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Theme Of Control By Nurse Ratched

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The men in the ward were very static characters when controlled by nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched inhibits the rehabilitation process by hindering the potentials of all the men. She commits crimes against humanity to exert her dominance therefore hindering the recuperation of the men. Much like freedom, confinement is a very important theme to this novel. This is shown with the various techniques of tortures nurse ratched incorporates. The lack of change is directly due to the manipulation and exploitation towards the men on the ward. This is first seen when Chief Bromden describes his shaving experiences. He says “The least black boy and one of the bigger ones catch me before I get ten steps out of the mop closet, and drag me back to the shaving …show more content…

I hold back till they get to my temples. I'm not sure it's one of those substitute machines and not a shaver till it gets to my temples; then I can't hold back. It's not a will-power thing any more when they get to my temples.”(Page 7). This quotation is depicting how confined and violated the patients feel. The fear instilled in the men slows their recovery. Nurse Ratched purposely commits simple inhumane acts like these to exert her levels of empowerment, by belittling the mental patients. It is also described how horrendously they terrorize the ward members. The inhibition towards recuperation is also because nurse Ratched demoralizes their value as men. She does this through exclusion. This is described when Chief says “When the fog clears to where I can see, I'm sitting in the day room. They didn't take me to the Shock Shop this time. I remember they took me out of the shaving room and locked me in Seclusion. I don't remember if I got breakfast or not. Probably not. I can call to mind some mornings locked in Seclusion (Page 9)”. The acts of Electrotherapy and Seclusion are the techniques of confinement. This clearly explains why the members of the ward never changed before McMurphy’s …show more content…

This is shown when it’s explained “Her three daytime black boys she acquires after more years of testing and ejecting thousands. They come at her in a long black row of sulky, big-nosed masks, hating her and her chalk doll whiteness from the first look they get. She appraises them and their hate for a month or so, then lets them go because they don't hate enough. When she finally gets the three she wants—gets them one at a time over a number of years, weaving them into her plan and her network—she's damn positive they hate enough to be capable” (Page 29). This shows how little significance they show the ward members. Instead of focusing on their recovery to become apart of society; there is a deeper concern for gaining power and exploiting the ill to become untouchable.The process of manipulating the mentally ill will cause inhibition towards recuperation instead of rehabilitation. McMurphy causes change within men on the ward because of his goal to allow the inmates to pursue happiness. The men don’t change under nurse Ratched’s control because her primary goal is to use manipulation to exert dominance for

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