One flew over the cuckoo's nest Analysis

Page 186

Context: In this passage, the chief starts talking for the first time. This is because McMurphy replaces the gum the chief had been saving, which had been taken from him by one of the black boys. This is a key moment in the novel, as the chief shows the first visible sign of improvement; McMurphy's influence is also affecting him, not only the Acutes.

Themes : Though the themes play a key role in this passage, it is the characters that drive it.

• Living vs. Apathy:
• " It'd been a long time since I'd let anyone hear me do an more than grunt or bellow." (Top)
• The Chief has been in a state of apathy for a very long time, this is the first time that he attempts to break out of those restraints.

• Sanity vs. Insanity
• "It didn't sound like much because my throat was rusty and my tongue creaked"
• Still thinks of himself in the terms of a machine, not a human being.
• However, he is showing a human emotion by laughing.

Characters: The actions of the characters are what drive this passage.

• Chief Bromden : At this point, the chief is still more insane than he is sane, but him talking for the first time is the first noticeable sign that he is improving. He still uses machine terminology.
• McMurphy: displays some typical McMurphy characteristics, but at the same time is unusually patient and understanding after Bromden speaks for the first time ( "He told me not to hurry, that he had till six-thirty in the morning to listen if I wanted to practice"). He is aware of the significance of the moment and tries to encourage the Chief to talk more. However, when he initially 'tricks' the chief into admitting that he's not deaf/mute, he

Motifs:

• Machinery: tied

• Laughter

Symbols:

• Gum

What drives this text?

Language:

• Diction:

• the Chief's diction is simple, he uses terminology often associated with machinery: 'rusty', 'creaked', 'boiler door',
• Switches from 'I heard him say' to ' he told me' --> reflects the change that the chief is undergoing; at first he is only listening to people, but when he starts speaking, he is being told something.
• McMurphy doesn't speak much, but when he does he uses simple diction and colloquial language, which is typical for him: 'pitchin pennies',' damn lucky'

• Syntax:
• Everything that is being said right when the Chief begins to speak is in reported speech

Structure:

Paragraphs alternate between McMurphy speaking and his actions and Chief Bromden's thoughts

Imagery:

• Figurative: uses many similes
• I heard him shut the bed stand, and it echoed like a boiler door
• Again, Chief refers to machinery; indicates that he is still insane, as his paranoia has him believe that everything is a machine

• I tried to laugh with him, but it was a squawking sound, like a pullet trying to crow.
• Refers to nature--> he is using an image that is familiar to him from when he was growing up in the tribe

• Everything that is being said right when the Chief begins to speak is in reported speech

Rhetorical Devices:

• Intertextuality: McMurphy is singing a song of the time
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