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Summary: Nurse Ratched

709 Words3 Pages

Have you ever saw a person talking to themselves or speaking to a person not physically present? Perhaps on a lesser scale, you have encountered someone who seems sad all the time or jumps from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, with anger in between. Currently we are in legislative session, which is a time when parliamentary and presidential systems come together for the purpose of discussing laws and appropriating funds. This time is crucial for anyone who receives mental health services, as it is when the distribution of funds is allocated for programs. Without appropriate funding the patients suffer in various forms to include abuse due to lack of funding for qualified staff, lack of research for treatment, and lack of programs to assist …show more content…

The person in charge of the institution in the book was Nurse Ratched. Often, she was referred to as the “Big Nurse.” Nurse Ratched demanded respect and power from the wards of the institution. She manipulated the patients and the other staff members to obey her. When the nurse is introduced in the novel, an eerie feeling overwhelms you. Instantly you can feel the fear of the narrator, Chief Bromden, whom is also a patient. Early in the novel the nurse is described as strong and powerful, “Practice has steadied and strengthened her until now she wields a sure power that extends in all directions…”(Kesey 23) The sure depth of her power is illustrated here. Chief Bromden believe that Nurse Ratched is the face of the Combine - the machine he depicts as society. The Chief, believes that the Nurse is only part of the system not the broken system in and of itself. Physically, the Nurse is described as plastic by Kesey. This matches her personality. Often, Nurse Ratched pretends to be sweet. She smiles and will talk sweetly, however this is a false misrepresentation of her true personality. Her uniform is always finely pressed and crisp white. She exudes Obsessive Control Disorder, which has significant irony due to her employment and behavior towards the mentally ill. The uniform

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Nurse Ratched’s desire for control, in Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, allows her to manipulate the entire hospital ward into believing her work is for the betterment of the patients. Significantly, Nurse Ratched appears doll-like: hair in a tight bun, a neatly pressed uniform, and “too-red” lipstick (48). Traditionally, dolls, like other toys, are made to occupy the unruly minds of young children. By comparing Nurse Ratched to a child’s toy, Kesey implies she is a mere distraction to the patients from their mental impairments.

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Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

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Nurse Ratched: A Psychological Analysis

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Milgram studied the difference between obedience and conformity and different variables that would vary such things. In this movie we see people obey the commands of Nurse Ratched because of the hierarchy she created within the ward. People feel the need to listen to her for that very reason. Zimbardo's findings are also present in this movie. The human rights abuses that happened at the Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 Iraq war is a recent example of what happened in the Stanford Prison experiment in real life.

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1459 Words | 6 Pages

These elements keep the nurse in power, as many of the patients fear being the target of one of these meetings and worry that they will again be betrayed by others. By introducing order through these activities, Nurse Ratched undermines the safety of the patients that should be under her care and keeps them silent. Nurse Ratched's oppressive order is not only seen in a literal sense, but also through the attitudes of the patients under her care. Chief Bromden describes the nurse as being “able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants just by turning one of those dials“ (Kesey 70). Nurse Ratched’s control over the patients’ lives extends to the point where

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Nurse Ratched is the main antagonist who is a very cruel and manipulative nurse, in which all the characters seem to agree that she is out to get them. The other main female role is a hooker McMurphy knew before the hospital who plays a role of meeting the boys needs. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s

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1253 Words | 6 Pages

Foucault expresses that the control over the people in the Panopticon is not forceful, but rather psychological; however, Nurse Ratched shows both forceful and psychological control during the novel. Foucault states that people in a Panopticon are all controlled by authority, but in a psychological manner. He believes “it is not necessary to use force” (323) since those in a Panopticon control themselves. The idea of being isolated in a cell with unknown people watching over the prisoners can cause a sense of concern, which results in good behavior. While this control is psychological, Nurse Ratched’s power to bring patients to the Disturbed Ward, a surgical ward, or Shock Shop, electroshock therapy, when she pleases reveals the force she uses in the ward over the

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673 Words | 3 Pages

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