You Just Can't Escape It

It’s happening. AP English is once again infiltrating my life. So I found a book lying around the house that I bought a few years ago called City of Bones and the final climatic scene occurs in a mental institution. I’ve come to accept the fact that I am drawing random parallels in my life to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest quite often given that we just finished the book, but what are the odds that another, completely unrelated book, would again draw a parallel? Not to mention the fact that the day of Christmas through this morning I spent in the hospital because my Grandma was diagnosed with pneumonia. The entire time I was in the hospital I kept seeing connections to the novel, right down to the glass nurses station. Now, of course this wasn’t a mental institution and I am not afraid of a nurse Ratched appearing out of the darkness and causing mayhem, but still, it kind of freaks me out how much my life seems to connect to the book.

Stuck In The Confines Of Routine

As I sit in my house for the sixth day in a row I begin to see just how a routine takes over. For the past couple of days I have been stuck in the same rut. Wake up at 9, work out, eat, go on the computer, watch TV, eat, and go to bed. I am starting to understand how easy it is to just follow the structured routine instead of trying to mix things up. Sure, I’ve gone out of the house a few times and hung out with friends, and yet, I still find myself parked in my house bored to death but not really making an effort to change the state I am in. I now think that I can understand part of the reason, beyond the obvious fear, that the patients in the institution obeyed the strict routine of the asylum. I think that it’s human nature to try and take the easy road, not that we don’t challenge ourselves from time to time, but let’s face it, if an easier option is presented then we are going to take it. I guess this gives me more respect for the patients, before I thought that they were being weak and helpless, but I understand that, though those are true characteristics of the men, it isn’t as easy as one would think to change your routine and go against what has been presented to you, at least not without some additional help.

An Ironic Character Twist

Throughout the novel I have noticed a theme of religion. Specifically through the portrayal of McMurphy as a slightly unorthodox Christ figure. Though he does things largely for his own benefit, McMurphy definitely seems like a savior to the men in the institution. Bromden even compares McMurphy’s shock treatment to a “crown of silver thorns” upon McMurphy’s head (283). From our first discussion of the novel I remember that the ETS table was shaped much like a cross. So I believe that Kesey tries to portray McMurphy in a savior role. I think that this adds more significance to the ending. For McMurphy follows the parallel by giving his life for his people, and when he dies Bromden escapes. This revelation caused me to respect McMurphy even more than I had previously. For now I that I can see this definite parallel, I feel that it is easier for me to forgive his sins as they were. I can truly see the impact of all of his actions on the lives of all of the men in the institution.

And So It Ends

Well, now the novel is finally over. I have mixed emotions about the climatic ending of this book. On one hand I find myself satisfied with Bromden’s escape, but on the other, I have to question my own sanity. I mean here I am consciously cheering on a whole ward of mental patients in a drunken party and ultimately an escape. I think that in the end I was mostly satisfied that Nurse Ratched was overthrown from power, even if only for a brief amount of time. Seeing the nurse on the Disturbed ward gave me hope that, even if these men couldn’t become well enough to leave the institution, at least they could be treated humanely with the absence of Nurse Ratched. I find it interesting how Bromden feels that, in the end, the patients were in control the whole time. They just needed McMurphy to open their eyes to the power they truly held. I feel that McMurphy proved himself to be a heroic character; he stuck to his cause until the bitter end and never gave in. True, he made some profit along the way. But what the men in the ward gained in terms of confidence and life evened out the playing field. Ultimately, McMurphy’s selfish tendencies proved helpful in the escape of Chief Bromden. Had McMurphy never bet he could lift the panel, Bromden probably wouldn’t know his full potential in terms of strength. I do not consider Bromden a murderer, mostly because I feel that McMurphy was already dead. The lobotomy would have left him paralyzed in silence. I believe that Bromden freed McMurphy in a way. He also honored McMurphy’s fight by not letting Nurse Ratched win. She wanted McMurphy to live and serve as an example of what could happen to those who disturbed the order of her ward. So I enjoyed the novel overall and I found the ending satisfying. I only hope that the ward does not fall back to its old ways now that McMurphy, Bromden and Harding have left the institution.

What Just Happened?

So was I the only one who was completely caught off guard by Harding’s comment “ I’m voluntary. I’m not commited’” (194)? The moment creates situational irony, because the majority of the patients in the institution, who are being tortured, are voluntary. I definitely paralleled McMurphy in his confusion “‘why do you stand for it?’” (195). It is really difficult for me to grasp why these men choose to endure the inhuman treatment of this institution. It pains me to find that the only response to this questioning was “‘did you ever have people laugh at you?’” (195). I think that it is truly horrible that society was so cruel to these men that they had to go to the extreme of putting themselves into a mental institution just to escape the mockery. I think that Kesey really shines a spot light on the flaws of man here, how as a rule we rarely accept those who are different from us. As odd as it seems, I am more disappointed with society now than I was when I had thought that all of the men were committed by society. For, society has driven them into the shelter of a cold cell instead of respecting that these men, like all men, are flawed.

Insanity In the Classroom

So today in my math class we spent the period running an experiment that I can only assume shall be later used in some form of a work problem. The experiment required 1 partner, 2 die, a pencil, a piece of paper, and a high tolerance for an inane activity. The goal of the experiment was to roll the die and count how many times the sum of the two equaled seven. This was to be compared to the running tally of the total number of rolls. So as I sat in my desk rolling these die for the 40^th, no wait 60^th, scratch that 98^th time and recording the phenomenon of the sum of seven I noticed a bit of a ruckus could be heard around the room. SEVEN! An abrupt squeal from the far right. I looked around the room and found that this cry was joined by several others. Suddenly the ENTIRE room was filled with the joyous cries of SEVEN! My partner Emily and I exchanged a look of confusion, and continued on with the task. It seemed that our whole class was fascinated with the fact that some times the sum of the two die equaled seven, and of course this was cause for celebration. I found myself wondering if something was wrong with my fellow classmates, I mean seriously, I understand having a good time and trying to make the activity more exciting, but they were legitimately excited about their findings. So, of course, seeing as I am an AP English student, I compared the situation to being in a mental institution, and feeling like the only sane person there. In this moment I feel I must give credit to McMurphy for his ability to cohesively fit in with the crowd at the institution. I think that I would have a much more difficult time letting my guard down around people who found it completely reasonable to shout out nonsensical phrases at random. Then again, this does pose the question of how sane McMurphy truly is, given that the narrator himself is a Chronic in the institution.