Was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a lobotomy?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Randle McMurphy—big, loud, sexual, dirty, and confident—is an obvious foil for the quiet and repressed Bromden and the sterile and mechanical Nurse Ratched. His loud, free laughter stuns the other patients, who have grown accustomed to …
What is the final line of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
· Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif), the soft-spoken boy with suicidal ideations, doesn't just die by suicide in the film: Ratched coerces him into it. When Mac throws a …
What haunts McMurphy later in the novel?
McMurphy approaches shock therapy like a martyr, and acts unafraid because he cannot allow himself to be afraid because of his leadership position with the men. If he breaks, they break, and he knows it. Active Themes McMurphy gets onto the cross-shaped table without help, and asks if he’ll receive a complimentary “crown of thorns.”
How does the nurse defend herself from the threat of McMurphy?
Everyone mixes vodka with cough syrup, while Turkle and McMurphy smoke joints. Sefelt has a seizure while with Sandy, and Harding sprinkles pills over them both, declaring that they are “witnessing the end, the absolute, irrevocable, fantastic end.” Sometime after four in the morning, Billy and Candy retreat to the Seclusion Room.
What procedure did they do to McMurphy at the end?
McMurphy is given a lobotomy for his attack on Nurse Ratched. When he is returned to the ward after the operation, he is a vegetable. That same night, Bromden suffocates McMurphy with a pillow.
How is McMurphy impacted by the shock treatment?
McMurphy approaches shock therapy like a martyr, and acts unafraid because he cannot allow himself to be afraid because of his leadership position with the men. If he breaks, they break, and he knows it.
Why was McMurphy shock therapy?
McMurphy and Chief get into a fight with the orderlies in order to protect Rub-a-Dub George. They're sent to the Disturbed Ward where they undergo electroshock therapy. McMurphy becomes a small legend because he refuses to admit he was wrong, even though it means perpetual punishment with electroshock therapy.
What does Chief do to McMurphy at the end?
Witnessing McMurphy forced into that type of existence is too much for Chief. After a goodbye hug, Chief makes the choice he believes McMurphy would make for himself by suffocating him with a pillow. The scene is hard to watch, as Mac's body involuntarily fights back.
How does Nurse Ratched gain control over McMurphy?
McMurphy lunges at Nurse Ratched in an attempt to strangle her and tears her garment open, exposing her breasts to the other horrified patients. Nurse Ratched sends McMurphy to receive a lobotomy, and he is returned to the ward in a vegetative state.
How does McMurphy help the patients?
McMurphy's actions helps the patients in the ward feel a sense of power from the fear that they used to have in the ward. They obtain a sense of self and express their feelings toward the rules that Nurse Ratched has put in the ward.
What does electroshock therapy do?
Overview. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure, done under general anesthesia, in which small electric currents are passed through the brain, intentionally triggering a brief seizure. ECT seems to cause changes in brain chemistry that can quickly reverse symptoms of certain mental health conditions.
What crime did McMurphy commit?
Randle Patrick McMurphy is an Irish American brawler found guilty of battery, gambling and statutory rape.
What does McMurphy do on that first morning after his admission that rattles her?
Summary and Analysis Part 1: Come Morning The next morning, McMurphy shocks the ward by singing. He asks an aide for toothpaste, but is told that ward policy won't allow the toothpaste to be unlocked because patients might use it at their own discretion.
What happens at the end of Cuckoo's Nest?
At the film's end, Chief finds McMurphy in bed in the middle of the night, and he attempts to talk. Chief finds that McMurphy has been lobotomized. Chief smothers him with a pillow, and then finally rips that hydrotherapy fountain out of the floor and throws it through the window.
What happened at the end of the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?
In the end, McMurphy attacks Nurse Ratched, inadvertently sacrificing his freedom and his health in exchange for freeing the previously shackled spirits of the cowed patients on the ward. Chief Bromden: The novel's half-Native American narrator has been in the mental hospital since the end of World War II.
What happened to Jack Nicholson at the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's?
He's stopped and given a frontal lobe lobotomy, which basically makes him a zombie. Rather than see McMurphy in his new state, Chief Bromden smothers him with a pillow and kills him.
Who wrote the book "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"?
Writer Ken Kesey' s time working as a nurse's aid at a psychiatric ward at a veteran's hospital in 1960 inspired the idea for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That same year, Dr. Freeman performed a lobotomy on the youngest patient ever to receive one — a 12-year-old boy named Howard Dully.
When did One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest come out?
By Xandra Harbet / Sept. 18, 2020 10:21 am EDT / Updated: Sept. 18, 2020 11:26 am EDT. In the decades since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest debuted in 1975, it's become widely accepted as one of the greatest movies of all time. Also one of the most well-regarded book-to-film adaptations in cinematic history, the screenplay honors Ken Kesey's ...
What does Ratched do when she eviscerates the self confidence that Mac has been trying to bolster in
Ratched knows precisely what she's doing when she eviscerates the self-confidence that Mac has been trying to bolster in the young man, making him feel shame for his actions. Instead of addressing the situation in any healthy or helpful way, she threatens to tell his mom — and the dam holding back Billy's self-loathing breaks. As someone who likes to get a rise out of her patients during therapy, Ratched delights in setting off the conditions that landed him in the hospital to begin with.
What is the significance of Ratched's victory in the ward?
Ratched's victory in the ward highlights the stigma that surrounds mental health patients. A larger problem in the mental health industry, even today, is the failure to listen to and respect psychiatric patients, who deserve to have a say in their care.
What does Chief do to honor his fallen friend?
As one final way to honor his fallen friend, Chief succeeds in ripping the control panel off its stand, chucking it out the window to make his escape. He reaches the freedom Mac strived for while trying something new and succeeding. Even if he failed, Mac would have been proud that he tried, but Chief finally felt "Big," and he acted on it.
What is the trope of Ratched?
This is an outdated TV and film trope that is especially prevalent during periods when society frowns hardest upon expressions of sexuality . In 1963, when the film is set, the hippie movement was just beginning, continuing through 1975, when the film debuted. Along with the idea of peace and making strides to end the Vietnam War, embracing sexuality was a huge aspect of the movement — which was one reason some other parts of society shunned the hippie lifestyle. Characters like Ratched, who are completely unwilling to embrace change, represent the idea that sexuality or promiscuity are punishable, reflecting a major bias of the time (one that still continues today).
When did the movie "Lobotomy" take place?
While the novel takes place in the '50s, the movie is set one year after the novel was released. The book debuted during the height of the lobotomy's acceptable use, while the film is set just as hospitals were phasing out the procedure. Walter Freeman performed his last lobotomy in 1967, five years after the film takes place. By the time the movie was released in 1975, he'd been dead for three years. So why was this story still important to tell?
Why does McMurphy ask for a crown of thorns?
The table is even cross-shaped, so it’s no surprise McMurphy asks for a crown of thorns—referencing Christ at the crucifixion—because he feels he’s been persecuted and now he’s being sacrificed in the name of mental health and control. This reference also forebodes how McMurphy's self-sacrifice will free the men. Bromden comes out of his shock treatment faster than ever and realizes that he has control over his mind again, and the ward doesn’t have him anymore.
What does Harding say about McMurphy's escape?
McMurphy can drive off with Candy and Sandy to Canada or Mexico. When McMurphy asks if anyone else wants to come with him, Harding says he’s nearly ready to go, but he wants to do it with all the red tape. Bromden says he doesn’t know where he wants to go yet. Harding promises McMurphy that the rest of the patients are “still sick men in lots of ways. But at least there’s that: they are sick men now. No more rabbits, Mack.”
Why does Bromden not understand how McMurphy can sleep?
Bromden cannot comprehend how McMurphy can sleep when he’s surely haunted by so many more faces than Bromden, because McMurphy is carrying the weight of so many men’s freedom and dignity on his shoulders.
What happened to McMurphy and Bromden?
McMurphy loses his temper and gets into a fistfight with the aides, and Bromden joins in on the fight. At the fight’s end, all of the patients are congratulating McMurphy on a good fight, but Nurse Ratched has both McMurphy and Bromden sent to Disturbed.
What does Bromden say about McMurphy?
Bromden was sure that McMurphy would never have his name attached to a body stored like that in the day room for the next twenty or thirty years just so Nurse Ratched could use him as “an example of what can happen if you buck the system.” That night, Bromden suffocates McMurphy with a pillow and remarks that he looks the same in death as he did after the lobotomy.
What does Nurse Ratched blame for Cheswick and Billy's deaths?
Nurse Ratched blames McMurphy for Cheswick and Billy’s deaths. And she really does seem to think it's his fault. She thinks that it was the way he helped them not to conform, rather than her shame-based demands for conformity, that killed them. Bromden knows there’s no stopping McMurphy from what he’s going to do when he attacks Nurse Ratched and tries to strangle her. When he rips the front of her uniform, this serves as a symbol of masculine dominance over the feminine. Ratched is revealed to be a “she” who is helpless against McMurphy ’s grip. Her womanhood now makes her subservient in this assault. McMurphy ’s cry when he’s tackled is one of resignation, he knows that he’s signed his own death warrant, and death is all he wants.
What does Nurse Ratched do in Disturbed?
Nurse Ratched ensures that everyone who went on the fishing trip has to get a mandatory shower, “a cautionary cleansing” in light of the company they’d kept , and in hopes nothing would spread throughout the hospital. George Sorenson has a phobia of cleanliness and he begs them not to spray him with their putrid salve. McMurphy loses his temper and gets into a fistfight with the aides, and Bromden joins in on the fight. At the fight’s end, all of the patients are congratulating McMurphy on a good fight, but Nurse Ratched has both McMurphy and Bromden sent to Disturbed. McMurphy enters Disturbed introducing himself like he had at the ward over a month before, asking where the gambling boss is on this floor. A Japanese nurse, who is nice to them, explains that nurses who were in the Army, like Nurse Ratched, tend to try to run things like they’re still in an army hospital. She says they’re “a little sick themselves,” and that she sometimes thinks “all single nurses should be fired after they reach thirty-five.”
What does McMurphy tell Billy about Candy?
McMurphy reminds them that Billy’s date with Candy is later that night. That night, McMurphy persuades Turkle to open the window for Candy. She arrives with Sandy in tow, carrying copious amounts of alcohol. Everyone mixes vodka with cough syrup, while Turkle and McMurphy smoke joints.
How does Bromden tell McMurphy he can avoid electroshock therapy?
Nurse Ratched tells McMurphy that he can avoid electroshock therapy by admitting he was wrong. He refuses, telling her “those Chinese Commies could have learned a few things from you, lady.”.
What does Harding tell McMurphy about Turkle?
Harding tells McMurphy that they can tie up Turkle, so it looks like the mess created by their party was all part of McMurphy’s escape attempt. Turkle can keep his job, the other patients will not get into trouble, and McMurphy can drive off to Canada or Mexico with Candy and Sandy.
Why does Ratched order that everyone who went on the fishing trip be cleansed?
Ratched orders that everyone who went on the fishing trip be cleansed because of the company they kept. George has a phobia regarding cleanliness and begs the aides not to spray him with their smelly salve. McMurphy and Bromden get into a fistfight with the aides to defend George, so Ratched sends them to Disturbed.
What does Harding say about McMurphy?
Harding replies by saying that he is almost ready to leave on his own, with all “the traditional red tape.”. He says that the rest of them are “still sick men in lots of ways. But at least there’s that: they are sick men now.
Why does Nurse Ratched post the patients' financial statements on the bulletin board?
Nurse Ratched posts the patients’ financial statements on the bulletin board to show that everyone’s account, except McMurphy’s, shows a steady decline in funds. The other patients begin to question the motivations for his actions. When a phone call keeps McMurphy away from a Group Meeting, Ratched insinuates that everything he does is motivated by the desire for personal gain. Later, Harding argues that they have all gotten their money’s worth and that McMurphy never hid his con-man ways from them.
What does Chief remember about the bird?
Chief remembers the time when he went bird-hunting with his father, hoping the memory will help him forget his current fear. He recalls how the bird was safe as long as he kept still, but if it moved because of his fear, Papa would be able to shoot it.
What does Bromden see in the aides?
She sees the aides standing around gossiping, and gets angry. She doesn't actually increase in size, but Bromden visualizes this as a symbol of the size of her anger and power.
What is a chronic walker?
Walkers: Chronics who can walk around unaided.
Why does Bromden think he has to keep acting deaf?
When Bromden spoke to them, they acted like he had not said a word. Bromden thinks about it because he wants to sign up for the fishing trip, but cannot because he doesn't want people to find out that he's not deaf. He figures that he has to "keep acting deaf if [he] wanted to hear at all.".
What does Chief remember about the bird?
Chief remembers the time when he went bird-hunting with his father, hoping the memory will help him forget his current fear. He recalls how the bird was safe as long as he kept still, but if it moved because of his fear, Papa would be able to shoot it.
What does Bromden see in the aides?
She sees the aides standing around gossiping, and gets angry. She doesn't actually increase in size, but Bromden visualizes this as a symbol of the size of her anger and power.
What is a chronic walker?
Walkers: Chronics who can walk around unaided.