One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; 218-241
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Introduction |
Like many of the novels, this story moves towards its inevitable and painful conclusion. |
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Up Close |
MacMurphy’s ultimate triumph comes from the men. They are now ready to join the world, for better or for worse. Find three or four paragraphs that show this. |
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Questions |
Read the above pages and answer the following questions. Use another sheet of paper. 1. How does the nurse begin to successfully sway the men? Is she wrong? When did MacMurphy start to do stuff for the men? What is the best answer the men give? 2. What is the Nurse implying about McMurphy? How does Harding refute it? Is Harding right? 3. What are the black boys going to do in the tub room? Is what the black boys do to George therapeutic? Why is it important that Washington is clothed and Mack is naked? Why does Mack have a "helpless, cornered despair" in his voice? Describe Mack's fighting style. Is it to his personality? |
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Cuckoo’s Nest, Continued
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4. What does the tall guy with the wire say? (Please quote) This is a version of a very famous quote from the bible. What is the original quote? What does that make McMurphy? 5. What happens to the Chief during the night? What does that guy want? How does Mack have the ward above him like that? How does he have a hundred or a thousand faces there? 6. What are the conditions if Mack isn't to get shock? Why can’t he take the deal? How is this similar to Sefelt’s problem earlier? 7. Who is Mack quoting from on the table? How is McMurphy similar to Christ? What will happen to Mack at the end of the book, following the allusion? What will happen to the men? 8. After the Words AIR RAID on 238, why does the narration get confused? In reality, what was the pair of dice he was in? |
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Writing |
Mack gets compared to Christ throughout this novel. Follow this out. Suppose the men leave the ward in the end and form a church called “Mackanity.” What would the ten commandments of this church be? |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; 241-end
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Introduction |
The novel ends in bittersweet triumph. Think about the positive stuff here, and not the sacrifice. |
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Up Close |
Billy Bibbit is an important minor character in this novel. Find a passage that clearly focuses on Billy and bracket it. |
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Questions |
Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper. 1. How is Mack winning the battle with Ratched, even though he isn’t there? Why does she bring McMurphy back on the ward?
2. What does Ratched know the operation does? What does Mack pretend its for? Is there any difference? What does Ratched do to men’s sexuality? 3. How old is Billy Bibbit? Is that a surprise to you? What did his mother used to do for him? How did his mother hold him back? Have you parents held you back in a similar way? 4. Who comes during the night visit? Why didn't McMurphy leave earlier? Knowing that he is “damned if he does....” Why couldn’t Mack have left earlier? |
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Cuckoo’s Nest, Continued
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5. In the extended biblical allusion, what is the party? What does Turkle get out of it? What does the party celebrate? 6. Harding draws up a plan for Mack. What important change does this show in Harding? 7. Why are the men not rabbits now? Why did they enter the hospital? Why did Harding? Why has Mack been getting more and more tired over the last hundred pages? Do the Trinity High students ever stop being rabbits? Explain. Do the people of BNW ever stop being rabbits? Explain. 8. What is being “stuffed down her mouth”? How does that show their power? 9. Where is Billy? How is this a triumph for Mack? How does Billy’s voice change? Why does Ratched mention Billy's mother? How does his voice change back? |
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Cuckoo’s Nest, Continued
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10. Who is to blame for Billy's death? How? Could Mack also be to blame? 11. Why does Mack rip her shirt open before he chokes her? What does this scene show about male sexuality? What does this scene show about female sexuality? This is a very controversial scene. Why might modern readers dislike this scene? Explain. 12. Overall, who wins on the ward? How do you know? |
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Writing |
In a few short paragraphs, write an alternative ending to this novel. How else could it have ended? |
• Why would your ending be better?
• Why would it be worse?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Essays
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Introduction |
This novel has a great deal of applications in the real world. These essays will help to place the novel in your lives. |
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Requirements |
The following essays are meant to be both challenging and thoughtful. Please make sure you use the Group Writing Process. Use these guidelines: • Use real verbs, proper nouns, and adjectives • Be Honest • Use a creative intro or conclusion • Use figurative language • Use examples or quotes from the text |
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Topics |
Pick one of the following topics. • How are high school students like the inmates in the ward? How could they change that without leaving school? • In real life, what is the Combine? How can you avoid it? • Sexuality and repressed sexuality has a pivotal role in the novel. does it have a pivotal role in your lives? Explain. • Compare Nurse Ratched to other authority figures you know? How does she differ? |
Hard Rock
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Introduction |
This little poem works on many of the same themes of Cuckoo’s Nest, but with some very important changes to it. |
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Questions |
Read the attached poem and answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper. 1. What are the similarities between Hard Rock and MacMurphy? 2. What does "gelding" do to a stallion? How was HR gelded? 3. What do the other men do with Hard Rock’s exploits? How does Hard Rock's relationship to the men resemble that of MacMurphy’s How are they different 4. Why did Hard Rock do nothing when sworn at? 5. Why was everyone else crushed? 6. What had been cut into their backs? How does that hurt them? 7. What will happen to the men in the future? 8. How is the ending of the poem different from the ending of Cuckoo? 9. Compare what Hard Rock (section 3) does and what Mac does. How are their activities and rebellions different? How does that affect the ending? 10. Do you suppose it makes a difference that Hard Rock is not paired with a Ratched? How might a Ratched have changed the ending? |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Solo Exam
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Introduction |
The following exam has a few tricks and turns to it. Be careful, creative and meticulous. |
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Character Matching |
Match the characteristics on the right to the characters on the left. 1.d__Sefelt a. Drowned in pool 2.e __McMurphy b. Stuttered 3.h__Chief Bromden c. Had beautiful hands 4.j__Candy d. An epileptic 5.i __Washington e. Had beaten hands 6.g__Nurse Ratched f. Prison Inmate 7.c__Harding g. Had a large "personality" 8.b__Billy Bibbit h. A Columbian Indian 9.f__ Hard Rock i. A black boy 10.a__Cheswick j. A prostitute |
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Put in Order |
The following list of events is scrambled. Put a one next to the first event, a two next to the second, and continue. 1 __ Mack arrives on the ward 9 __ Mack breaks the window first. 12 __ Mack beats up on Washington 4__ Mack gets the Tub room as a game room 15__ Mack is lobotomized 11__Mack refuses to help the guys with their catch 6__Mack Tries to lift the control panel 13 __Mack has shock 2__Mack makes his bet 7__Mack loses on the World Series again 3__Mack pulls the "towel" trick 8__Mack learns what it means to be committed. 10__Mack organizes a fishing trip 5__Mack loses on he voting the first time 14__Mack attacks Ratched |
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Cuckoo’s Test, Continued
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Quotes |
Identify the following quotes. Who said it and why is it important? Pick ten. Example: “Get me some Gas, Goddam it!”; Mack, showing whose boss at the gas station. 1. "It's the truth, even if it never happened."
2. "We need that Vaseline" |
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Quotes, Cuckoo’s Test, Continued
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3. "Billy, Billy, Billy. Your mother and I are good friends."
4. "I wash my hands of the whole deal."
5. "Thank You."
6. "He is simply a man and is subject to all the fears and all the cowardice and all the timidity that any other man is subject to."
7. "You men! Stop this. Stop!!"
8. "Stand back you sissies, you're using my oxygen."
9. "You s-s-s-s-aw what she c-c-can do to us. In the m-m-m-meeting."
10. "Mr. McMurphy, my friend, I am not a chicken, I'm a rabbit."
11. "Man, the last time it took eight screws to put him in the hole."
12. "Sure, they con do things like scars and broken noses. But they can't do that look." |
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Weird Section |
The following are a list of things that the Chief sees in ways that are not normally true. Explain how these items are unusual. 1. Nurse Ratched's Pocketbook 2. Nurse Ratched 3. The clock |
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Weird, Cuckoo’s Test, Continued
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4. The fog
5. a die
6. a pill
7. MacMurphy
8. the ward at night
9. a "whirring" sound
10. rusted gears |
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Writing |
Write a short answer to the following question. What will the characters of Harding, Bromden, Martini, Ratched and the Doctor be doing five years from the end of the book? |
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Extra Credit |
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Feedback; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
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Introduction |
Feedback gives you the opportunity to comment on the work you have just studied and how you studied it. Your answers will affect how I teach One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the future. |
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The Work |
Answer the following questions by marking a number between 1- 10. 10 means you are extremely happy, while 1 means you are heavily bummed. • How well did you enjoy studying the book? ___ • Compared to other works you have studies, how hard was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ___ • How important do you feel this play is to the Authority ___ unit? |
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The unit |
Answer the following questions by marking a number between 1- 10. 10 means you are extremely happy, while 1 means you are heavily bummed. • How hard were the homeworks? ___ • How hard were the quizzes? ___ • How hard was the other work? ___ • How hard was the exam? ___ |
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Open ended Questions |
Answer these questions with a short phrase or sentence. • Did you use any other tools (video, Cliff notes, oral tapes) to help you understand this play? • What could I do to make this novel more interesting or accessible for students? • Did you do any of the challenges that relate to this novel? • Did you write any essays that relate to this novel? • What was your grade on the exam? • Did you like the idea of the “Up Closes”? |
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Other Thoughts |
Do you have other thoughts or concerns about the class or the work? If so, please put them right here. |
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