and appear sane despite the hallucinatory fog. 

Institutional controls vs. Human dignity

Nurse Ratched is notorious for her desire to exercise complete control over the men who are under her jurisdiction on the psych ward, both as patients and as employees. In doing so, Nurse Ratched becomes a metaphor for the entire mental institution, the government, society at large. The institutions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest claim that they categorize the patients as insane in order to "treat" and "rehabilitate" them. 

Institutional controls vs. Human dignity

But it quickly becomes clear in the novel that this rehabilitation is more punitive (straffend) and controlling than it is helpful for any mental ailment: the shock treatment table, the red pills that cause memory loss, the daily meetings that pit men against each other, and the list on Nurse Ratched’s desk to record and reward the men for betraying each other's secrets are all ways to force people to obey, not to make them well.

The characters

Protagonist: Randle McMurphy

Antagonist (opposite): Nurse Ratched

Narrator: Chief Bromden (nicknamed chief Broom)

You need to know about these characters of course, but don't forget about: Billy Bibbit, Harding, Doctor Spivey, Charles Cheswick

Grab a piece of paper. Write a few lines about each character. Feel free to look them up (shmoop/enotes)

The characters

Dale Harding: college-educated, effeminate man

Billy Bibbit: 31-year-old virgin, dominated by his mother

Max Taber: rebellious patient

Scanlon: follower of McMurphy

Cheswick: drowns himself after McMurphy yields to authority

Sefelt and Frederickson: epileptics

Big George: former seaman with a fear of dirt, captain on the trip

The Lifeguard: former football player, fits of violent behaviour

Tadem and Gregory: two Acutes who join MM on fishing trip

The characters

Pete Bancini: patient who suffers from brain damage

Colonel Matterson: wheelchair-bound patient who raves in metaphors

Ellis and Ruckly: Acutes who turned Chronics after electroshocks

Old Rawler: Patient in Disturbed. Bleeds to death after castrating himself

Old Blastic: Vegetable who dies in his sleep

Doctor Spivey: morphine addict; BN exploits his weakness

Nurse with a Birthmark, Japanese Nurse

The Black Boys (Washington, Warren and Geever): chosen by NR for their hostility and strength

Religious Aspects

"(...) and yet he seems to do things without thinking of himself at all, as if he were a martyr or a saint." - Nurse Ratched, about McMurphy. 

Religious Aspects

Statement: McMurhpy = Jesus Christ 

With your neighbor, look in the storyfor: 

- Ways McMurphy is like Jesus Christ (behaviour etc.)

- The way other characters are from the Bible (can you find a Judas?)

- Story elements that mimic moments in the Bible (is there a crucifixion of sorts?)

Religious Aspects

McMurphy = Jesus:

• Stands up to the oppressor (Ratched/the regime)
  
• Brings about change (in the ward)
  
• Gathers disciples (the patients)
  
• The fishing trip (12 disciples)
  
• Is betrayed (Billy Bibbit)
  
• Dies “crucified” on the table (arms spread out)/sacrifice

Hopsital practices

Hospital is perceived as "better/more civilised" than before (Public Relation): No straightjackets & TV / swimming pool.

However, they still have: electroshock therapy (EST) & lobotomy (which were very popular in the 50s in US mental hospitals). 

“You are given a free trip to the moon, well, not completely free, you pay for the service with brain cells instead of money.” - Harding, on EST sessions

Hopsital practices

A lobotomy (from Greek λοβός (lobos) 

'lobe' and τομή (tomē) 'cut, slice') or 

leucotomy is a discredited form of 

neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric 

disorder or neurological disorder 

(e.g. epilepsy, depression) that involves 

severing connections in the brain's 

prefrontal cortex > planning, organising, decision- 

making, regulating emotions. 

Ending

What happens to these characters at the ending of the book? 

Nurse Ratched > ...

McMurphy > ...

Chief Bromden > ...

Other characters > ... 

Look up in book. 

Ending

Nurse Ratched > After McMurphy's attempt to strangle her, and him ripping open her blouse/shirt, she loses her power over the patients.

McMurphy > lobotomised, loses personality and becomes a 'vegetable'. Is killed by Chief Bromden as an act of mercy. The other patients/men no longer need McMurphy. 

Chief Bromden > After killing McMurphy, he escapes from the prison and goes to Canada.

Other characters > feel free of the terrors caused by Nurse Ratched; they don't comply anymore. 

Significance of title

Knowing now how the book ended, what does the title of the book mean? What does it refer to? 

Explain in your own words, in 1/2 lines.

Work on questions

Continue working on questions in Teams. 

Read your book, take notes. 

(new questions in Teams (chapter 11 - 15))

Study other themes, motifs, symbols on Sparknotes > see link in Teams!

Reflection/Evaluation

At the end of this lesson...

- I can answer questions about One Flew.

- I can talk about themes and religious aspects in the book.

- I can identify literary devices in the book.

Study for the test

• See Teams for links to notes made in class. 
• See Teams-chat for tips from miss. Van Beijnum. 
• Mocktest will be made available at the end of this week (with key).