Questions for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

How effective was Kesey in characterizing McMurphy as an antihero?
The use of McMurphy as an antihero  depicts the setting of the book. Considering it takes place in a psychiatric ward, no one is completely sane, including Big Nurse herself. I honestly don't think it would be possible for someone to go through that ward and not be even a little insane coming out of it. Even though McMurphy was just trying to escape the torture of working in a field and not insane, the way he is portrayed throughout the story leads us to believe that he might just be. He is a rebel, which contributes to the values we, as an audience, may not agree with. He is very hostile and drinks, sneaks in girls, breaks the rules, and completely disobeys Big Nurse. This is clearly not someone who is a pure hero, but then again, he's fighting against someone we see as the villain. She is mean and hateful and we despise her because of the horrible things she does. Even though he doesn't have good values or the best personality traits, we love him because he's fighting against someone we dislike and doing it for a good cause. This contributes to the big idea of the book because we see that Nurse Ratched is impossible to overthrow, but the fact that he is trying makes us like him and we are eager to see if it can actually be done. This keeps us on the edge of our seats and makes for an interesting plot and good storyline.

How does McMurphy relate to Christ?
We see when McMurphy first comes to the ward that he is against someone who is a dictator and doing something horrible. He fights for the people who can't fight for themselves, which is something Christ would definitely do. Later on, mcMurphy goes on a fishing trip and takes 10 men from the ward along with himself and a friend, Candy, which makes twelve. This could be considered a reference to the twelve disciples on the fishing trip. He seems to overcome everything and takes a hit for all the other patients, which is what Jesus does. He takes a toll for everyone else around him. In the end, McMurphy endures electoshock therapies and finally at the end, undergoes a lobotomy. He even asks if they will put a crown of thorn on his heads, which is a direct allusion to the Bible when Jesus is being sacrificed on the cross. Right before he is given the lobotomy, he knows that he is giving up himself for all the patients in the ward and is contributing to a good cause and reality. This is what Christ does when he gives himself to save everyone's sins. McMurphy sacrificed himself for the well-being of the patients.

What significance did the fog the Chief saw all the time have throughout the book?
The fog is what Chief sees when he is heavily medicated. As we know, Chief is somewhat of an unreliable narrator due to the fact that he is insane. He tells us what he sees, but sometimes what he sees is just his mind playing tricks on him and distorts reality. He is heavily medicated and during the first part of the book, we know Chief is taking all his pills regularly. We see that the fog is always with him and he can't see well. As the story progresses, however, and McMurphy presents himself, the fog seemingly fades away. This is a sign that the medication isn't affecting Chief as much because of the way he's overcome it, or he's rebelled and has stopped taking the medication. At one point, we see where Chief doesn't take his medicine and he lies in bed at night seeing and hearing everything going on around him. He walks to the window and we see him dive into his past by taking a glimpse outside at nature. We see this as part of Chief's growth and development. The fog represents how he grows as a person and starts to think and act for himself, rather than being completely brainwashed by Big Nurse.

What did the patients leaving the ward at the end of the book have to say about Nurse Ratched and McMurphy?
Even though we see that McMurphy is defeated by death, his spirit is still within the ward. After he is gone, the patients realize that they don't need the ward any longer and that they can be their own people. McMurphy has shown them that they are able to survive in the world by themselves and they don't have to be "bunnies" that are ruled by a wolf. They can be who they want to be, and Nurse Ratched's reign is finally over. She has been overthrown, whether we see this directly or not. Almost all the patients leave (or escape, in Chief's case), which shows their growth and how McMurphy has influenced them to be better people. Nurse Ratched may have been able to manipulate them at one point, but after McMurphy shows them what they can be and what all they can do, they realize how great life is and how they can finally think for themselves. Nurse Ratched's days are finally over and all the patients are free.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Blog #2

 I would say that McMurphy is definitely getting the best of his rivalry at this point because he is gaining the trust and the support of all the acutes in the ward. He has them following him and taking after the things he does. They're all against the Big Nurse and she's starting to slip at her job. During one of the meetings Nurse Ratched holds, she brings up the relationship Harding and his wife have and after the discussion where all the patients were criticizing Harding, McMurphy explains to Harding that the Big Nurse is a cruel, viscious woman. While Harding disagrees at first, he finally sees that she is evil and mean and goes on to say that they are all bunnies being ruled by a wolf. She is able to manipulate the patients and turn them against each other and this is seen in the meetings. McMurphy steps in and says that they should turn against her. They start to believe him more and more.
My perception of Chief at this point is still that he's very confused. He still sees fog, but it seems that he's starting to come around. We can see that McMurphy has influenced him, as well as many of the other patients, but it's still hard to tell what Chief thinks of all of this. When McMurphy came, he began to start understanding more things and realizing things he had been to afraid to face. His narration changes because things become a little more clear and he picks up on a lot of details. He is starting to think more for himself when McMurphy has arrived and this changes his character in the whole.
I'm not only rooting for McMurphy to overthrow Nurse Ratched, but I'm also rooting for Chief to get out of the fog he's in and come around to his senses. I think it would be neat to see Chief finally confront people about who he really is and I think that with McMurphy's help he can do that. I'm rooting for McMurphy to overthrow Nurse Ratched because I can tell the patients in this ward need something to look forward to, to aspire to, and to get out of the hell they think they're living in. As for Chief, I'm rooting for him to become the old self he used to be before he came to the ward and before everyone ignored him.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Blog #1

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Nurse Ratched, or Big Nurse, seems to be immediately portrayed as the villain. She wants everything her way, and she does that at everyone else's expense. When McMurphy, the "new guy" comes to the ward, he seems to be the hero. He immediately makes friends with everyone, making sure to shake everyone's hands, including the people who can't even move. We see him as the hero because he is trying to make things right and he rebels against the twisted environment Big Nurse has created. We even hear Bromden say that McMurphy's laugh is the first true laugh they've heard in years. That almost creates a response that everyone trusts him. However, since McMurphy rebels, we have to categorize him as an antihero because while he doesn't do things that are necessarily right or moral, what he does is in the best interest of everyone and he's standing up against an abusive and powerful dictator. This makes him an antihero because we are still for him, even though he breaks rules.
Any other characters at this point don't have a category because we don't see them as really a hero or villain; therefore, they remain characters that just fill in the space for the moment.

Final Gatsby Reading Blog (Chapters 7-9)

1. What is the main theme Fitzgerald displays throughout this book?
Though there were many themes in The Great Gatsby, the theme I saw displayed throughout the book most prominently was the idea of unfulfilled goals and ambitions. This is first seen through Tom when we see how he is always trying to live out his college days, but obviously can not. He fails in the end because not only does he Daisy, but he loses Myrtle too. He went from having a wife and a back-up woman as his mistress to having no one at all. Gatsby also tries to reenact what used to be of his and Daisy's relationship while they were younger. He goes to extremes to make this happen, but in the end he fails. While he does end up with Daisy's love, she still loves Tom too, and he ends up getting killed; all for nothing, one could say.

2. What can we infer from Gatsby's unconditional love for Daisy?
While Gatsby may have unwanted feelings for Daisy, he loves her nonetheless. He would go to the ends of the earth and back a million times if that's what it took to get her to love him. His unconditional love for Daisy shows that he is a character of time, management, and tenderness. He will do what it takes for however long it takes. He is willing to do anything, and this shows that he has passion. This also shows that he is a caring person. While he displays some shady characteristics, he is a deep, heart-filled loving person and his main goal is to achieve the love of Daisy's heart. While most people's dreams are with expensive things and special needs, he wants a girl. He does consume very materialistic properties, but it is not for his own desire; it is all for Daisy, which makes him a generous and caring person.

3. They eyes of T.J. Eckleberg are referred to in Chapter 8 as God by George Wilson. For what purpose does Fitzgerald use symbolism throughout the story to emphasis a possibly higher power?
Throughout the entire book, the reoccurring eys of T.J. Eckleberg are mentioned. In Chapter 8, Wilson refers to the eyes as God and this then allows us to reach back into the beginning of the book to see how it could have symbolized a higher power earlier on. The eyes overlook the industrialized area of the city, which means that there is a higher power always watching. People are trying to do things that are good, because they are being judged. At the end, Wilson says he wants to get away, which means that he wants to go away with Myrtle, out of the eyes' reach. People in the industrialized area of town are all being watched and try to keep a good reputation so the higher power will see what "good" they have done. This shows that the people are only trying to live a good life so that they won't be judged, and not that they are just wired that way, thus showing the people living there are only worried about their outward appearance, whether than living a good life of humbleness and simplicity.

Great Gatsby Reading Blog #2 (Chapters 4-6)

Meyer Wolfsheim doesn't take on a big roll as far as we've seen. His character is never developed so we know he can't be too important, but we do find out some things about him that also pertain to Gatsby's past. Wolfsheim appears to be caught up in some shady business that Gatsby is also a part of. This is a big step for the book because until now, we don't know a great deal of what Gatsby's real past was like. Nick finds out through meeting Wolfsheim about how Gatsby is in some business that could be seen as tainted and mysterious.When he offers Nick a "business gonnegtion" that could have made him some extra cash, it seems by the way he's talking about the business that it's illegal. In this sense, we as an audience start to associate Gatsby with this kind of risky business and provides an inference we must make about Gatsby-whether he's a nice guy in a bad business or that he's a little shady himself.
As we are provided with the past of Gatsby and Daisy, we start to feel more connected to Gatsby. The story of a boy falling in love with a girl before he goes to war- a perfect love story. However, while he is gone, the girl runs off to marry another man for his money. In any setting, an audience would feel bad for the boy. The boy is Gatsby and we all think of Daisy as a selfish girl. We side with Gatsby and become emotionally connected to him because he is now the victim in this situation. As we find out, he is still helplessly in love with Daisy and goes to extremes to try to win her back. We see Gatsby now as a romantic, sweet man and he immediately becomes the hero where we are all rooting for him. With Tom as an awful husband who cheats and beats Daisy, we are all waiting for that right moment for Gatsby to sweep Daisy off her feet and carry her into the sunset.
The rest of Gatsby's past story gives us the impression that he's not as perfect as he may appear to be. Rather than growing up in a rich family and inheriting a wealthy fortune, he was very poor.This changes our opinion of Gatsby yet again because we see that he has not been honest with Nick in telling him the past before we find these things out. This makes the readers wonder if we can trust anything else Gatsby has told us and we wonder how reliable of a person he really is.
My overall impression of Gatsby changes throughout these three chapters. Even though we see that he has lied about many things, I find him to be a generally nice human being with good goals and ambitions. We are able to see what a sweet man he is because he spent his whole life building up an image that Daisy would want to see and he becomes someone she would want to be with. This shows us that his love for Daisy overpowers everything. Although at times, he may do things to the extreme and may choose to do things on impulse, overall he has good intentions and he cares about Daisy more than anything else. This, to me, proves that he has a genuinely good heart and is a good man.

Jelly Roll Morton "Black Bottom Stomp"

This song is very upbeat and sounds like an old dancing song being played on a record player. I could see this at one of Gatsby's parties; everyone would be outside on a patio-like dancing floor with lights all around and a live jazz band playing. This song would be the song that everyone would be dancing to while some of the older sophisticated men stood around and talked while watching. Gatsby would be one of these men and they would be silently judging the people as they came and went. There would be little waiters all dressed up coming around and serving the people champagne and little tasty bite-sized food so the people were kept occupied. This song sounds like it would be the last song to play before everyone headed out for the night.

Great Gatsby Reading Blog #1 (Chapters 1-3)

Having only read the first three chapters of The Great Gatsby, it was difficult to pinpoint what "title" each character possessed. However, the description of the main characters allowed us to be conscience of what traits they displayed and what attitudes they expressed. Nick appears to be our reliable narrator from the very beginning. This would allow us to automatically categorize him under the "hero" subtitle. Not only do we recognize him as reliable, but we see him as a good-hearted man and kind. Tom, however we see as a villain. He isn't kind and he's very rude and arrogant. He's having an affair and just doesn't seem like the type of man you would call your "friend". On page 7, Nick describes Tom as "a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body....it was a body capable of enormous leverage- a cruel body." This shows how he establishes his higher power over everyone and thinks he's better than all. This would definitely be a characteristic of a villain, considering no one likes him. However, I believe there may be a chance later in the book for him to redeem himself, then making him an antihero. I don't think we've seen enough of Daisy to know whether she's really a heroine or not; therefore, I don't see a reason to draw a conclusion to her. Jordan may appear as an antihero because she is dishonest and cheats, but the audience still likes her. This would tie in with the definition of antihero, whereas an antihero employs many characteristics of archetype but their actions contradict what society deems acceptable, but then uses vigilante justice. Our first impression of Jordan is when Nick says ""Oh-you're Jordan Baker." I knew now why her face was familiar-its pleasing contemptuous expression had looked out at me from many rotogravure pictures of the sporting life at Asheville and Hot Springs and Palm Beach. I had heard some story of her too, a critical, unpleasant story, but what it was I had forgotten long ago. (page 18)" We later find out how she cheats and lies continuously, but yet we still are fond of her. Mr. Gatsby is a very mysterious character; yet his name is the title of the book, thus giving us the idea he plays an important role in the book. I would indicate him as a hero, merely from the fact that the title is his name and he is mysterious and we as readers want to grow closer to him. This will lead us to have an emotional attachment with him. I believe that he will make some kind of extraordinary appearance and do something that will prove himself worthy of the name "hero", but for now all we can do is hypothesize.