Friday, May 7, 2010

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's

Analysis of McMurphy's Conversation with the Lifeguard

"He was talking to the lifeguard, and I was standing a few feet away... I heard him tell McMurphy that, for one thing, being committed ain't like being sentenced. "Your sentenced in a jail, and you got a date ahead of you when you know you're gonna be turned lose," he said." (Kesey 147). This quote is significant to the role change in McMurphy's character because it dawns on him that he is stuck there. He is committed to the mental hospital and the only person who can decide when he leaves is the Big Nurse.

After this hits him he realizes that maybe he shouldn't be playing with fire and messing with authority. During his talk with Harding he also comes to the knowledge that most of them are there on their own free will and not committed like him. I believe that this conversation really hits home with him because now he ponders why these people would be here voluntarily. Up until this point of the novel McMurphy has always thought of the patients as people who were forced to be there against their will. But now after this new discovery, it's almost as if he feels like they are more insane for going there intentionally.

In my opinion, McMurphy is now wondering how long he'll be there and if the Nurse will allow him to leave. I also believe that he regrets going there to get out of work. McMurphy wonders if he will go crazy from being there so long and what will happen to him if he stays there.

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. New York: Penguin Books, 1962. Print.

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