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Nurse Ratched Quotes

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Describe Nurse Ratched. How does she treat patients like Billy Bibbit? Why does she treat him this way? And why would Kesey create a character like Nurse Ratched? What is he trying to say about authority?

Heartless, cruel, and sadistic are all words people may use to characterize Nurse Ratched. She keeps dictatorial control over her patients, shatters patients' self worth, and is the symbol of evil and oppression in the novel. She treats patients with this authority so that they let her control them, and Kesey through the use of Ratched shows why it’s crucial to stand up and rebel against oppressive authority.
Ratched would ruthlessly undermine her patients self worth to a degree where they would become compliant and submissive to her control. The best example of this is how she treats Billy Bibbit, a young, insecure, and vulnerable patient. Ratched constantly belittles Billy, through the use of his stutter and insecurities she is able to diminish his self worth into non-reluctant compliance. This is best seen when Billy gets a potential job offer which would lead to him leaving Ratched’s reign. Ratched tells Billy “you’ll fail” and “No girl will ever marry you, and …show more content…

Ratched represents the intents and goals of these institutions in seeking control and dehumanizing patients. With this, Kesey is able to portray the dangers of authority and the impact authority can have on people. He tries to show how it’s crucial that people don't allow themselves to be controlled by the oppressive and tyrannical systems of authority. He argues that it’s crucial that people do what they can to stand up for themselves when they are faced with oppressive authority and fight for their individuality and

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