One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Pair – Share Text Response for 76 – 113
Directions: With your partner, answer 10 of the following 15 items with fully developed responses.
1. What is the significance of the Chief’s account at the very beginning of the chapter on page 76?
2. What details of the Chief’s illness are introduced in this chapter?
3. What happens between McMurphy and Nurse Pilbow? What kind of irony is this?
4. Comment on the heavy symbolism at the end of this chapter. Consider a.) the Nurse’s birthmark, b.) her crucifix and why she uses
this as her defense against attack, c.) McMurphy’s tattoos, and d.)the co-ed at Oregon State’s comment that McMurphy is a symbol.
5. What does McMurphy discover about the Chief? Predict what McMurphy will do with this information?
6. Why does the Chief think the staff gives him pills at night?
7. Describe the disturbing vision the Chief experiences while in bed. What is the symbolic importance of the extent of the
machinery?
8. What seemingly harmless activity is McMurphy doing that disturbs the ward? How does this relate to the aides and Nurse
Ratched’s control?
9. How does McMurphy inadvertently but happily set Nurse Ratched into fury and against the aides? What does the Nurse threaten
to do to Washington, and what are the implications of this threat?
10. What olfactory (smelling) “imagery” does the Chief use to contrast McMurphy to the hospital? Comment on its significance.
11. How does Nurse Ratched get McMurphy back for the towel incident (in regards to his request about music)?
12. Why does this policy exist? What do you feel might be its true intent?
13. What cheerful idea does McMurphy have? Who supports it?
14. How does Nurse Ratched quash it the cheerful idea? Why would she want to quash such an idea?
15. How does McMurphy gain the upper hand in this chapter? What does the Chief know about how this will finally end up?