Power
Tonight I’ll be talking about one
flew over the cuckoo’s nest. Talking about McMurphy and nurse ratchet in
respect to their relationship between one other. How they struggle in their
race and fight for power for the other patients in the ward and the hospital in
general. Ill demonstrate this point by examples from the book itself and
connecting to world through the united states of American federal elections
that are currently under way. Sorry that I’m using this example again, it’s
just a really good example for the book and the dynamics between nurse ratchet
and McMurphy. As for a personal experience that i can also rumble about, I
guess I can reach way back to my cadet days and relate to the officers and the
power struggle between them to control the cadets and other lower ranking
officer in the squad.
As for the book that I’m sure you all read as some pretty good examples
of their power struggle, and I’m sure you got one or two of them in your head
right now. Yes the repeated breaking of the nurses’ station window, is the
clearest and best example of McMurphy threat or challenge to her power and the
power over the other patients. With ken Kelsey literally demonstrating nurse
ratchet almost un-see able control over all the patients and staff except McMurphy by a window. Then McMurphy breaking it showing his challenge to nurse
ratchets power, making a remark about how clear it was he almost! Didn't see it
there. Forcing her hand nurse ratchet has to back down and retreat, letting McMurphy
win this round instilling a false convenience allowing him to organize a
fishing trip that he, candy a hooker not an aunt!, the doctor and the other
patients go on. In conclusion ken Kelsey is setting McMurphy up for a beating
by the combine.
For my world example I’m a comparing Romney as ratchet minus the big
boobs and McMurphy as Obama without the red hair. Romney is weird backwards old
school republican aligning himself with the crazy rednecks of America or the “combine”
much like nurse ratchet in her was. Obama is a semi old school America but whose
trying to change and better America like McMurphy who is normal enough to to squeeze
by the combine all those years and now is trying to help the other patients in
his only weird way. Romney uses scare tactics to sway voters into changing their
minds like nurse ratchet uses her silence plus cold face and newspaper clipping
to scare the patients into changing their mind. Obama uses a much one laid back
approach but simply smooth talking his way in to votes like McMurphy smooth
talks the other patient into voting to watch the word series or going on the
fishing trip.
As for myself I guess back when I used to attend cadets I remember the
officers trying to persuade the cadets to join there group or event, in order
to get the go ahead their event or to rank first with their hand picked group. Some
would smooth talk you offering perks to you or your hard work others with scare
you into it saying that you might get to go at all or you might be out in the
last group and rushed through. I guess in the end we all want power to some
degree/or reason and use different ways to obtain it whether it through scaring
people or persuading them or even flat out manipulation.
Hey Brett!
ReplyDeleteYou were in Cadets? AWESOME! Anyways I could see where control and dominance would be. They don’t want younger and the least experienced kids to take over them and crush them down. It’s humiliating for them and it shows that they have smaller balls then the kids when they are supposed to be all high and mighty! I think that would be a tough job to have, kids only learn respect as they get older and it would take allot of patience to take on those kids. Get them into shape! Romney is horrible. End of story! He uses insults as a shield so he can make people think Obama is weaker and sway voters towards Romney. He’s like Ms Ratched exactly but I think Ratched is smarter than Romney anyday hands down. I honestly think McMurphy can be related to alot of people now days. Example I could use how I’m crazy at work. I was telling Peter how I have my own section of the Dining room that I control and if someone comes in to try to change it... I get in a defensive mode and I get power crazy. It’s horrible I know but honestly being on my own for a while, working on my own as well gets me to be this way. No one can control me what’s so ever. Unless it’s someone of higher authority like my boss or my teacher :P but I’m not one to test when it comes to control.
Great blog!
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ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that power can be seen everywhere, in all forms and walks of life, even a mental institution. People struggle for power every days of their lives. For example, wanting a promotion at work. We also struggle with the status quo, similar to what’s happening between Big Nurse and McMurphy, as you mentioned. Our parents, our teachers, our bosses, our Government, it goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison of Romney and Obama and how they relate to Big Nurse and McMurphy. To keep things interesting, I’ll throw this out there. You can actually spin this argument both ways. See, Obama is more of the communist type. No, I’m not one of those people. But, he does seem sympathetic to some communist ideals, like Universal healthcare are and his sort of anti-capitalism ways of thinking on regulation (I.e.: the need for more regulation. Romney is leans more to the libertarian side (on gun control, regulation, etc). In theory, Romney would be McMurphy and is fighting to dismantle the system, whereas Obama would likely be in favour of maintaining the system and would be sympathetic towards Big Nurse. Long story short, Obama would want more laws and regulation, similar to Big Nurse’s thinking. Romney would want a more lax system where every individual is their own person and has the ability to make the best decisions for themselves, and doesn’t want a system forcing decisions on their behalf.
Note: I have voted for 3 separate parties, and if American, would vote for neither of these candidates. ;)
hey brett, i like your post and you seem really like politics and know a lot about them, but to be honest i don’t know anything about Obama and Romney so i could not see how their characters would compare to the nurse and mcmurphy, but i do like the points that you made about the nurse scaring people to gain power over them, and how mcmurphy sweet talks them but also gains power. i also belief that comparing Obama and Romney they way you did really depend on one’s own opinion because someone else would totally disagree with you, but again i don’t really know too much about this topic =P . i really like the example you gave about how McMurphy breaking the window is showing his challenge to the big nurse and a defiance of her power over not only him but the other patience because as we see later on when a new window is placed another patience breaks the window so this supports the fact that mcmurphy has power over the men and they follow him. I find very interesting the fact that you went to cadets and you saw how the officers persuade the cadets to join their group, because my step brother was a cadet as well and he would come home and make fun of how hard they try to make them join a group. Your blog also made me realize how everyone wants power over people but without people to control there would be no way to obtain power so having too many leaders would be a problem and naturally there has to be leaders and people to follow dose leaders.
ReplyDelete