In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, most critics have noted her name, Ratched, as recalling ratchet to connect her as obviously as possible to a machinic nature. Kesey himself makes another blatant pun, "Rat-shed" (87), in order to suggest that she personifies a giant cage in which the rat-like mental patients are imprisoned. (Another allusion might point to Orwell's 1984 and the "rat-sheds" strapped on the face of dissidents, making the connection between Big Brother and Big Nurse.) From the start we are directed to see her as monstrous, as when she arrives on the war. Do you believe the critics? Is she a monster? Or could she be a heroine to women who have never had any power of their own? How do you view her?
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3rd Quarter Blog Post 3
Step inside your mind and into the library of books you've read. Which one best represents the painting below and why? You must use a q...
November 2nd Caroline Hunt
ReplyDeleteI believe that Kesey purposefully made the character of Nurse Ratched complex and can be viewed as either a heroine or a monster. The novel is told from point of view of Chief Bromden who is implicitly biased against nurse Ratched and the institution. It is natural for him to be intolerant of Nurse Ratched as she represents the system and society that is oppressing him. The novel wants for its audience to interpret Nurse Ratched as the monster and McMurphy as the hero. However, it is not fair to assume that Nurse Ratched is a monster based solely based on Chief Bromden’s biased point of view as Bromden is known to invent escapes like his deafness.
Nurse Ratched should be seen as a heroine. Throughout the novel Nurse Ratched is constantly heckled for the size of her breast as Bromden describes them as a “mistake… somehow in manufacturing, putting those big, womanly breasts on what would have otherwise been a perfect work, and you can see how bitter she is about it.” (6). Despite the adversity Nurse Ratched faces both at work and in society, she continues to drive on. Not allowing society’s expectation of women define her identity. This is seen by the fact that Harding and the patients admit, “the doctor doesn’t hold the power”(63) in the institution. During the 1950s and 1960s it was unusual for a woman to hold any position of power especially over a male superior. Through Nurse Ratched’s ability to face adversity directly and surmount to the challenges, her position as heroine is solidified for women around the world. Her refusal to conform to society’s expectations is inspiring.
I completely agree that Kesey was leaving it up to the audience to decide whether Nurse Ratched was a hero or monster. You used important quotes to back up your claim, and gave a detailed analysis of them! -Brynn
DeleteI agree with your stance on how Ken Kesey painted Nurse Ratched! -Emily Ally
DeleteI think your response well-written and thought provoking. I wanted to believe that Nurse Ratched was a complete monster, but your point about her ability to lead with power despite the misogynistic comments about her definitely made me realize she is more of a heroine than I initially believed. Thank you for pointing out that our perception of her is biased, based on Chief Bromden's description alone. -Mary Claire Haldeman
DeleteI agree with your response and I really like how you tied all of your thoughts together at the end!-Carissa Boddie
DeleteEmily Beaupre
ReplyDeleteNovember 2
In One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey depicts Nurse Ratched as a complex character. At first glance, a reader perceives her as machine-like and villainous. In the very first pages Bromden describes Nurse Ratched as a cold and emotionless person who lacks any sense of her femineity seen when he describes her bag; “It’s a loose weave and I can see inside it; there’s no compact or lipstick or woman stuff, she’s got that bag full of a thousand parts she aims to use in her duties today- wheels and gears, cogs polished to a hard glitter, tiny pills that gleam like porcelain, needles, forceps, watchmakers’ pliers, rolls of copper wire…” (page 4) This quote reveals that Nurse Ratched carries no sign that she is a woman yet carries mechanical tools that could be used to do harm on the patients illustrating her as a monster. Bromden’s description in this quote reflects the others patients’ views of Nurse Ratched being masculine and unemotional. However, although Nurse Ratched is described as machine-like, the reader must remember that this is a biased perception of her. Bromden has a negative perception of Nurse Ratched as she stands for the institution and system that has oppressed him for years. On one side of the spectrum, Nurse Ratched can indeed be perceived as the villain. She runs a tyrannical hospital ward and uses electro-shock therapy and lobotomies as punishment. However, should Nurse Ratched really be deemed a monster because she is strict and orderly?
Nurse Ratched could be perceived as the feminist heroine. During the 1960s, a woman in power was extremely uncommon. Nurse Ratched is ridiculed by the patients for hiding any sign of her femineity, yet from her point of view, the reader sees that it was a necessity. Woman were perceived as weak and to maintain her authority, she had to hide any sign that she was a female. Nurse Ratched could be perceived as a hero in this book as she goes against the traditional role of women and does not allow men to usurp her role in authority. In fact, although Kesey wants McMurphy to be portrayed as the hero, he could be portrayed as a monster too. Throughout the whole book, McMurphy has every intention to rebel against Nurse Ratched mainly due to the fact that as a man he feels intimated that a woman is in power. In order to try to overthrow her authority, McMurphy sexually assaults Nurse Ratched to reveal in what in his mind is her weakness, her femineity; “he grabbed for her and ripped her uniform all the way down the front, screaming again when the two nippled circles started from her chest and swelled out…”(319) The fact that Nurse Ratched continues to not relinquish her position of power after repeatedly facing adversity and challenges by men shows her position as a heroine for women during this era. Kesey promotes sexist views of traditional gender roles in order to elevate male power, yet Nurse Ratched does not allow men to overstep her. Although Nurse Ratched exerts tyrannical control over her ward, McMurphy is the true villain of the story as he tries to usurp the power of Nurse Ratched as he holds the sexist view that women in power are unnatural.
I agree that there a multiple biased opinions of Nurse Ratched.
DeleteThomas
You did a great job examining both the heroic side and monstrous side of Nurse Ratched. I liked the points you made in each paragraph, and thought your claims were backed up by concrete evidence. -Brynn
DeleteI really liked your approach as well Emily, I really think you embodied how depending on how you look at it, there is valid evidence for each side. I feel like various perspectives can sway people to believe she is just one of those traits, but she is truly both.
Delete-EVA HECHT
Thomas Stewart
ReplyDeleteNovember 2
I believe Kesey designed Nurse Ratched in a way that is meant to keep the reader contemplating whether she is the good guy or bad guy. She is more civilized when compared to McMurphy and possesses a sense of order while he possesses the opposite, chaos. She had clearly been running an organized and successful ward prior to McMurphy's arrival. Whether or not she was fair to patients is up for the reader to determine. I think Nurse Ratched was striving to run a neat and routinely ward, but McMurphy brings out her dark side as he begins to resist her authority. This causes her to be more strict and implement irrational rules that the patients of the ward strongly disagree with. These actions bring them to side with McMurphy who has shed light on the reality of Nurse Ratched's actions, opening the eyes of many patients. I think Kesey wants her to be seen as monster by this point, as he's conveying the message that she believes her power and authority belittles everyone on the ward. Chief Bromden also plays a role in labeling her as the bad guy. His biased opinion towards her brings him to constantly criticize her for the way she runs the ward. However, Bromden has been in the ward for a very long time, so his description of her could in fact be true and give the reader a sense of how long she has been unfairly running the ward. The angry tension that builds between Ratched and McMurphy is what results in her coming off as monstrous, making her appear more and more as the villain. Her unfair tendencies are a result of McMurphy's behavior and instead of obeying the new rules, this just fuels him to resist even more. "I'm sorry Randle, but the vote has closed." This is just one example of Nurse Ratched displaying unjust rules that drive McMurphy insane. The examples begin to stack until eventually, McMurphy snaps and attacks her.
I liked your response. I definitely agree that Kesey left her character up for interpretation. -Carissa Boddie
DeleteBrynn Klaber: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
ReplyDeletePrompt 1: Nurse Ratched: heroic or monstrous?
In, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Kesey depicts Nurse Ratched as a woman in power, but portrays her use of that power in a negative manner. Personally, I agree with Kesey to an extent. I view Nurse Ratched as a hero because of her ability to represent a woman in power, especially during the time period the book was written. Women were treated as objects, which can be seen through the narration of Chief Bromden. A male narrator gives a biased point of view of how Nurse Ratched was perceived in the ward. Majority of the men, mainly McMurphy, characterized her by her breasts, emphasizing the misogynistic tendencies seen throughout the ward. Being a woman in power during this time requires bravery, which highlights Nurse Ratched’s heroic nature. Although she accomplished much and can be a representation of a role model for women at the time, I also understand that there were instances where she abused her power. For example, when she said, “You’re committed, you realize. You are under the jurisdiction of me...the staff.” Nurse Ratched hesitated to say that the ward was under the staff's control, not just her own, conveying the idea that she felt she had full jurisdiction over everyone in the ward. She oftentimes ignored the concerns of the patients during meetings, and made the majority of the decisions by herself. Overall, I view Nurse Ratched as someone who defied all odds by becoming a woman in power and is taking advantage of her opportunity by doing everything she can to remain in power, even if that means abusing it at times.
- EVA HECHT
DeleteI really agree with your approach, especially the last sentence. I think she has to maintain this power by being harsh due to the majority of men in a patriarchal society.
-Mary Claire Haldeman
DeleteThough I believe Nurse Ratched monstrously abused her power, I think you made incredible points about how she can be seen as a heroine for women at the time. You are correct in your assertion that she "defied all odds by becoming a woman in power". I've never thought about the fact that her abuse of power could be an attempt to maintain the rare power she possesses. I also love the quote you use to demonstrate her abuse of power: "You are under the jurisdiction of me... the staff"- I completely agree with you that her hesitation to include "staff" demonstrates her obsession with holding all power.
Brooks Farabow
ReplyDeleteNovember 16th
In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" every element of plot ties back to a thematic depiction of society as a machine. If an argument about ethics is considered than the cold Mrs. Ratchet would definitely fall below an average threshold of "goodness". However, our "big" narrator the "chief", Bromden romanticizes about the protagonist for much of the story. The important distinctions between Nurse Ratchet and the patients are her status as essentially the warden of the mental hospital as well as her gender, being the only prominent female character throughout the book. Kesey wrote this novel as someone with progressive ideas for the time, one being a devout criticism of misogyny. Of the two darkest events in the book, Billy Bibbit's suicide and the rape of Nurse Ratched, even from Bromden's distorted perspective, she can receive no direct blame for either and was the victim of one. For these reasons, Kesey's observation of animalistic tendencies in humans throughout the novel reinforce his argument that society is not as it should be. Blame for the catastrophic events can't placed on the Nurse as a character but rather inadequacies in society at the time such as a mental-health care system which favored barbaric treatments (ie lobotomy) over options we know today to be more effective.
Emily Ally Prompt 1
ReplyDeleteBromden describes Ratched as being like a machine, and her behavior fits this description: even her name is reminiscent of a mechanical tool, sounding like both “ratchet” and “wretched.” She enters the novel, and the ward, “with a gust of cold.” Ratched has complete control over every aspect of the ward, as well as almost complete control over her own emotions. Ratched also emasculates the men on the ward, forcing them to feel like misbehaving little boys, to reveal each other's secrets and to scare them from ever challenging her authority. Nurse Ratched desires order, and she wants complete power, so she manipulates her patients and the staff to fulfill her desires. As the head nurse and as a woman with many connections both inside and outside of the hospital, she is able to maneuver things so that most situations fit her expectations. If she needs to, she uses the force of her hatred to get things done. Though she smiles a lot and talks sweetly, she’s definitely not a kind or charming woman. She is, however, a woman with a strong will and a fanaticism for control. She pursues power with intensity and is very successful at getting people to do what she wants.In Kesey’s novel, Ratched is a symbol of the emergent Military Industrial Complex, a robot whose purpose is to machine-down creative individuals into the mindless automata demanded by the Cold War state. Ratched is a human being, but also a cruel authoritarian. She is the boss you don’t want to have. In the hands of misogynists, Ratched morphed into a malign symbol of the 1970s Women's Movement.
EVA HECHT- Prompt one
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning, Nurse Ratched is depicted by Kesey as a immoral and harsh female lead, who elicits unnecessary care to the patients of the ward who have potentially been falsely deemed insane. I believe that Ratched does have an ambiguous persona, depending on which side you look at it being just as valid, but overall I see her as an immoral leader who is abusive of her power over the ward patients and other staff members. I believe the critics’ conclusion that she operates in a mechanical nature. Metaphorically, like a machine, she operates without wavering her techniques of engaging power and from the outside elicits no warmth in her demeanor and is seen to be cold-hearted. For example, she falsely administers drugs to the patients, Bromden being one of them, to make them more vulnerable to her overarching power. I do view her as strong and admire her ability to overpower a society founded on patriarchy, however, I feel she went about and maintains going about the taking of power in the most wrong and immoral way. In reality, a facility based on rehabilitative care should not be run by a person who sees taking advantage of people as a habit. I would not go so far to say she is a monster, no, but I truly feel she resembles some of a monster’s tendencies; including creating fear in people so you can best take advantage of them, and doing everything with a sense of superiority. I feel as if her behavior is fueled by a sense of insecurity, potentially from her childhood, that she felt would best be diminished through navigating her job in an unethical manner.
I like how you described Nurse Ratched! The imagery paints a different picture of how I see Nurse Ratched. -Emily Ally
DeleteJackie Denenny
ReplyDeleteI personally believe Nurse Ratchet is the evil monster that Ken Kesey set out to portray her as. Chief Bromden, the narrator of the book, describes "her painted smile twists, stretches to an open snarl." Bromden quite possibly knows the Big Nurse the best since he is always around, playing deaf and dumb. For years she grown comfortable with Bromden cleaning around her, regardless of what is going on. Therefore Bromden has heard plenty of her meetings and plans so he definitely knows her for what she truly is and her true intentions. Since Bromden knows the Nurse so well, I trust his judgement that she is a monster with cruel ethics and intentions. Even though I think Ratchet is evil, I think in her mind she thinks she is doing the right thing. I do not agree with what she is doing and has done but I think she thinks she is the hero in this situation.
November 2nd Grace Dunaway
ReplyDeleteI believe that the character of Nurse Ratched can be perceived as both a monster and a heroine for women, depending on who the reader is. I believe that she resembles both because she is such a dynamic character. Nurse Ratched can be perceived as a monster because of the strict and controlling way in which she rules over the institution. For example, she states, “You’re committed, you realize. You are…under the jurisdiction of me…the staff.” This quote clearly highlights her tendency to take control over the patients and assert her dominance when they attempt to act against her rules. In this way, she is a monster because she is someone that typically ignores the wishes and concerns of the patients because she is so stubborn and doesn't want to appear weak and give in to their requests. Since she is a control freak, many of the patients and even the reader view her as an inconsiderate monster. On the other hand though, she can be viewed as a heroine for women, as she holds a position of power over a group of men (the patients). “She tried to get her ward back into shape” is a quote that supports her position of power, as the institution is describes as “her ward”. In the 1960s when this book was written, women typically weren't in positions over power as sexism in the workplace was extremely prevalent. Since the reader is witnessing Nurse Ratched, a woman, assert dominance over a group of men, she can be viewed as a heroine for women. She doesn't bind herself to society’s expectations of her as a woman during this time, and instead, isn't afraid to stand up to the men on her ward. I think if I were to pick one, I’d say Nurse Ratched is more of a heroine for women who have never had any power of their own instead of a monster. While she can be tough at times on her patients and not allow them much freedom, I think her character was primarily created to defy society’s expectations of women and paint them as powerful, and able to be in charge.
I think that when you claimed that Nurse Ratched is a "dynamic" character, that was perfect description of her
Delete- Lilly Cox
Mary Claire Haldeman-
ReplyDeleteNurse Ratched has a complex role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Though portrayed as a cold, cruel, machine-like monster, some view her as the heroine to women who have never had any power of their own. Though I commend Ratched for holding power and maintaining a high position amongst during a time in which female individuality and power was a rarity, and amidst a sea of men that continually ridiculed and objectified her, I do not believe that Nurse ratched should be considered a heroine to women who lacked their own power at the time. I strongly believe that abuse of power is abuse of power, no matter which sex is possessing the power. I understand why a woman at the time might consider Nurse Ratched a heroine for finally holding power and exercising it over after they have always held it, Nurse Ratched abused men that did not deserve to be abused. She did not use her power to expand the rights of women. Rather, she was only interested in expanding power for herself. I view her as a complete monster. In an atmosphere in which her sole, driving purpose should be to maintain order in a mental hospital so that her patients can be safely rehabilitated and taken care of, she became obsessed with exercising her control. Brynn pointed out that this was because she was determined to cling to the power she possessed as it was so rare at the time. I think this is very true, and it ultimately led her to monstrously abuse it. She allowed for the physical and sexual abuse of patients within her ward. She administered lobotomies for the purpose of punishment. She used the weakness of patients against them, as clearly seen in the case of Billy Bibbit and his mom. A true female heroine would not have unfairly used her power to abuse the other sex. She would understand what it feels like to be unfairly treated on the basis of sex and would fix her attention on bridging the gap between sexes rather than flipping the spectrum.
I completely agree with you when you stated that Nurse Ratched became "obsessed with exercising her control." I think that is a very valid point as she implemented a substantial amount of control over the patients.
Delete- Lilly Cox
Lilly Cox
ReplyDeleteWeek November 2nd
I personally believe that Kesey designed Nurse Ratched in a way that permits each reader to individualize their own perception as far as her complexity is concerned. On one side, Ratched obtains a substantial amount of authority, and is granted power that most women were not, during that time period. It took a very unique woman to delegate institutionalized men during a time of gender oppression. Based on the reading, I perceived her as a pure women with good intentions when regarding her patients. Prior to the arrival of McMurphy, she ran a well organized and controlled institution. However, upon his arrival, readers are likely to change their perception of her from heroic to monstrous. Although he is a primary representation of misogyny and individualizes her by her physical features, she turns extremely domineering to her patients. For example she claims, “You are under jurisdiction of me... the staff.” This causes readers to infer that she is dehumanizing the patients and treating them in a monstrous way. By stating that they are under the jurisdiction of her, it likely strips away any sense of freedom and individuality they may of had. In further terms, although Nurse Ratched is initially heroic, as the novel progresses, she mutually progresses into a monstrous figure.
I agree with you about how she starts as a heroic figure but as the book goes on she changes. -caitlin
DeleteCarissa Boddie, Week November 2
ReplyDeleteI believe that Kesey left the character of Nurse Ratched up for discussion. The reader has to be the one to determine their perspective of her. In my case, I believe Nurse Ratched is a very complex character. She has a lot of authority over the patients in the Ward. She has power over people that most women in her time did not have. After the arrival of McMurphy she became of the monstrous type rather than just the organized leader. In this quote “In this hospital,” Harding says, “the doctor doesn’t hold the power of hiring and firing. That power goes to the supervisor, and the supervisor is a woman, a dear old friend of Miss Ratched’s" she is seen as the most powerful of them all. In conclusion, Nurse Ratched could be seen either as very powerful woman of her time or as a monstrous figure. The reader has to be the one to decide which one of these she is.
Charlie Jones-
ReplyDeleteNurse Ratched has a very dynamic role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest because she changes in terms of her relationships with other characters. Her dynamic role, while short lived, shows that she is not always the tyrannical monster that other characters make her out to be. Of course there are characters like McMurphy who will forever have a bitter relationship with the Big Nurse, but there are also instances in which we can see Nurse Ratched’s stronger and more positive bonds as well. I think the greatest example of when we see a very quickly changing relationship between Nurse Ratched and others comes through her relationship with Billy Bibbit. Her relationship with Billy can be viewed in two different manners at the end of the story. After the restless night of partying, and a night of new experiences for Billy, we see Nurse Ratched and Billy’s dynamic in the broad daylight. At this point in the story we can understand that Nurse Ratched serves as almost a family figure like an Aunt to Billy. She treats him as well as anyone else on the ward, while also setting a higher bar and having grand expectations for him as well. This is shown when Nurse Ratched expresses her close relationship with Billy’s mom, and her concern for when she may find out. Ratched states, “Billy, what would your mother think of this?” when she finds him after being in bed with a woman that McMurphy dragged in. In this instance here, we see the only real connection between Nurse Ratched and another character that shows she has some empathy within her. This also helps to refute further claims from a biased character like McMurphy or Chief Bromden, who don’t have this connection with her. However, this dynamic is very complex, and as a result of her own words, Billy kills himself out of shame. This brings up the question of whether or not Nurse Ratched had planned for Billy to come to his demise in order to prove a point to McMurphy that no one can mess with her, or were her words genuine and sincere? This is what makes and breaks Nurse Ratched as an evil monster within the novel.
I agree, Kesey created the character Ratched to feud with McMurphy and be seen as evil -maggie
DeleteIn "One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest" Nurse Ratched plays a very important role. She has a certain dynamic with the other characters, one being that she is evil and retched which could be a play on her own name. Though she is seen as a monster, she can also just be seen as a strong female role or a powerful woman. She has alot of authority over the mentally ill patients and has more power than many other women in the same time period of the novel. It is also easy to see that maybe the power she had got to her own head in a way, because there are instance in the book where she abuses her power, she would ignore the patients concerns and make large decisions based on how they would effect her not the whole of the people around her. I think the author used her to further elaborate on the different sides or perspectives of the full story .
ReplyDeleteMany characters and events in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest are left to the perspective of the audience for interpretation, and the looming character of Nurse Ratched is no different. The time period in which this story takes place is one ruled by men by order of the patriarchy, and it was not very common for women to hold power over the men. That said, it is unique that Nurse Ratched had such a powerful hold over all male patients there by the end of the story, as well as the male doctors and workers. Nurse Ratched’s character rejects the societal norm that women needed to follow male instruction, and bends it to her own will, requiring the men around her to listen to her orders, or be condemned to inhumane punishments. In this way, Nurse ratched could be perceived as a sort of anti-hero by female audiences who feel that the men around them take advantage and control of bodily autonomy. Although her methods are not the most moral, the end result she achieves fits the requirements for a woman having more power over a man. To more insecure men reading this story, they may feel threatened by Nurse ratched, and consider her a villain. They may simply look at the power that she takes away from the men, and uses as her own, and consider that an act of villainy, and feel uncomfortable by the sudden switch in power and control from their own kind. Nurse Ratched’s status to me is up to the interpretation and perspectives of the audience. - regan a. allen
ReplyDeleteI agree, from a certain POV Ratched could be seen as breaking down barriers herself. -maggie
DeleteCaitlin Fleming
ReplyDeleteWeek of November 2nd
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Nurse Ratched is a very important character who effects many people's lives in the story. I believe everyone has their own interpretation of how they view Nurse Ratched. Personaly, I could see either side of the argument. During the time that the story took place, it was very unusual for women to have a job that was high in power, especially if it meant they held a higher place than a man in the same working field. Nurse Ratched held alot of power as she was the main Nurse in the institution. She could be seen as an inspiration for many women who aspired to have a higher ranking job then their male coworkers. At the same time I don't believe she treated the men in the asylum the way that would have benefited them the most. For example she caused Billy Bobbit to commit suicide because she made him feel so ashamed for a mistake he made. So while she could be considered an inspiration or a hero to women for the power she held in the workforce, she did not treat the patients in the most considerate way, especailly considering many of them were already unstable since they were in the institution.
Maggie Heckman
ReplyDeleteIn the Story One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey the character Nurse Ratched is seen as cruel and evil based on the encounters she has with patients, especially McMurphy, at the mental institution. The story follows McMurphy as he challenges Nurse Ratched’s power at the institution through resistant acst. In doing so, it paints Ratched as the oppressor, which is why she is considered evil due to Kesey creating her as a villain. This negative portrayal of Nurse Ratched can be seen in the quote, “You’re committed, you realize. You are…under the jurisdiction of me…the staff.” In this quote Nurse Ratched is angry due to McMurphy’s cause of trouble. Readers see this moment as a time in which Nurse Ratched stood in the way of McMurphy’s freedom and expression. This is because Kesey wrote Nurse Ratched to be the villain of the story that McMurphy must overcome. When in reality, the truth is that Nurse Ratched is and should be controlled as it is her job and responsibility to be. As leader of the staff of nurses, Ratched must maintain order and control not only for the sake of her job but the other nurses as well. With this perspective in mind, we are able to step back and realize that she is not an evil woman who enjoys feuding with McMurphy. Instead she is someone who is trying to do her job the best she can, but is faulted for maintain the rightful power and control she deserves.
In the story One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey I do not believe Nurse Ratched is a monster. Rather I believe that she allowed the power to get to her head which made her seem as though she was worse then she really was. In a way she could be a hero to all women because of how women got to treat the men. She also had no remorse for how she treated them no matter how hard they attempted to strip her of her power she would not allow them to take her down which is power in it self. I view her as uncaring of her patients well being and manipulative. She made that boy kill himself by making him fell bad for his decisions and that was really the last straw for everyone and what lead everyone to check out. She also did not get properly blamed for that either. She set a poor example for what women are really like and advocate for which is usually caring understanding and equality and Nurse ratchet demonstrated none of that.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that Nurse Ratched was purposefully portrayed to be the antagonist and a relatively evil character. Although she faced adversity within society, I believe she completely misused her power within the institution and is almost entirely to blame for the chaotic situation in the novel. She ruled over the patients with an iron fist and took absolutely no nonsense and allowed for no mistakes, which is not a good quality for someone running a psychiatric ward. She caused much of the chaos. I strongly believe that kesey was trying to portray her as the antagonist of the novel and the main opposition throughout the story.
ReplyDelete-John Biesecker
To me, Ratched is simply a product of her environment. In the 1960's when this book was written women were still having to fight the constant struggle of misogyny- especially in the work place. This very well may be the first time Ratched has ever felt as though she is in a position of power and because of that she abuses it. Though her actions were inhumane and inexcusable, she is not the only one to blame. Society contributed to her behaving the manner she did throughout this book. Hate to see it.
ReplyDeleteEmma Rodden
Week Eight
ReplyDeleteNurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is the perfect example of being a figure that abuses their provided power, and one that seems to turn their power into acts of mischief and horror towards others. Throughout this novel, she is seen doing acts that can be best described as unsympathetic and heartless to those in the institution. I would not say she is a monster, as she may have just been in this position of power and it had gotten to her head. Ratched herself never thought that she was doing any wrong, which can be what would be considered evil as her morale contrasted with McMurphy’s can paint her as being one for the system. I believe she also was having some pride issues, and realized that McMurphy was helping these patients more than herself after she had fought for this job in the age of women being almost close to nothing. Ratched did not want to feel beneath McMurphy in power, and within the institution McMurphy was painted as the hero and she felt that this was not fair to herself, which is why this power struggle between the two was so intense. I do not believe this woman was a monster, but I do believe that her mind had lied to her one too many times on the power she holds and how she should use this power.