Lit. Analysis # 1

One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey 

1. From the beginning of the novel we are introduced as an audience to "deaf" Indian named Chief Bromden. The story is told through his eyes but what this story doesn't tell us is exactly why he's in the mental hospital. Through your imprints and conversation with the nurse in the emergency room, I have inferred that Chief Bromden could be a schizophrenic. Through his eyes we see events that take place in the mental hospital, and the story move into the admission of a new patient named Randall McMurphy. This story is based on Chief Bromden's relationship with Randall McMurphy and the way that McMurphy tries to convince everyone that he is "crazy"enough to be in this institution but in fact we learn that his real reason was to stay out of jail or the work farm. McMurphy leads the Chief, the other patients, and Nurse Ratched through various events that ultimately lead to his disastrous end. This book not only shows the inner mechanics of a mental institution but also the way that "non-crazy" individuals can somehow find themselves losing their mind and their attempt to find themselves. In the end McMurphey loses his mind and attacks Nurse Ratched after one of the patients he grew increasingly close to commit suicide. McMurphy has a lobotomy performed on him and he becomes a mindless zombie. The Chief understands the type a life McMurphy will leave from now on and due to their close friendship, he killed McMurphy in his bed.

2. I'm trying to be something or not you end up finding yourself in ways you never expect and sometimes the outcome is not always what you wanted.

3. The Chief's point of view about the hospital is fearful, skeptical and understanding. At the beginning of the story that he mentions how he believes the work hands for Nurse Ratched can sense his fear. He is afraid of being shaved and often fights back, and he believes that the medicine they perform is inadequate and unnecessary. He shows that some patients have been given the wrong treatment and because of this they are having to stay longer at the hospital without the possibility of release. As he is been the one of the longest members at the hospital he is more understanding of the protocols and what life is like for the other patients. He not only begins to relate to other patients and begins to understand how they feel but he also finds an understanding of himself through them.


4. The author of the story uses many different literary technique such as foreshadowing, imagery, aphorism, flashbacks and foil characters. In the story the author alludes. to McMurphy's past but doesn't go into much detail other than his initial arrest for statutory rape, assaults and burglary. The author uses the technique of aphorism through the way that McMurphy speaks not only to the patients and to the nurses with witty comments that could be taken either as a sexual innuendo or as clear statement. But also towards the beginning of the past the author uses flashbacks of the Chief's life to show what he did before he made it into the hospital and show how the outside world relates to the inside roles of the mental hospital. The author uses the technique of foreshadowing at the beginning of the story where The Chiefs inner thoughts about the chronic patients that were once acute that were turned into mindless patients due to medicine and lobotomies performed by the doctors and nurses of the mental hospital. By doing this in a way foreshadows what will later have been to McMurphy in the way that he had a lobotomy performed on him which destroyed his mind and led to the chief deciding that it would be better off to kill him then to let him live a miserable life. Through the Chiefs inner dialogue and his description of not only the patients but the events that take place while McMurphy that the mental hospital, the author uses vivid imagery to create this sustainable image throughout his audiences mind. And finally the author uses foil characters through McMurphy and Nurse Ratched in the way that they vary so differently in personality, opinion and course of action. 

Characterization
1. Two examples of direct characters would be McMurphy and Nurse Ratched. Throughout the story McMurphy was a very dynamic character that came into the mental hospital idolizing himself and thinking he was smarter than all around him. His mind later changes after becoming close friends with not only Billy but with Chief Bromden as well. In the diction of the story McMurphy's characteristics were blatantly placed out for the readers to notice and see as he came in with his self ego bigger than the sun itself. Nurse Ratched was described as a very controlling and smart woman who is very feared and was very calculated in the way that she ran the mental institution. Not only did the patients view of her waiver but her control over them also change as the story progressed. An example of am indirect character from the story was Chief Bromden. Although he was the narrator of the piece and the audience or readers were able to view his inner thoughts, much of what was known about him had to be inferred. He was a very calm and static individual who as the story progressed became more understanding but didn't change himself as a character. He was sneaky and underestimated by nit only the staff of the hospital but also his fellow patients.

2. The syntax and McMurphy on the other hand was a very dynamic and round character who came into the hospital with the idea that he would be out and jail free and punishment free with in 60 days. While he was in the hospital he became close to several characters who altered his perspective on life and on his attempt to persuade others that he was  diction of the story remain constant throughout as the plot involves and as he continually talks about other characters. Since the story is told from the point of view of the chief, the mindset doesn't change. He is understanding and calm about the way he described other patients, scenarios, and the staff of the hospital.

3. Deciding the protagonist is is a complicated situation. It could be Chief Bromden who is the narrator of the story or it could be McMurphy who is another patient to hospital. Chief Bromden was a static character who thought process and personality did not change throughout the plot of the story. He remained mysterious to the staff of the mental hospital and mysterious to be other patients as well even though he did get along fairly well with McMurphy. He was a very flat character whose thoughts about why he was there didn't really alter but was convinced towards the very end of the story that the hospital was not the place for him and he escaped. McMurphy was a very dynamic and round character who attempted to trick not only the hospital staff but the authorities as well that he was mentally unfit to stay in a jail cell and his actions weren't to be held accountable. However in his attempt to of a punishment, he ended up finding out more about himself and ended up losing himself and his mind in his mission. 

4. In a way I feel that I have both met a person and read about a character. This story was designed so that it will leave some sort of unclear understandings let the audience has a chance to fully understand what is going on in the plot. The mindset of the Chief have led me to understand him on a personal level but I also must understand that with him being a mentally unfit person I will never fully understand what going on in his mind. In a way having been able to read his mind has allowed me to understand what he does think about on a daily basis and what certain aspects of his life mean to him. However some aspects of him as a character and as a person for left on clear by the author so as to input a sense of inference into the character thinking process.