OFOTCN Post 1

Like many other people in our class, I am also reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I am finding it very interesting so far, and it's also really interesting to be reading it at the same time as we are watching the movie. One of the parts I have found most interesting about the book so far that sets it apart from the movie is the description of the black boys working on the ward. On page 30, there is a pretty intense description of one of them and his childhood. It really puts the reader at a different perspective, since we are able to see that he has a troubled past that explains his ability to be so sadistic on the ward. Though we only get a description for one of them, one can only assume the other two have a similar past that puts them on the same level. I think one of the biggest things in this book is something we've discussed with the movie as well, which is what really defines "craziness." Something else I have noticed with this book so far is that there is a lot of electric imagery. For example, the nurse is compared to a robot, and a lot of the inner workings of the ward are compared to the way electronics can be wired. I'm not sure yet what relevance this has to the story, but I am wondering if it relates to the idea of electroshock therapy. I have also noticed that many of the patients in the ward are already rebellious to some extent, without needing McMurphy to make them that way. For example, Taber refuses to take his medicine, and chief is the one who puts it in his mouth and then spits it out later. Because of this, my prediction is that McMurphy will not be as influential as he is in the movie. By this I mean that he will not create any behavior that didn't previously exist, he will only motivate what is already there. By doing this, the rebellion could reach a whole new level of either overthrowing or escape.