A struggle for power
Many novels have been written on the subject of power and its attainment. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is the story of a man driven to insanity and unspeakable violence in his quest for it. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, concerns a young man trying to find himself and obtain some control over his life. Power comes in many forms, whether it is a simple journey for the purpose of self-enlightenment or a bloody crusade. People generally like to feel as though they have control even when they do not. Some will even try to control others, the less fortunate for instance, when controlling their own lives becomes difficult. To control one's life is to have a say in one's destiny. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey the three main characters all try to have some degree of control. Nurse Ratched has true control over the ward and loves it that way. She delights in nothing less than total suppression of her opponents. Her perfect world is challenged by a newcomer, Patrick Randle McMurphy. He likes to be in control as well and loves the attention it gets him. The narrator, Chief Bromden, has never had any control over anything in his life until he comes to the ward. By making himself see the world
Nurse Ratched is able to maintain control over her patients by using their fears against them and crushing their hopes. Before McMurphy arrives she is almost the unquestionable dictator of the ward. She is able to maintain control over the men by bringing their worst fears to life because they have no way of challenging her. She always seems as though she gives every suggestion a fair chance to be addressed. However, this is only a symbolic gesture, done in order to make the patients think that they could potentially change things if they were to have a good idea. "'I'm afraid the vote is defeated... there are forty patients in the ward, Mr. McMurphy and only twenty voted. You must have a majority to change ward policy'... The hands are coming down around the room. The guys know they're whipped... McMurphy is at his feet" (124). In this case Nurse Ratched has rejected McMurphy's request to be able to watch the World Series, on a technicality. A majority is needed to change ward policy even when a significant number of patients cannot get out of bed, let alone vote. The cycle that Nurse Ratched enacts is this: she lets the men think that they have a chance to get something they want, but when their hopes are at the highest she destroys them, thereby reducing the possibility that anyone will want to defy her in the future. Another way she maintains control of the ward is by scaring her patients. At one point, near the end of the book, Billy Bibbit, who is deathly afraid of his mother is being threated by Nurse Ratched. She threatens to tell his mother about an inappropriate sexual episode he has just had. "Mrs. Bibbit's always been so proud of your discretion. I know she has. This is going to disturb her terribly. You know how she is when she gets disturbed..." (264). Shortly after this Billy kills himself out of fear of his mother and shame for what he has done. Nurse Ratched is ruthless in her pursuit of power. She does not even think of the lives of others, but rather wants to maintain control of the ward at all costs. Nurse Ratched is able to control the ward by destroying the men emotionally so they have no will to fight her anymore. Chief Bromden empowers himself with illusion and with the death of McMurphy. The chief is a giant who is six and a half feet tall, but he thinks of himself as small because he is powerless. Nurse Ratched initially controls him just as she controls the rest of the ward. Chief Bromden often speaks about a fog that the staff sends out to cover the ward. The fog that chief Bromden sees is just the way that he escapes from the horrible life of the ward. "...they keep making the fog thicker and thicker...it was tough to keep from getting lost... In a way I was hollering for them to track me; I figured that anything was better'n being lost for good, even the Shock Sh
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1916
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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