What does McMurphy mean by pecking party?
McMurphy describes a “pecking party” as a situation in which chickens see blood on another chicken and start pecking at it like crazy until they’re all bloody, pecking at each other in a frenzy, and end up killing each other. McMurphy points out that Nurse Ratched’s Therapeutic Community meetings are pecking parties.
What is the moral of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
Lesson Summary Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, portrays a group of male patients who rebel against the authorities in their asylum. The novel explores the importance of free expression and the need to challenge authority.
What metaphor does Harding use and does it hold true for society?
We need a good strong wolf like the nurse to teach us our place. When McMurphy accuses the men of being chickens, pecking at each other, Harding responds with the metaphor of the men as rabbits.
What do McMurphy’s shorts symbolize?
McMurphy’s Boxer Shorts The shorts, of course, are also highly symbolic. One common interpretation of Moby-Dick is that the whale is a phallic symbol, which obviously suggests McMurphy’s blatant sexuality—the little white whales cover McMurphy’s underwear, which he gleefully reveals to Nurse Ratched.
What does One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest symbolize?
In the modern classic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey uses symbolism effectively in order to shape and reinforce the theme of societies corruption of innocent minds throughout the novel. The mental ward combine effectively symbolizes the isolation of the mentally ill.
What does Nurse Ratched symbolize?
A former army nurse, Nurse Ratched represents the oppressive mechanization, dehumanization, and emasculation of modern society—in Bromden’s words, the Combine. Her nickname is “Big Nurse,” which sounds like Big Brother, the name used in George Orwell’s novel 1984 to refer to an oppressive and all-knowing authority.
What is the core political allegory in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
Through the use of a political allegory in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey conveyed the idea that the government is an oppressive dictatorship in nature, which causes society to bend to its conformist rules.
What is Harding’s wife like?
In this section, Chief observes that Harding’s wife is an emasculating, “ball-cutting,” flirt. Her actions imply that she is unfaithful because Harding is a weak lover and she has no use for his education. Kesey depicts Harding as an effeminate man whose education contributed to his emasculated state.
What mental disorder does Dale Harding have?
Soon he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He believes society is controlled by a large, mechanized system which he calls “The Combine.”