QUOTES ANALYSIS

To what extent does Kesey challenge racial stereotypes?

QUOTE ANALYSIS

“All of them black as telephones. The blacker they are, she learned from that long dark row that came before them, the more time they are likely to devote to cleaning and scrubbing and keeping the ward in order. For instance, all three of these boys’ uniforms are always spotless as snow. White and cold and stiff as their own.” (Page 27) – The juxtaposition between the words black and white connotes racial differences between the two groups of people: African Americans and The Whites. The reference to the uniforms being white as snow and spotless clearly shows how the white people thought of themselves as superior and better [even perfect] back in the 1960s. Like the quote shows, there is use of literary techniques such as simile. The use of simile helps create an image in the readers’ mind, in this case of the black aids being “black as telephones”. From the way Kesey portrays Nurse Ratched’s thoughts and ideas, we can understand that she didn’t only have power and control over everyone but also felt superior when referring to race and gender.

“Look at him: a giant janitor. There’s your Vanishing American, a six-foot-eight sweeping machine, scared of its own shadow.” (Page 62)- This quote can be considered very ironic due to the fact that all across the text, Chief Bromdem is the one who speaks of people as if they were machines, not others of him. The use of the word ´vanishing´ is rather harsh because it connotes to the fact that his tribe was virtually going extinct. In this quote, Kesey alludes to the fact that the patients at the mental institution were forced to live under a system of control and lack of freedom through the use of the word ‘machine’. This can be considered an ironic quote because throughout the novel, the only person who refers to the patients as machinery is Chief Bromdem himself whilst at this point Chief Bromdem is said to be a machine.

“He said, what can you pay for the way a man lives? He said, What can you pay for what a man is? They didn’t understand… The Combine had whipped him. It beats everybody. It’ll beat you too. They can’t have somebody as big as Papa running around unless he’s one of them. You can see that.” (Page 189)-alludes to the fact that they took it all away from the Chief. Because he was a Native American he was inferior to all others and treated as such. When it talks about the combine, it refers to the State and how they took everything away from Chief Bromdem, not only his family, his tribe but also his beliefs, his culture and his rights.

“I think I’ll stop along Columbia on the way. I´d like to check around Portland and Hood River and The Dalles to see if there’s any of the guys I used to know back in the village… I’d like to see what they’ve been doing since the government tried to buy their right to be Indians. I’ve even heard that some of the tribe have took to building their old ramshackle wood scaffolding all over that big million-dollar hydroelectric dam, and are spearing salmon in in the spillway. I’d give something to see that” (Page 280-1)-This quotes refers to how they destroyed tribes and they lost their freedom. This shows how Native Americans were treated as inferiors within one same country where they were the ones who many years ago had helped build a society

Film Scene Analysis

BEDSHAPED

I chose to analyse the scene when Billy talks to Nurse Ratched after having sexual relations with Candy. This is a very important part of the film because it is the moment when Nurse Ratched has the largest amount of power over the men and things suddenly start to degenerate in the mental hospital.



ACTING

 At the start of the scene, we can see Billy arriving to meet Nurse Ratched, half-naked and just wearing his pants, with his hair all over the place and with a smile on his face. His friends applaud at his arrival because they are happy that he was with a girl. Something very significant happens at the moment, we can see that suddenly and unexpectedly Billy speaks to Nurse Ratched and has no problem in pronouncing words clearly and appropriately. This shows us that Billy in fact wasn't so ill or sick, that when he was allowed to be happy, he had no problem in speaking.

Later, after Nurse Ratched says: "You know as very well as me how your mother is going to take this" we can see that Billy suddenly starts to talk all puzzled again. This may be symbolic not only of the power Nurse Ratched has over the mentally-ill but also of how she is not helping Billy make any positive progress with his illness. This part clearly shows us how Nurse Ratched is holding Billy's progress behind instead of helping him get better. Furthermore, at this point, we can see through Nurse Ratched's expression that she is very dissapointed of Billy. When she asks him if he is ashamed for what he had done, he says,"I'm not". At that point, the Nurses expression changes and she looks at Billy in a very serious manner, ready to attack him with her words and make him feel ashamed. She is trying to make Billy feel guilty, by punishing him and threatening him with telling his mother about what he had just done.

Later on, Nurse Ratched asks Billy about who forced him to go and have sexual relations with Candy, at first he says it was everybody but then blames McMurphy. Here, there is a religious symbolism. Because for everyone McMurphy is like the god-like figure or image because he is the one who brings them hope that had long been lost. He is the one who helps cure the mentally-ill through how he is as a person. Interestingly, at the moment when Billy is being taken to Dr. Spivey's office, we can see that suddenly after the treat he had received from Nurse Ratched he goes 'insane'. This shows us how much power Nurse Ratched has, that she can break them apart. We can see that Nurse Ratched is the one who makes Billy ill.

Billy, I believe is the representation of Judas because just like Judas betrayed Christ, Billy betrayed McMurphy by telling Nurse Ratched that it was he the one who forced him to go on and have sexual relations. Also, the rest of the members of the group may be seen as McMurphy's disciples because not only they praise him but also there are exactly 12 other members that form part of the meeting group.

Maybe, all of this religious symbols are there with the intention of making us understand the ending a lot better. As we all know, McMurphy dies at the end. His death may be just like Jesus's death, something needed for the salvation of others. Maybe in this case his death was needed for the curing of others.

CAMERA SHOTS AND SOUND

 The use of camera shots is very clear, when Nurse Ratched is talking to Billy and feels very dissapointed of him, her face is zoomed in to make us, the audience try and decipher what is the Nurse's true feeling about Billy. Also, I believe this is done to be able to make the viewers focus on her and try and feel what Billy is feeling. There is a moment when Nurse Ratched face is zoomed-in in a way that it makes us viewers believe that she is penetrating our souls. Also, when the Nurse's face is zoomed in, we viewers are able to notice that she is pretty much perfect, maybe too much. And we are also able to see how sceptic she is, that she lacks expressionism, that she was almost senseless as if she had no feelings. When the camera is zoomed in on Nurse Ratched and she is talking to Billy, the view is seen from behind Billy's back, and so we can see that during this seen the main focus is pretty much on Nurse Ratched rather than the other characters. What we can see is that even though the cameras focus a lot more on Nurse Ratched, we don't know much about her and her personality is not so explored as that of the text.

Billy's death is also something very shocking in this scene. During the time of the incident, the camera shots change from the body to McMurphy to the Nurse and then to Doctor Spivey. This is to help us viewers understand what their reactions are. From McMurphy's expression during the incident, we were able to understand that he has a caring side too and that he did in fact care for all of the men, including Billy. After Billy's death, Nurse Ratched is trying to accuse McMurphy and trying to make other patients believe that he is the bad guy and she is the good one.