One+Flew+Over+The+Cuckoo's+Nest+4B

Group Members:
Sam W Mike J (facilitator) Allie F Sam R Conor C Jacob D Ben F
 * Linda D.

Sam W- Brownies Mike J- Chips Allie F- Choc. Chip Cookies Sam R- Juice Drink Conor C- Assortment of crackers with cheese Jacob D-
 * Food**

=**Book Discussion Agenda**=

Introduction

 * All members introduce themselves
 * Discuss the format of the book talk

**Plot-Based Questions and Analysis**

 * What is the significance of Chief Bromden's repeated references to machinery and the "Combine" throughout the book? Could these hallucinations point towards schizophrenia?
 * How does Nurse Ratched's need to ensure her own authority in the hospital affect the way she treats her patients? Is how she treats the men ever beneficial to their mental states?
 * What is the significance of the references to McMurphy's tired look? Is there truth to Harding's explanation that McMurphy has helped the rest of the men regain their sanity at the risk of losing his own?
 * What is the role of woman in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?" Why are the women in the novel essentially divided into the groups of "ball-cutters" and "whores?"
 * Who is at fault for Billy's death? Why? Was McMurphy's reaction justified?
 * Does Nurse Ratched actually have control over the Acutes who are are in the ward voluntarily? How?
 * How does McMurphy make Chief Bromden strong again?

Character/Narration

 * Why does Kesey choose to have Chief Bromden act deaf and dumb?
 * How does Harding act as a foil to McMurphy and at the same time compliment his personality?
 * Why is Chief Bromden the narrator and not McMurphy? Who is really the protagonist of the novel?
 * Did you feel that the unreliable narrator intensified the aura of insanity and uncertainty in the ward?
 * Do you feel like, the characters are actually improving in their mental healths? Is the asylum helping or hurting its patients?
 * Was McMurphy really insane? If so, could he have succeeded without the opposition of the Big Nurse?

Setting

 * How does Chief Bromden's narration affect the reader's perception of the ward? Can his observations of the setting be taken at face value?
 * In what ways is the time period of the novel reflected in the treatment of the patients?
 * How did the imagery created by the spotless white walls of the ward and the white-dressed attendants contribute to the eerily dark feeling of the asylum?

Themes/Motifs/Symbols

 * What could the fog symbolize?
 * Early in the novel there are repeated references to birds and birdlike imagery, such as Harding's hand motions and the "pecking order." What are the significance of these?
 * What parallels are drawn between McMurphy and Jesus?

Style of Writing

 * Do you think that Kesey's use of another patient enhance the story or take away from the credibility?
 * How much of the story do you think is truthful or actually happened?
 * Why did Kesey write the novel in the present tense?

Significant Quotes

 * I been silent so long now it's gonna roar out of me like floodwaters and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! But, please. It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen.
 * "But I tried though," he says. "Goddammit, I sure as hell did that much, now, didn't I?"
 * I'm further off than I've ever been. This is what it's like to be dead. I guess this is what it's like to be a Vegetable; you lose yourself in the fog. You don't move. They feel your body till it finally stops eating; then they burn it. It's not so bad. There's no pain. I don't feel much of anything other than a touch of chill I figure will pass in time.
 * It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen.
 * I can't help it. I was born a miscarriage. I had so many insults I died. I was born dead. I can't help it.... I'm tired.
 * I watched and tried to figure out what he would have done. I was only sure of one thing: he wouldn't have left something like that sit there in the day room with his name tacked on it for twenty or thirty years so the Big Nurse could use it as an example of what can happen if you buck the system. I was sure of that.

**Compare/Contrast to the Film**
[] - A Time Magazine article comparing and contrasting the film with the novel. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/11007-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-horror-of-psychiatry-video.htm - How Stuff Works video
 * Based on the article or film, why do you think Milos Forman may have exempted Randle McMuphy's darker side and deeper character relationships for the the film adaptation?