Megan Stanford
In the institution, there are three groups that patients can be broken down into: the acutes, the chronics, and the vegetables. These groups also stay together throughout the day. For example, the chronics stay on one side of the day room while the acutes stay on the other. There is also an unsaid rule that they do not travel to the opposite side. The setup is explained as "across the room from the acutes are the culls of the Combine's product, the chronics" (Kesey 15). To be classified as an acute, there has to be a possibility for treatment to be fixed; whereas chronics are those who already tried treatment and have been deemed uncureable. Vegetables are a part of the chronics, but are those who cannot walk or talk, so they just sit there.
This set-up becomes disturbed once McMurphy arrives at the hospital. Instead of respecting the separate groups and the separation between them, he assosciates with both groups. When he first gets there, he wonders over to the chronics side of the day room to introduce himself after he was done with the acutes, which never happens. We can see how these stereotypes of groups are already changing so it will be interesting to see how they alter throughout the rest book.
Maya Huggins
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting how McMurphy doesn't regard the Acutes and Chronics as any different from one another. This shows contrast between him and the faculty of the ward. While they have the two groups separated and have lost all hope in the Chronics, McMurphy has faith. He treats the patients as normal people by making bets and gambling. He sees behind the twisted ways of Nurse Ratched and is ready to put her reign to an end. By breaking her, the division in the ward may go awry.
I also found it interesting how the patients reacted during her break down. Notice how it didn't set many off were in most cases of mentally ill people it would. Also I agree and can hope for the climax of the story that ratched being broken could affect the patients. I'd also like to comment that the way McMurphy is handling being in a mental institution when we know he's supposed to be in prison and be a "bad man" is very interesting. He gambled with them treating them as though nothing was wrong that's pretty cool in my option. He seems to be a nice man treating them with more respect than the workers of this ward.
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting to post my name ^ Rachael Stevick
ReplyDeleteZach Torbett
ReplyDeletePardon me if I'm wrong, but I believe there are two groups, not three. I believe it's just the acutes and the chronics, and the vegetable group falls under the chronics. Furthermore, I think it's strange that they label people and the groups are separated. This reminds me of a prison yard where the different ethnic groups and gangs have their own turf. I like this comparison cause it makes me think of the hospital/institution as a prison. Which is essentially what it is, and Nurse Ratched is the warden. This makes me view the book in a different way than others may view it. Instead of me reading the book as a group of people getting tormented for their disabilities through shock therapy or abuse, I see it as a group of people being in a state of unknown captivity. They all to me are run under the "warden/dictator/supreme ruler" Nurse Ratched. The book to me is about feminist control and I look forward to seeing if McMurphy can get inside Ratched's head and break her down.