Cuckoo's Nest # 4

In the end of this book, Nurse Ratched has won her victory. It unfortunately happened by the death of McMurphy, but she could now be on top and not have to compete with him for the respect received by the men. After I read part three I was left with the thought of how long it would be until McMurphy cracked. When trying to strangle the nurse, I've realized that his time had come. She was taken to a hospital due to the damage McMurphy had caused her. He also had been taken away for his wrong doing, and returned to the ward not able to speak, or move. The exact night he returned, Bromden suffocates him by putting a pillow over his face and then escapes from the ward. He escaped to be reunited with his family and friends. Nurse Ratched finally is able to take over the men of the ward. The loss of McMurphy was a downfall for some of the men, but regained the respect and control for Ratched.

Cuckoo's Nest # 3

Throughout part three of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy is determined to gain control. He is basically competing with Nurse Ratched to have control of these men. He isn't trying to control them physically, he is just trying to help them for more relaxed while being a patient at the ward. He plans a "fishing" trip for himself and some of the other men at the ward and tells them that his aunt would be attending. He then shares with Bromden that it would be two "whores" coming along, not his aunt. However, one of them was recently married unknowingly to McMurphy's knowledge which was a bit of a let down for him and the guys, but there was still Candy Starr. Candy Starr and McMurphy reunite when she arrives at the ward to prepare for their trip. Every guy in the ward's eyes were glued to her when she walked in considering how beautiful she was. McMurphy sticks by these guys and tries his best to help them feel better about themselves. To him, this trip will boost their confidence since the prostitute would give them all the attentiong they've been longing for. He is trying to his full ability to be strong for these men, even though he is mentally sick as well. Nurse Ratched is trying very hard to get above McMurphy, but the men in the ward respect the both of them just from different perspectives. The Nurse scares the patients rather than pick up for them like McMurphy does. She tries to end the trip when she confronts McMurphy about pocketing some of the money that the men have given him for the trip. This still doesn't bring him down. He covers it up by saying it was for gas money, which isn't remotely believable, but still gets him away with his plan. McMurphy seems to me to be the strongest character in this book so far. But I'm starting to wonder how much longer it will take until he cracks. I feel as though there is only so much you can do and say before you are overwhelmed by your own problems and situations.

Cuckoo's Nest # 2

Through out part two of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a lot happens. You learn a lot more about many characters, especially McMurphy. He seems to "open" up, but to a side that we don't learn about in Part one. I sensed a change in his personality and attitude as I read along. His actions and ways do however, gain him respect around the ward. The patients look up to him for opening his mouth when no one else would dare to. He speaks his mind, regardless of the consequences. From day one McMurphy has added a little spice to the ward. McMurphy does however stir up a few questions to me as the reader. I feel as though his rebellious ways have rubbed off on the other patients. By him voicing his opinion and speaking his mind, the other patients are doing so as well. Since McMurphy was basically a threat to the ward, he was always there to back up another patients story or complaint. However, when Cheswick complains that he "wants something done" about his cigarette limitations to the nurse, McMurphy doesn't chime in to back him up like he usually would. This causes Cheswick to be put into the "disturbed" section of the ward. Ironically enough, the situation "disturbs" him and leads to his tragic death. It is looked upon as an accident, but knowing the story behind it as the reader, I'm aware that he did not "accidentally" drown.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I think this book is a good choice to read as we come to an end of our senior year. At this time most of us are anxious to get out into the real world, and this book portrays many real world problems and situations. I feel as if when books are more vulgar it keeps younger students more interested and involved. The fact that the story basically takes place in this Psych Ward gives an idea of the type of people we will be coming across as the story goes on. Just from basic knowledge, or maybe experiences or real life situations, we can relate to this place and the people that are in it.

I think Chief Broom is a very distinct and interesting character in this book. The way he describes things in the book really gives me a visual image of what he is feeling at that exact moment. He is always going into far detail about a past memory that something has reminded him about, or just explaining something with every possible detail you need to visualize it. Also, the way he pretends that he is "deaf and dumb" makes him very interesting as well. The act he puts on is smart in a way, because he can always hear how people feel about him and what they are saying. However, his actions portray him as stupid because he does not talk. This causes some people to act different toward him, but it doesn't necessarily affect Chief Broom. Since we know how he is thinking and feeling, as the reader we know when he is bothered, afraid, or just having a vivid memory.

Besides the story line, many of the characters are what make the book so interesting. All of the different personalities and differences they have keep the reader wanting to learn more. Shakespeare on the other hand usually loses our focus as young readers. Kesey does an excellent job at keeping the reader wanting more and involved in the book.

Additional Blog for Play

I enjoyed the Lantern Theater's version of Hamlet because of the enthusiasm that the actors/actresses had. I'm not much of a reader, especially in terms of Shakespeare so watching the play helped me to follow along better and gather a better understanding. It was hard for me to read the play because I kept finding myself losing concentration and not following along. This resulted in me having some confusion about the play. The man who played Hamlet was awesome. The energy he had kept me involved and excited. He never once lost energy or bored me. Also, Ophelia was an interesting character to me as well. I think it seemed very hard to portray someone who has lost sanity, but she was very well at it. Both her and Hamlet were very interesting characters throughout the entire play. The admiration that they have for Shakespeare was clear to the audience. The director must've had no problem casting those parts.

Hamlet - Acts 3,4 & 5

After finishing reading these three scenes, one thing that stood out to me was how Hamlet acts in such a "crazy" matter throughout all of the scenes, and play for that matter. His thoughts and actions seem to worsen as the play goes on. Three topics that follow through these scenes are love, death and suicide.

In Act three, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are supposed to figure out why Hamlet is acting so insane for the King and his mother, but they fail to do so. Ophelia's father, Polonius tries to prove that the reasoning behind Hamlet's actions is due to the strong love he has for Ophelia. During this act love and suicide are both demonstrated together. It is thought that Hamlet is talking of suicide because of his love for Ophelia. He speaks of these suicidal thoughts not realizing he is being spied upon by Polonius and King Claudius. His thoughts and word concern both of them and King Claudius tells his mother, Queen Gertrude, that she should talk to him privately and attempt to figure out what has brought these thoughts and feelings to him.

In Act four Hamlet's actions lead him to kill Ophelia's father, Polonius. Death plays a strong role in this act. After he kills him, King Claudius says that Hamlet is to be shipped to England as soon as possible. This is because he is too well known in Denmark to be punished severely, so he must send him away. However, King Claudius has secretly told England to murder Hamlet when he arrives. The death of Polonius has driven Ohpelia to become insane.

In Act five, Ophelia's death is questioned on whether it was an accident or suicide. She had drowned, but due to her insanity it was unsure if she had done it on purpose. However, the coroner says that it was accidental, which allows her to have a proper burial. Many are upset over her death, especially Laertes. Him and Hamlet cause a scene at her burial. This is also another demonstration of death, suicide and love.

The love Hamlet has for Ophelia causes him to act in odd ways. The love Ophelia has for her father who was murdered by Hamlet causes her to lose sanity and her life as well. It was interesting to me how three simple topics could lead to such detailed acts and plot.

Hamlet - Post #2

After reading Act II of Hamlet, I was able to take a lot in from it. One of the main things were the pattern that he uses throughout his play that I noticed. In Act one he focuses on Vision, Perception, and Belief. In Act two he focuses on Tragedy, Love, and Greed. This helps me to read the text and take in what is needed in order to understand what is occurring during the scene. For me, these three main focuses keep me interested because as the reader I depict which scene or action matches up with the main focus he has given us. It is interesting to me that the simplest concepts can be broken down into such detailed sections. The way they all tie into eachother is also interesting to me as the reader. Having read many of Shakespeare's plays before, I have noticed his pattern in doing this in most of his plays. I think that is a wonderful way to keep the reader tied in with the play, because by using these everyday issues, people relate to them. His way of portraying these concepts keeps me as the reader interested, and it was what stuck out to me the most.

As I mentioned in my first Hamlet post, I sometimes have trouble staying on topic. Keeping your eyes open for any point you notice me going off into another topic or just not sticking to the topic would be what I ask everyone to look for. Also, in both posts I sometimes have trouble with grammar. Not as much as switching topics, but you could also look out for that.