One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Part 2

Throughout the novel Kesey uses many different forms of writing devices in order lead the reader to information and ideas that he doesn't give forthright. In Part 2 there were a few that stood out to me that I believe are very important in order to understand the story and grasp the feelings and happenings surrounding the different characters.

First, the way Bromden describes each characters stature. When Bromden describes McMurphy he describes him as a large and strong man, far larger than himself. From the descriptions of Bromden this is clearly not true, Bromden is far larger in measurements. When Bromden describe stature the larger and stronger the person the more sane or self assured they seem to be. Bromden describes McMurphy as being so large because he is amazed by McMurphy's strength to be himself even with the pressure of the Combine on him.

Second, in the beginning of Part 2 Bromden's life is filled with fog and he only sees within the Combine, but as he begins to look up to McMurphy and his rebellion and strength the fog begins to clear. Things are beginning to change for Bromden he seems more aware and even states that he begins to think about things that he hasn't thought about in years. An important and large example of this is when Bromden looks out the window once the fog is gone and is able to see out into the countryside where the hospital is located. The things he sees and describes are beautiful and natural much different then how he describes things inside the hospital in depressing and mechanical terms, signifying a great change within himself as well as the hospital.

Third, toward the of Part 2 McMurphy reverts back to his ways of rebellion after realizing it is not worth it to follow the rules, the consequence isn't any worse then what he is already currently dealing with. McMurphy breaks Nurse Ratched's window which could signify an end to her rule and tyranny. The glass breaking is her power breaking down at the hand of McMurphy.

( I am sure there are many more I have overlooked if anyone has any more examples please respond to my post.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Part 1

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest tells the tale of two enemies McMurphy and Nurse Ratched in the ward of a mental hospital told through the eyes of one of the patients, Bromden. Bromden seems to have little to do with the progression of the main plot and yet he is the narrator. The way in which Bromden narrators the story in my opinion adds emphasis to where the story to takes place and gives us inside information on each of the characters. While having a discussion in class many people asked why the story wasn't written in McMurphy's point of view? As confusing as it can be at times I believe this was a very good choice on Kesey's part. With Bromden as the narrator we are given a much further insight into the ward then could ever be given by McMurphy even after his stay in the ward. Brodmen's point of view also gives us insight into the mind of a "mentally disturbed" person, unlike McMurphy, who says that he is only in the ward in order to be moved from the work camp where he was previously serving his court ordered time.

Bromden gives the ward a much more difference appearance then what I believe would have been projected by McMurphy. He knows all of the ins and outs, as well as all of the people and what is done there. He also progresses as a person through the work of his flashbacks which make him appear different as you read further into the novel. In the beginning of the novel I imagine Bromden as a large quiet older man that I would cross the street to avoid because he seems scary and deranged but as the story progress Bromden has changed in my mind. After finishing Part One, Bromden seems like a regular guy someone calm and collected like someone you might know. That doesn't seem like a good explanation but that is the only way I can think to put it.

Love Leads to Tragedy

In a large number of Shakespeare's plays there is one clear running theme "Love Leads to Tragedy". From most if not all of the Shakespeare plays that I have read through my high-school career is theme has played a significant role in the plot. The love of one character for another person or general being leads to fatal tragedy that either works as part of the plot in the play or as the ending.

In Romeo and Juliet the love that these two young star crossed lovers share leads them to death in their quest to be together against the wishes of their waring families. A beautiful love story leads to fatal tragedy. The death of these to characters works to end the play and resolve the complications between the waring families, if only they would have stopped this before their children's lives were taken.

In Othello, Othello's great love for Desdemona leads him into madness when he believes that she is having an affair with one of his close friends. Little does he know that this all is a plot against him to create conflict and have him removed from his position. In rage and jealousy Othello kills Desdemona who is completely innocent and loved him and only him until the moment she died. After her death Othello finds the truth and so angry and disgusted with himself he ends his own life. This ends the play and again resolves the conflict in the story but leaves to lovers dead at the hands of hate.

In Hamlet, Hamlet's great love and respect for his father leaves him jaded, depressed, and quite possibly mad. Hamlet cannot move on from his father's death as it seems like the world is moving on around without him. Hamlet learns from a ghost of his father who is true murder is and Hamlet then filled with vengeance that started from lost love plots to kill his uncle. This all leads up to the end of the play where all of the main characters are dead, all stemming from the love of a son for his father.

(Do you believe that I am correct with my assumption about Shakespeare's work is correct? Think back the Shakespeare you have read do you have any other examples that go along with this theme?)

Ghost of my Father

In reading Hamlet so many different ideas come forth even just from the first two scenes. First, is the ghost of Old King Hamlet really there or is it just madness or false vision? Second, what is to come with the ghost of Old King Hamlet? Why has he risen again to walk the earth is it to warn and help the country or to protect his beloved son? Third, with the knowledge gained what can Hamlet do in the future?

One of the main themes of Hamlet as we learned well doing our pre-work for Hamlet is madness. Is Hamlet truly mad does he really see and speak with his father? This question can change a persons whole perception of the events taking place. Me personally, I believe in ghost or spirits. I believe that our loved ones are around us watching over us and protecting us. Some people believe that I am crazy but I believe that I have seen a ghost of my great-grandfather whom I never met. I saw him in my grandmothers house where she has also said she has seen and felt her fathers spirit. This I feel affects how I feel toward young Hamlet and the situation he is in. I do not believe that he is mad but yet merely being visited my a protecting spirit.

Old King Hamlet is lurking but what has he come to protect his country, his son, or possibly both? I believe that within protecting his son with his otherworld knowledge he will in turn help Young Hamlet to save Denmark, mind you this is without having yet read the play. I have come to this conclusion because I believe that most if not all parents first and most important concern is for their children.

What will this all mean for the Hamlet's future and the future of Denmark we will all just have to continue to read and see where Shakespeare will lead us.

(What is your stance of "Hamlet's condition" do you believe he is really seeing his dead father or do you believe that he is truly mad? Why? Have you ever had what you believe to be an experience or encounter with someone from beyond the grave?)

Kubla-Klan and Ozymandias

1. In "Kubla-Klan", I think that the author is warning against letting your imagination run away with you. When the poem first starts off, with a beautiful paradise with imagery to make the reader think that the poem is going to be about a wonderful dream place. But the poem quickly takes a turn to the total opposite spectrum by the end of the poem. The author then talks about this place in the total opposite spectrum. He says this place is "savage" and has "caves of ice". By the end of the poem the author is telling the reader to beware by saying "and close your eyes with holy dread, for he on honeydew hath fed, and drunk the milk of paradise." To me this is saying that the author is warning the reader to watch out for what you imagine could be a paradise because in reality it might not be as great as you thought it would be. I believe Coleridge wrote this to show people that what they think is better is not always best, and that things aren't always as they appear.

2. As I read Ozymandias, I heard three speakers within the poem. The three speakers are the narrator, the traveler, and Ozymandias. The narrator tells what a traveler once said to him about a broken statue he saw in the desert. From this we hear the third speaker, Ozymandias, he says "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" This statement I believe is important to the overall meaning of the poem. This quote that Ozymandias says suggests that this man was once a great leader and had eventually fallen in his rein of power. The fact that the statue is now broken when the traveler describes it in this poem, could suggest that the leader had fallen or been taken over by someone else. I think this poem is trying to explain to the reader that things can be taken away in a moment so never take a single thing for granted.

The Chimney Sweep

1) Yes, I agree with the editors of our textbook that Blake’s poetry had the power to enact social change by appealing to the imagination of the reader. I think that through painting the images of exhausted, overworked, and deprived children Blake was able to reach at emotion of the people. Through the words of his poetry, in both The Chimney Sweep from the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, Blake verbally illustrates a picture of meek and mild mannered boy who has very much known nothing but his life as a child worker, where he is deprived of the major essentials of shelter, warmth, proper food, and love. Even though in the Songs of Innocence the boy, Tom Dacre, has a greater outlook on life and his place in heaven which lightens the mood of the poem it doesn’t take away from the main picture of an abused child. Both versions of the poem, even though they express different emotions from the point of view of the boy, the boy is still in the same situation. After analyzing both poems I believe that the boy described in both poem could possibly be the same boy. In Songs of Innocence, the boy has not experienced this world so long and still believes there is hope for a better future whether that future is here or in Heaven. In the Songs of Experience, the boy could be now jaded by the horrible world that he is forced to live in and has lost his once young childish idea about his fate.

2) The editors of the textbook might have included the Parliament transcript as a primary source document to transform the fictional child that Blake creates through his poems to a real living breathing boy who experienced this horrible type of life as a child laborer, or in my opinion child slave. This document for me brought the image I pictured in my head to life and made me think of what this must have been like to be the same situation as this young man. So for me the document made Blake’s poems that much more real for me. It made me happy for how far society where I live has progressed that this is not something that I need to fear for myself and the generations that follow me. But at the same time it saddens me that this is still occurring in other parts of the world.

Gulliver's Travels

Questions
1. What could the difference in height between Gulliver and the Lilliput people represent?
2. Knowing about Swift’s past, who might the Gulliver and the Lilliput represent?
3. Who is truly the norm in this story? Is Gulliver average size or is he truly a giant?
4. At what point do you believe Gulliver begins to see the Lilliput as people and why?

Excerpts
"And would rather conjecture that you dropped from the moon, or one of the stars".
(Pg. 658) This quote brings up a question that goes back to what we were previously studying. What does this quote reveal about humans intellectual limitation? I chose this quote because I believe it goes back to the topic of human limitations and what is within bounds of our knowledge.

Predictions
The class might possibly be confused about why Gulliver chose to stay calm throughout his ordeal among the Lilliput. But besides this I think the excerpt from Gulliver’s Travel is pretty straight forward.

Reflective Journal
My group worked very well together, we were able to have all our ideas down on paper within the first day of working on the lesson. I don’t think there would be anything that I would change I chose a group that I would work well with and that I thought could bring different interpretations of the excerpt to the table. From the group work I was able to think about it in a different light, each member of my group was able to bring a different idea about the section to the discussion.

Monday In Class
On Monday in class my group will work on the presentation aspects of our work. We have created our chart out answered and spoke out all of our questions as well as the excerpts that we have chosen. We will now come up with a plan to execute our lesson effectively.

1984 Final

The doctrine that O’Brien proclaims to Winston in this passage of the novel helps to reveal how the system of oligarchical collectivism is maintained in Oceania. In his hopes to convert Winston back to a follower of the government, O’Brien is brainwashing him by trying to convince him that he has lost his sanity and that is why he does not believe in the party. O’Brien explains that the reality that Winston believes is true is not correct, he says that Winston is diluting himself by thinking that the true reality exists in his mind. INGSOC the only reality that matters is the reality of the party. Whatever the party believes to be the truth is the truth no matter what.

The party is able to control the people by controlling their entire way of life. The party controls what they do, say, think, and even feel. With this form of deep mind control and deception the party is able to form the society to what they want it to be. The party’s slogan is War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. War keeps the people united in hatred against another party, creating peace in Oceania. Freedom is a form of slavery, the word slavery scares the people away from wanting freedom. Ignorance to what is going on around them creates strength in the party. Even though this slogan seems completely nonsensical the people believe so strongly in the government they will believe anything they say.

This strong arm so to say that the INGSOC has on the people prevents them from being separate thinking beings. Winston having his own mind is what has led him into the predicament of being against the government. But this cannot last, as O’Brien has stated Winston must relearn and choose to live by the party’s rules. Without this Winston will not be sane or able to function in the society of Oceania.

The doctrine that O’Brien proclaims not only reveals how oligarchical collectivism is maintained in Oceania, it also foreshadows Winston’s ultimate fate. O’Brien firmly and clearly states that he must relearn to live by that party’s lifestyle. This statement does not seem so importance at first but after finishing the novel we can see that by this O’Brien meant that Winston was going to be forced to submit to the party and change his beliefs in order to survive.

What Will You Choose To Do?

The dystopian society presented by Orwell, in 1984, basically takes away normal human characteristics of its citizens. By this I mean that the people presented in the novel are unable to create established thought about the world around them. They choose to believe everything that they are told by their leaders and the media. How is this anything different from our society today, many people choose to believe specifically what they are told by the media and even others, without acknowledging that this could be false information. This novel has continued to be so popular because the ideas of the novel can still be considered relevant.

Many people live in there “own little world”, where what is occurring around the world and even in there own country doesn’t affect them. They choose to ignore and not analyze what occurs and just believe what they are told. This can lead to what occurs in the novel 1984. We as U.S. citizens choose to listen to the biased slant that could possibly be put on the events occurring around the world. How are we to know this unless we use the resources that we are given to see the events from different perspectives. We must acknowledge the fact not everything we are told is the truth, we must take the information given, our own knowledge, and the information that we can acquire and make an informed decision about the world around us. In doing this the world will be a better and a more informed place.

If we are all more informed we are better able to make decisions that affect the present and even more importantly the future for the better. I am not sure what is worse not having the privilege to make informed decisions or having the privilege and not take advantage. Either way you must choose what kind of person you will be and how you can affect the world.