Coon, 1

Mitchel Coon
Mrs. Rutan
A.P. Literature and Composition
22 February 2015
Word Count:
Part 2 Response
In Part 2 of One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, the authorKen Keseyuses a variety of
literary techniques to convey a message to the audience: one must always aid those that cant aid
themselves.
In the beginning of this section, McMurphy realized how powerful the Big Nurse is.
While at the hospital pool, [McMurphy] [talked] to the lifeguard (169)comparing prisons
and hospitals. He learned that his six months sentence (171) could turn into a lifetime
confined to this asylum. It is at this baptism that McMurphy decides to conform to Miss
Ratcheds will; he cleans the latrine till it sparkled (172) and keeps quiet during the patient
meeting. Kesey meets his protagonists rash change in personality with a dramatic plot point:
Cheswick drowns (175). This permanent and extreme consequence exposes the constant care
and support mentally ill patients require. A short period of exclusion can have irreversible
actions as a result.
Later in Part 2, Kesey connects the clich situation of an epileptic patientSefeltto
McMurphys decision to conform. Sefelt can either be subject to seizures (177) or take
Dilantin, a medication that makes your gums rot (179). If McMurphy acts out, his time of
imprisonment is lengthened; if he conforms, the mentally ill suffer. Both McMurphy and Sefelt
are damned if [they] do and damned if [they] dont (179). Just as the author would have his
audience do, McMurphy makes the self-sacrificing decision. At the following patient meeting,
Miss Ratched moves for her final victory over [McMurphy] (201): she takes away the game
room privileges. In defiance, the hero rebels against three hospital/meeting policies; he stands,
vandalizes the window, and smokes cigarettes meant to be rationed. These action stopped the
ringingin Chiefs head (201). Kesey filled McMurphys breaking of the glass with symbolic
meaning. Before, the glass had separated Big Nurse from the mentally illit had distorted her
image and had given her protection and power. Broken, the window tips the authority balance in
McMurphys favor. Miss Ratched is equal to the patients. The glass no longer impedes the
patients from seeing and hearing reality; it no longer hinders their healing.
This part is saturated with symbolic meaning and ascending actions. It effectively and
entertainingly introduces plot complications that will allow the climax to have drama and depth.
The most important attribute of this third of the book, however, is the authors moralthe
helpless must be helped.