The first time we hear of world outside the ward is when McMurphy comes onto the scene. McMurphy is very earthy, with his hands all cracked from working in the fields, which is a polar opposite from mechanical. Upon entering the ward McMurphy laughs causing , "Dials twitch in the control panel at the sound of it... They're fidgeting and twitching responding to the dials in the control panel; I see McMurphy notices he's making them uneasy, but he don't let it slow him down." (17) McMurphy is the only true form of human life when he comes to the hospital. He laughs like a normal human being, something that Chief said he hadn't heard in seven years. The sterile environment made McMurphy uncomfortable, which makes us think that he will be changed by his surroundings. The ward "makes" and "fixes" machines, having them be like every other machine with no individuality what so ever.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Another World
Chief really goes out of his way to explain how the world inside the ward is mechanical and logistical with little to no emotion in anything. I don't understand how anyone can be cured in that type of sterile environment, especially psych patients who are in need of loving care. Chief places the ward inside a world of its own, with a highly detached connection from the outside world. The ward's world is a machine where everything has to work like clock work. I wonder what Chief's experience was like in the real world before he came onto the ward, because he seems to know that this world is different from others.
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The ward does have the intention to "fix" their patients so they can be released into the real world. However, their individuality will be stolen and they will become just like all the "normal" people. McMurphy has yet to be a victim of electro shock therapy and has maintained his individuality. He is becoming a leader in the ward after one day and is upsetting the balance of power between Big Nurse and the patients. McMurphy tries to push the patients to stand up to Big Nurse and exercise their masculine power. McMurphy's past has no one in it that he cares about and thus makes him out of control in the eyes of the ward. He is out of control because he has no one to care for and nothing to lose. The ward cannot install anything properly into McMurphy because of his past and sense of individuality.
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