Nurse Ratched - 1519 Words

Nurse Ratched A sexless, rigid caricature of a nurse, Nurse Ratched imposes discipline on her ward with all the fervour of an Army Nurse, which she had been. Large, with huge breasts only partially disguised by her ultra-stretched white uniform, she nevertheless has a pretty, delicate face that belies her cruelty. Manipulative to the core, the only thing that really matters to Ratched is her desire to control everything around her – the environment, the staff, and the patients. She has rendered the staff doctor who is in charge of the ward helpless and ineffectual. Her methods are subtle: she speaks with the calm voice of reason, dealing with patients as though they are children. Her group therapy sessions are intentionally humiliating to†¦show more content†¦Their capacity for speech and language had been damaged and they often ended up needing to be institutionalized. Cuckoo’s Nest played a major role in discrediting ECT. Quotes The Shock Shop, Mr. McMurphy, might be said to do the work of the sleeping pill, the electric chair and the torture rack. Its a clever little procedure, simple, quick, nearly painless it happens so fast, but no one ever wants another one. Ever. The Electroshock Therapy Table The electroshock therapy table is explicitly associated with crucifixion. It is shaped like a cross, with straps across the wrists and over the head. Moreover, the table performs a function similar to the public crucifixions of Roman times. Ellis, Ruckly, and Taber—Acutes whose lives were destroyed by electroshock therapy—serve as public examples of what happens to those who rebel against the ruling powers. Ellis makes the reference explicit: he is actually nailed to the wall. This foreshadows that McMurphy, who is associated with Christ images, will be sacrificed Legal Summation Good morning gentleman of the jury and your honour. Before we begin I would like to take a few minutes of your time and so I ask if you would close your eyes and think for a minute. Imagine if you were strapped to one of those cold hardShow MoreRelatedNurse Ratched2555 Words   |  11 PagesFlew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in which the character, Nurse Ratched, struggles to keep her self-constructed domain together after an opposing enemy, named McMurphy, fights to pull power from her by causing a revolt.   In the end, Nurse Ratched wins the battle between her and McMurphy by having him lobotomized, but does she really win the age-old battle of male versus female by suppressing him? Another question is: Why do readers see Nurse Ratched as an evil and conniving woman for trying to save herRead MoreThe Potrayal of Nurse Ratched778 Words   |  4 PagesRatchet or Ratched   Critic Ronald Wallace noted that Nurse Ratched is also like a ratchet wrench she keeps her patients adjusted, but like a ratchet, a gear in the Combine, she is herself mechanically enmeshed. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as a devious mastermind of the ward; however, she herself is actually just a minion of the Combine. In many parts of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bromden describes Ratched as being like a machine; her systematic scheming, and her name Ratched is similarRead More Transformation: Randle McMurphy Patients Essay844 Words   |  4 Pageswith the excruciating routine of the Group Meeting, McMurphy tells the patients that Nurse Ratchet is a genuine â€Å"ball-cutter.† The other patients tell him that there is no defying Nurse Ratched because, in their eyes, she is an all-powerful force. True to his nature as a gambling man, McMurphy makes a bet with the other patients that he can make Ratched lose her temper. At first, the confrontation between Ratched and McMurphy provides some humorous entertainment for the other patients. However,Read MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest962 Words   |  4 Pagestime in jail, but quickly finds out that Nurse Mildred Ratched has just as much hidden deviance within her as he is trying to portray outwardly to stay in the ward and not be sent to jail where he truly belongs for raping a 15 year old girl. McMurphy and Nurse Ratcheds battle of power and wills escalates very quickly causing the other patients to notice Nurse Ratcheds humiliating, demoralizing and deviant ways. During a group session McMurphy asks Ratched for a change in the ward policy allowingRead MoreAnalysis Of One Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest1179 Words   |  5 PagesCuckoo’s Nest Film). Power can be used as a source of evil or heroism. It has the capacity to control and manipulate people. However, it also has the capability to champion freedom and rights for others. In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Nurse Ratchet’s controlling power came from her ability to emasculate the male patients and maintain a sexless faà §ade. She also held in place an extensive system of rules and regulations, as well as an ordered routine. McMurphy’s liberating power derivedRead MoreThe Use of Manipulation; One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest3129 Words   |  13 Pageshow the characters use it. The first character to master it is the antagonist Nurse Ratchet. She uses it to manipulate patients to manage her mechanically structured ward. The other character is the (antagonist, protagonist?) patient McMurphy. He on the other hand manipulates people to help them grow or gain money. These two characters also go head to head with the power of deceptive manipulation as their weapons. Nurse Ratchet is the boss of the ward, in which the events of the novel take place.Read MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Character Analysis1024 Words   |  5 Pagesfellow patients within a psychiatric hospital ruled by an authoritarian Nurse Ratched, who imposes strict rules within the facility in order to maintain stability. The novel is centred on Randle McMurphy’s and Nurse Ratched’s rivalry caused by their polar opposite views on how the institute should be run. McMurphy, a boisterous patient, believes that his fellow patients should have more freedom, on the other hand Nurse Ratched believes in the institution being run like a dictatorship where disciplineRead MoreOne Flew Over The Cuckoo s Nest1219 Words   |  5 Pageslaughed when Candy warned him of its consequences, but he was unafraid and fully prepared to be sent back. McMurphy was determined to challenge Nurse Ratchet and her authority. His determination and actions reflect a thoughtful and sensitive ma n. McMurphy acts according to his conscience and does what he feels is right. McMurphy strives to overcome Nurse Ratchet, and finds himself understanding the mentalities of the others in the institution when he takes the time to get to know them. McMurphy startsRead MoreOne Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey 1043 Words   |  4 PagesChief Bromden is the main character. The characters that preform in this scene are Chief Bromden, McMurphy, and Nurse Ratched. Even though McMurphy would be considered the main character of the novel, Bromden is the main character of this scene because he shows the strongest desire. In this one scene, Bromden has many desires that to him could be both life or death threatening. Nurse Ratched makes one last attempt to gain back the control when she uses the same principle she used earlier to ensure thatRead More One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Essay example1619 Words   |  7 Pagesbecause their lives were â€Å"normal† and routine. Their daily routine guided them through a series of happenings, which were both comfortable and tolerable to them, even though as a result of this they would remain subject to the manipulative ways of Nurse Ratchet. These people would say that the â€Å"oppressive society† that they lived in may not suit everyone, but certainly suited them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McMurphy, on the other hand, finds this setting to be suitable for no human being, and soon after arriving he sets