cuckoo_nest

A) McMurphy: Mc�s a Mick to befit all stereotypes. He�s big, he�s belligerent, he gambles (a lot), and he has red hair. He is not well educated, but very clever, as he fakes mental illness to elude menial work at a prison farm. Mc wavered a bit throughout the novel, but aside from outside interference like a lobotomy, he always had the same personality.
Nurse Rached: Ahh, the Big Nurse. In her mid-fifties, BN likes the way the ward was before Mc, when she had total domination of the patients, and she could systematically wear down one�s self esteem, as the Combine would. She usually remains cool during Mc�s outbursts, only to punish him and/or the rest of the ward later. Her grasp on patients� lives was greatly diminished by novel�s end, however.
Chief Bromden: A near-giant of half-Indian descent nicknamed Chief Broom, he is the narrator, who is very skeptical about the merits of oppressive society- the Combine- and therefore, pretends to be deaf and dumb, thus labeled an un-fixable Chronic patient. He is, at least indirectly, involved in almost every event throughout the novel, especially after Mc gives him inner strength.
Harding: A college-educated closet homosexual with great anxiety over his personal �inadequacy�. Apparently, his wife is extremely voluptuous, if not a moron herself, which he doesn�t hesitate to point out during her visit. He futilely urges Mc to escape, before his lobotomy, as a foreshadowing effect
Bibbit: 31-year-old stuttering patient whose mother is close friends with BN. He develops a fondness for one of Mc�s whore friends during a fishing trip and arranges a date, so that he may lose his virginity. After their encounter is discovered by BN and she threatens to alert Bibbit�s mother to it, he commits suicide.
Taber: A former patient likened to Mc because of his rebellious tendencies, he was given repeated EST, and released, one of the few success stories. You�re not really reading this, are you?
Cheswick: The first supporter of Mc, who drowns himself after Mc briefly submits to BN upon learning that he is committed.
Martini: One of the few patients who could be labeled �insane�, Mc exudes tolerance and includes him in card games, etc., really just to get cigarettes and money from him.
Lifeguard: A delusional former football player that tells Mc that he is committed, and may leave only at the staff�s discretion.
Bancini: Another lunatic since birth, but, in a moment of clarity, tells patients that he was �born dead�.
Ellis: An Acute ruined by EST, nailed to the wall during the day, and appears to be incontinent.
Rawler (Ruckly?): Same as Ellis, ruined by EST.
Old Blastic: A Vegetable that Chief dreams is murdered in a mechanized slaughterhouse, and actually dies during the same night.
Dr.Spivey: A paradoxical character, supposed to have authority over the hospital, yet subservient to BN, while addicted to prescription drugs. He changes upon Mc�s arrival as well.

     McMurphy bears some symbolic resemblance to Mohandas �Mahatma� Gandhi, in that he generally practices nonviolent resistance to BN�s policy, as with the World Series. I was going to say Jesus, but I�m sure that�s �played out�. He is a bit like a cult leader, however, since he gets patients to consistently back him.
     BN clearly represents Janet Reno, since, in the novel, she appears androgynous as does Ms. (Mr.?) Reno or the character �Pat� from SNL. The only presumed way this would be possible, is if Ken Kesey was to locate and use a time machine to transport himself to sometime during the Clinton administration (perhaps the scandal with the Cuban kid), get a feel for Reno�s personality, and include it in his book, unaccredited, of course.
      The Control Panel in the Tub Room would symbolize an altar of some sort, since it is in the center of the gathering place for many patients during the day.
       The White Whale(s) on Mc�s boxers could hypothetically be sperm whales, further indicating that Mc is a sex maniac.
    There really is no Irony in the novel, since it is mostly predictable psychobabble adapted from a drug addict�s LSD-induced delusions during a work period at a mental institution.
     Point of View is quite obviously first person, told through Chief, through the use of �I� and �we� to describe many situations.
    The novel is Set during the early 1960s, in a rural-Oregon mental hospital. The ward itself is pretty much removed from the outside world, and is generally a drab, sterile environment.
    If nothing else, this novel demonstrates the Futility of Rebellion. Kesey forces a reader to see that raising Hell gets you nowhere, unless you like keeping a part of your brain in a jar on your night stand. While it is completely fallacious, there are others that are more feasible, such as the demonstrated Fleeting Freedom theme, which hints that, even in this �great democracy� Freedom can be revoked without �due process of the law� for any decent reason. For, example, Mc was justifiably sent to prison for assault, but there was no cause for his commitment to the mental hospital, as is true for most of the patients on the ward, and therefore, I believe that such institutions are completely superfluous. One of the best-illustrated themes is the Monotony of Conformity, which is a bit of a contradiction to the first apparent thesis in the novel. This tenet would advocate the overthrow of a droning lifestyle, but would it result in a favorable outcome? I�ll let you decide. (Yes)
     There is one prevalent Conflict throughout the course of the novel, that between Mc and BN. Rather than use a condescending tone, I think I won�t expand on that further. Trust me, it�s there.
      Foreshadowing, the tool of any lazy writer that doesn�t take the time to captivate and surprise their readers, is abundant in this novel. The main example occurs at Mc�s arrival to the ward. Right away, he does not fit with his surroundings, and it can be deduced that he will somehow be removed from the course of events, probably death. It is clear that he will not assimilate to BN�s standards, and the ward won�t accommodate him in his present state.