Power, Societal Expectations, Equity/Gender Roles

Bring a sheet with quotes - include page numbers
Purpose of an essay: "Looking at the text as a work of art, demonstrating clear critical judgment and explaining to the reader of your essay how the enjoyment of the text is assisted by literary devices, linguistic effects and psychological insights; showing how the text relates to the time when it was written and how it relates to our world today."

Make sure you are discussing what One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest shows us about human nature and the topic of the essay.

Society's Expectations

l Pressure isn't just in the ward - it's in society (165/192)
l "maybe it's more than the nurse"
l "the great voice of many chanting shame"
l Harding is an excellent example of societal pressure - he's in the institution because he's gay
l He has anxiety from society's pressure
l He got married because of society's expectations (also affects Harding's wife)
l Harding wanted to conform to society's expectations
l Harding would be entirely different if he lived in today's society (would he develop anxiety? Being gay is much more accepted - we have gay marriage)
l Nurse Ratched - would she be as controlling today? This is set in 1950's - she had to push her dominance because of the situation - she has to prove her power
l Gender roles is a part of societal expectations - the female characters are dominant - the men seem weaker and reserved (Mack wants to dominate)
l Sex workers are "good" in this novel = no power
l Novel told from a man's point of view - women are seen negatively (Chief's mother and BN are similar)
l Is the BN bad? EST was seen as a medical procedure - much of what she does could be argued to be therapeutic
l BN does belittle the patients and threatens them
l Good intentions?
l (symbols?)
l BN = product of her time
l Expectations of women at that time = gentle and submissive (like the "Little Nurse") - she appears cold, cruel and calculating
l Harding believes he's sick (until the end) because of society
l Social anxiety is stigmatized in that society - today it's normalized and accepted - we have many different ways to help anxiety now
l "society decides who's san and insane"
l Society had much less understanding of mental illness in the 1950's - this ignorance led to institutions (think of how we used to treat people with mental disabilities - people with Autism used to be institutionalized)
l Should individualism be more valued than conformity? (an age-old question) - BN represents society/Mack represents freedom or counter-culture - Mack may have too much individuality
l Community is also important
l Mack is dead at the end and the Nurse lives on (what does this say?)
l (Billy Bibbit) - how would he be treated today
l Was every person influenced by society?

Power

l Will BN continue to be dominating into the future? - she may be a little more demure after the assault and Billy Bibbit's death (also what does it say about society that she's left with her job after two people died and someone escapes?)
l BN may notice that she is the constant in this equation
l Does BN enjoy her power?
l BN was an army nurse before
l Who had more power? The Nurse of Mack?
l (what is the nature of power? How do people gain and maintain power? We could write a handbook about how to gain power from this novel)
l BN abuses her power by using the lobotomy as punishment
l Mack is not as powerful as BN - he is more dominant
l Mack has a huge impact - people left of their own accord
l BN giving Mack a lobotomy is her admitting defeat
l (remember to expand vision beyond this novel - this novel informs us about our world)
l Mack is able to challenge the nurse
l What makes someone powerful? Mack becomes powerful when he does what the nurse says (example)
l Standing tall - (penguin in a storm) = power
l Chief says (174) "He was giving in. That's the smart thing to do." (This is just Mack's temporary response to finding out he's committed before Cheswick commits suicide)
l BN gains power by taking things away
l (how do people gain power in this novel? Harding, Chief, even Billy)
l (when Mack first enters the novel, he gives a surge of power to Chief)
l Mack teaches others they have autonomy, agency
l Mack's charm is wrapped up in negative - cigarettes, betting, sex workers, alcohol [but fishing is positive - also some of these symbolize autonomy]
l (personal autonomy does sometimes include hedonistic activities)
l (male nurse = power would be very different - would be even more physical)
l Mack's laugh = symbol (a change is coming!)

Equity - Gender Roles/Race

- "How does one go about showing a woman who's boss, I mean other than laughing at her" (66)
- Mack could not handle being controlled by a woman
- Nurse compensates for being minority
- BN exerts her power in this job (how else would a woman get power in this time?)
- Dr. Spivey - authority figure - he is supportive of patients (but doesn't go against the nurse)
- 1950's - women were expected to be housewives - BN is in a position of authority
- Gender expectations - society expects men and women to act a certain way - Harding's wife talks about men who flip their wrists and have long hair
- Harding signed out of mental ward - what might happen in the future? Would they conform to society's norms?
- Harding may come out - wife would no longer be his "beard"
- How does Mack show his masculinity? - fishing, sex workers, alcohol, betting, smoking, challenging the nurse, coming out in his underwear/towel
- Fishing trip - women are seen as objects "whores"
- (interesting that the sex workers make the men feel more manly)
- Society's norms: women are more submissive; BN being more dominant = emasculating
- "women whup them down and they can't laugh anymore" - point by Mack - idea that women in power make men weak
- BN's old uniform - does not show her shape - new uniform does - what is the significance?
- Kesey's purpose of novel:
- Is Kesey sexist? Or are the characters? Or does Kesey represent the time?
- (Chief is traumatized by his mother's treatment of his father)
- In the novel - black men and a white women are in charge and the white males are oppressed (interesting point!)
- White government takes Indigenous land - Chief's father doesn't fight it - this is why Chief doesn't want Mack to fight - he saw his dad lose against the power structure
- This novel empowered a movement with Indigenous people of America
- Power is addictive
- Title - Chief says the rhyme