Monday 5 November 2012
In Tonights Readings, I’ll be talking about : Domination
McMurphy is a “ Big man” that stands up and is very repulsive to Nurse Ratched. McMurphy goes as far as causing a riot, disobeys the rules to breaking the glass ( Her barrier) of her control. McMurphy shows that he knows what Nurse Ratched is up to when it comes to her controlling and belittling patients that it won’t fool him! He will make the men in the hospital into “big men”. Why is McMurphy so repulsive to Nurse Ratched? Why does he like the Prostitutes better than Nurse Ratched? I’ll be explaining these questions through three ways : Text , myself and Society.
To honestly answer these questions I have to start with the text first. At the end of the fishing trip when they took a detour to the hospital, they passed by what was McMurphys childhood home where there was a tree with a rag on it that was yellow and black . The rag was the first girl that drugged McMurphy to bed that wore that very same dress. McMurphy was 10 and she was younger when he lost his virginity. What I got out of this if anyone would like to put their input, I got that McMurphy thought after they have sex, they have to announce that they are partners, getting engaged and get married at that spot whether they like it or not. What happens is that after they have sex, the ‘whore” gave McMurphy her dress and said “ you can hang this up someplace, I’ll go home in my drawers, announce it that way”. McMurphy threw it on the tree and out of his sight but the whole town can see it. Which can be a symbol of weakness against the girl to McMurphy. What I got out of this, McMurphy was dominated by that girl, He wanted to show her love but she totally dominated him and left him. Since that happened to him, he grew into a stronger man that will not let a woman take over him. Hence why he’s so repulsive against Nurse Ratched when she tries to control everyone. I understand why the men accept the prostitutes, because they don’t control. The men control the women by the women doing whatever the men wanted . McMurphy does have a weakness, his love that can make him exhausted.
Relationships… I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to this point. I honestly feel what McMurphy feels when it comes to being crushed like that. I was in an abusive relationship where I was belittled and abused emotionally and sometimes physically. Once I had the courage to get out of the relationship ( which took too long but I was stupid) I realized how stupid I was and why I even stayed in it? After that relationship I became bitter towards guys because I was scared . I was almost repulsive against guys when they tried to hook up with me. It took a while for me to give guys a chance to know who I am and where I come from. Actually I’m still the same way, just a stronger woman. Trust was a huge factor and honesty. I became stronger woman because of him. McMurphy became a stronger man because that girl crushed his dignity and now he won’t let any other woman control him like that ( Nurse Ratched).
Society now a days hates being controlled by someone. Unless they are being controlled by good and reliable people that’s another story! Everyone wants to be their own boss and not be judged by their own work. For example, lets say Josie worked at a place where she was used and abused til she got so tired she quits her job. Once she finds a new job, she has that mentality that she doesn’t want to be treated like that ever again so she becomes repulsive against people and making herself her own boss. It makes you feel big and superior to others. Shows to others that you can’t be messed with! I don’t think anyone wants to be controlled or be dominated by unreliable people. Its an insult and you feel belittled. It honestly changes people to be stronger but more big headed which can be dangerous.
Being controlled sucks , unless you’re into that kinky crap , Whatever floats your boat :P
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Very well done.
ReplyDeleteI like the connections that you made to the text. I can see what you mean, the part with the dress did confuse me before but what you have put forth makes logical sense. We, as humans, tend to rebel against things that hurt use. When we look at serial killers, most of them all have something in common: they have all in some way been hurt. We can see that when a certain man is betrayed, raged fills him.
For example: A man and his girlfriend are out for a late night stroll. She proceeds to tell him that today she was able to confirm she is pregnant. The couple is over delighted. Then, the man decides that this is the most suiting time of all; he gets down on one knee. He proposes to her, but she is stunned and not for the right reasons. A gang has approached the couple from behind. They end up killing her and putting him in critical condition. He comes back and ends up spiralling out of control in a psychological spiral of depression. He ends up, subconsciously, killing all of the gang members that killed his fiancé and child. Rage is powerful.
The point of this store is to try and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You’re a young successful kid with the love of your life and a child on the way. Then it is all taken away from you...
McMurphy, based on your ideas, was clearly crushing on this girl. It had hurt him enough, the loss of love, that it puts him in a mindset that he must control women in order to not have a painful relapse. Therefore I fully agree.
And I’m happy you realized you deserve more :)
Its interesting that you related that little girl to McMurphys current preference in women. I would also like to point out that at the start of the book Nurse Ratched says that one of McMurphys many charges include sexual acts with an under age girl. The little girl also taught him that sex doesn't matter an you can just throw it away like the dress she had on. I would not say it made him a stronger man I would say it made him more afraid to let himself care for a woman and so he just uses prostitutes he can throw away when he is done with them. He even almost seems willing to share Candy. And maybe being alone is what makes him exhausted. I slightly believe that people tend to let them selves be controlled. By what society tells them, their parents, magazines, believing everything they hear on the news. Those that do go against conforming tend to stand out and accomplish great things but it takes a lot of persecution. To get to that place. Its amazing when people do get out of abusive relationships but many people stay in the cycle of abuse and when they leave one abusive place or person they find another and a whole new abuse starts. I have seen friends and family both fall into that trap. I love that McMurphy feels the need to help the man and help them stand up for themselves.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is mainly about control, if I’m correct. How McMurphy has power of the patients and how he refuses to have Big Nurse that power. Like you said power is a big deal. With his power he plans on turning all the patients in “big men” like himself. It seems like he is trying to make little McMurphy’s that he can hang out with. Not that it’s a bad thing. I do also believe McMurphy has good intentions while doing this.
ReplyDeleteThere is a war almost between McMurphy and Big Nurse for control over the patients. They both have their own way of seeing things work. Big Nurse believes in routine and having a schedule. The patients have put up with this for so long and are scared and not confident enough to stand up to Big Nurse. This is where McMurphy comes in, McMurphy believes Big Nurse’s way of doing things is unreasonable and does everything he can to change it.
Now heading into McMurphy’s love life that started young, I don’t think that his young love lead him to feeling controlled by women. Everyone experiences first love and first heartbreak. I think that was just McMurphys time. If that isn’t the case, that goes to explain his love for prostitutes. The feeling of being in control is something he likes to have. He enjoys the control and playing the leader.
Hey there Michelle
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog tonight and your references to storey like mcmurphy breaking the glass is an excellent example of mcmurphy a man dominating trying to dominate the dominator nurse ratchet, and drawing the connection to the way the little girl treated him all those years ago to the way mcmurphy is now personally/mentality wise. Also with him being the “big man” and to help all the other patients almost Christ like. Where I differ from your blog is where mcmurphy throws the dress out the window although what you said is what essentially what happened, ken wrote that he waited till night to throw it out the window and the wind whipped it around the house into the tree for the town to see. You ask what the difference is? Well simply he wrote it in a way that mcmurphy was ashamed or angered about what happened waiting to night to get rid of it, to forget about it like it never happened. With the wind whipping it around the house like it was fate, and I don’t believe in fate in literature everything happens for a reason. If that wind didn’t whip the dress around the house people would have never known and he wouldn’t have been nicked named “dedicated lover” and with the shame he decided live up to his name changing him. So it wasn’t the girl essence that made him the way he is, it was the towns folk that made him this way.
Now as for the girl and what did to him there’s a couple ways one could take this the way you and most of the class as or food for thought what if she robbed him of his ability to love? And the coed, all the prostitutes, the seventeen year old, candy and who all seem awfully similar to that girl. Is it possible in some mentally twisted way mcmuphy see them all as that little girl that robbed him, and he’s only trying to steal back what’s rightful his. Much like psychopaths or serial killer do, in that they have a preference certain type of person they stock and kill re-enacting that traumatic moment in their life. Or in mcmurphy case re-enacting that night trying to change things, to retake his ability to love again. Before you say what about his hatred for nurse ratchet and other female, well therapists and psychologist have proven that you’re personally is a complexion of seven of the closest person to you. In the book I believe it doesn’t talk about his parents so he could be imitating his father or rebelling against female in power because they remind him of his mother that he hated. In the end this is just food for thought a different point of view that kind of goes against the general consensus of the class but isn’t disproven either thus makes it possible.
P.S sorry for going over two hundred and fifty word (by a little bit lol) and I still haven’t addressed everything i wanted too.