One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Q&A
- 1
What do Nurse Ratched and McMurphy believe are the keys to defeating one another?
McMurphy believes that defeating Nurse Ratched lies in pushing sexual boundaries. In this way, he attempts to intimidate her with his nakedness, asks her about her breast size, and makes displays of masculine dominance. Nurse Ratched, on the other hand, believes that McMurphy's selfishness is the key to unlocking his hold on the other patients, and she tends to think that she has won for a time when McMurphy learns about the control she exerts on how long he remains committed to the ward.
- 2
What is Nurse Ratched's primary technique of manipulation among the men of the ward?
Nurse Ratched controls the men by emasculating them, which is why McMurphy refers to her as a 'ball cutter'. The clearest examples are in the accounts of Billy Bibbit and Dale Harding. In the case of Billy, Nurse Ratched threatens him by talking about revealing his condition to his mother, while for Harding, she tends to side with his unsatisfied wife. She uses the other men in the ward to reinforce the narrative that she creates for the patient, and this eventually leads them to believe in her diagnosis more wholeheartedly.
- 3
How might the story of McMurphy be understood as a religious metaphor?
There are a lot of Christian elements in McMurphy's story, and he himself points them out when he asks the aide about a “crown of thorns.” It is evident that he recognises his actions as a sacrifice for the good of the people that look up to him. He takes 12 disciples on the fishing trip, faces punishment for doing good to others, and is laid on a cross for his punishment. In the end, he is killed for the good of others, and although he himself doesn't resurrect, the spirit of his freedom and ideology continues to live on through Bromden.