For a lot of people, there is a time in our lives when we don’t quite let others know who we really are. Sometimes, we just don’t really want people to know who we really are. Using One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, let’s explore a little bit why a person might pretend to be not quite as able as they actually are.
Reader #1-In the Book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest” by Ken Kesey McMurphy finds out that Bromden isn't actually who he says he is. One night Chief thinks that McMurphy had fallen asleep, his breathing got slower and slower, till he thinks he's been out for awhile. Then Chief hears McMurphy start laughing and he whispers “Why you sure did give a jump when i told you the coon was coming, chief i thought you was deef”. McMurphy is starting to imply that Bromden is lying about him being deaf. Chief may be acting like he's deaf to get information out of people because they’ll think they can talk about certain things in front of him because he can't hear them. The downside to acting deaf is because you can't speak at all or well enough for people to interpret what your saying. It's quite weird that Chief would be faking something like this, as i would think it would be a hassle for him. Reader #2-In reality people tend to act like they’re not capable of doing something to get out of it or to get special treatment from others. Chief Bramden has been pretending to be someone who he isn’t is. He’s pretending to be deaf so people would give him special treatment. Overall I think chief Bramden is pretending to be deaf so people won’t talk to him and also to spy on others. McMurphy soon catches Bramden on the act and I wonder if McMurphy will let out Bramden’s secret later in the book. Overall pretending to be someone you’re not is a waste of time. Reader #3-Chief has a conversation with McMurphy and he indicates that Bromden is faking his inabilities to speak and hear. People might pretend they are less able than they are to avoid being apart of something. In the text Chief says, “You had a choice: you could either strain and look at things that appeared in front of you in the fog, painful as it might be, or you could relax and lose yourself.”(Kesey 131). Chief might pretend to be deaf and have an inability to speak as a way to distance himself from “the combine”. Bromden’s theory of the world is that it is this machine called the combine and people get involved to put people like him in those asylum institutions. Bromden doesn’t want any part of this machine. He just wants to keep to himself away from the rest of the world. Pretending to be less than someone already is could be their way to prevent stress and anything worse happening to them. Reader #5-In “One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest” Chief gave a hint towards McMurphy that he’s faking his deafness and inability to speak when Chief quickly hurried to bed when McMurphy said one of the black boys were coming over to their beds. This is proven when McMurphy says, “Why, you sure did give a jump when I told you that coon was coming, Chief. I thought someone told me you was deef.” (Page 84) Now for the benefits of pretending to be deaf is that you could not be targeted as easily for certain reasons. But the drawback on this is that people would probably think that you’re crazy, and you won’t be able to talk to other people. So Chief’s maybe thinking that life on the ward seems to be like a prison where you can get abused easily. So why would anyone pretend they’re less able than they are? It’s probably out of fear of getting attention drawn to you, weather it would be good or bad. Reader #6- In the book Chief Bromden reveals to Mcmurphy that he can speak and listen by actually talking to him. He tells him that he hasn't spoken in years and Mcmurphy believes him. he tells him how his whole life he was ignored and not really payed attention to. he just acted to being death and not able to speak so he can just listen. Chief bromden doesn't really like the way the ward hadels thing with the patients, he thinks the zapping and other so called treatments are horrible. the good thing about people thinking he's death is no one bothers him as much and he's just himself and doesn't have to bother with people's problems. i sometimes pretend i don't know how to do something at work so i won't have to do it and it works or just anthing in general like something at home. Reader #7-A person might pretend they are less able than they are in order to gain power. At the end of chapter 6, Chief Bromden and Mcmurphy are getting into bed and Mcmurphy tells Bromden that someone may be coming. Later in the night Mcmurphy started to laugh and said “Why, you sure did give a jump when I told you that coon was coming, Chief. I thought you was deef.” (Kesey 84) Mcmurphy is finally catching onto Bromden’s act, and he’s figuring out that Bromden may be smarter than her seems. Chief Bromden has been on the ward for years, and he’s adjusted to an everyday schedule. He goes through the motions and hopes that no one will ever realize he fake act he has to put on. The benefits of Bromden keeping his secret would be that he gets to listen in on every conversation and have information that others don’t. But a drawback would be that if anyone found out, he could be severely punished for it, which could lead him straight for the shock shop. For example, some people pretend they’re not good at things so that when they need to use the skill at a crucial point in their life, no one would be expecting it and they would have the advantage. Reader #8-Chief Bromden fakes his deafness, intelligence and his inability to talk. He does this because he just wants to slip through the cracks. He doesn’t want to participate in group discussions, so by pretending he's not able to partake in these activities, he's almost forgotten about. Not completely forgotten about however, McMurphy seems to have notice Chief, and he’s not letting him get away easy. McMurphy says this to Chief, “Why, you sure did give a jump when I told you that coon was coming, Chief. I thought somebody told me you was deef” (Kesey 84). McMurphy says this because he wants Chief to know that he's paying attention to him, that he notices him. This is unlike anyone else, because no one seemed to ever care whether Chief was faking it or not. Reader #9-Chief and McMurphy have a conversation where McMurphy indicates that he thinks Chief is faking his inability to to hear and speak. Someone may pretend they are less able than they actually are, to fit in. Chief has been in the institute so long that he may not want to change his ways. Chief has become accustomed to the day to day life on the ward and does not want to be treated differently if he showed he was able to speak and hear. A of the positive of Chief making people think he is unable to speak and hear are that he is mostly left alone(which he enjoys). There is a drawback to Chief faking this. He may be getting medicine and treatment meant for people who can’t actually hear or speak. This could possibly be making his schizophrenia flare up even more. This can easily be compared to pretending to be good at something that you actually aren't. Reader #10- A person can pretend to be less able than they really are for many different reasons. Chief Bromden has been pretending to be someone who he really isn’t throughout the whole book. He could be pretending to be deaf because he doesn’t want to talk to anyone and just likes to be alone and keep to himself. McMurphy soon catches on to chief pretending when Mcmurphy says “Why, you sure did give a jump when I told you that coon was coming, Chief. I thought somebody told me you was deef” (Kesey 84). I wonder how Chief is going to react to what McMurphy said to him and if McMurphy is going to tell anyone. In conclusion pretending to be someone you're not can eventually cause an impact on you and others. Reader #11-people are always gonna act like someone they arent, or say they are in a situation they really arent in, either to fit in, have more friends, or to get treated differently. chief Bromden has been pretending to be someone he isnt. He wants to be treated specially so he makes people believe he is in a situation where he is disabled in some aspects. Chief bromden is pretending to be to be deaf so people wont talk to him and also to make others feel like they dont have to worry about talking on subjects in front of him. Mcmurphy finds out bromden is just acting. deciding what he will do with that evidential information will be tough for Mcmurphy decide. in the end being yourself and playing fair is well worth it.
17 Comments
Ms Theodore
11/16/2015 12:47:12 pm
People present themselves as something that they're not because they get rewards for being fake. For example, Chief earns the feeling of safety for acting like he can't hear and speak. I wonder who else is acting fake and the rewards they get for falsifying their identity. Hmmmm . . .
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Bridget Heraty
11/16/2015 07:21:30 pm
I agree with reader 11.. I wonder what McMurphy will do about Bromden
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Bridget
11/16/2015 07:22:37 pm
I agree with reader 10 when they said Bromden is pretending to be deaf to avoid people and to just be by himself
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Hanna Smith
11/16/2015 08:27:15 pm
I agree with reader #6 because Chief Bromden does think that the way The staff runs the place is not right, but I don't remember Bromden actually speaking out loud and saying he doesn't like it and that he admits that he's not deaf. I think he got worried because he knew for sure Mcmurphy knew that he was faking it.
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Danielle Morrissey
11/16/2015 09:53:48 pm
I agree with reader #8 because Chief most likely could've been out of there by now if he would participate. He has been there the longest and probably improved the least.
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Jenna Ross
11/16/2015 11:32:20 pm
I agree with reader number 2 because chief is pretending to be deaf so people treat him differently. He especially doesn't like social interaction so pretending to be deaf makes people less active with chief so he feels less pressured to do things
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Emily m
11/17/2015 07:04:34 am
I agree with reader 10, some people act differently just to fit into a group of people. People can feel judged so they'll do what they can to fit in
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Jiselle
11/17/2015 08:25:57 am
I agree with reader #1 that chief acts like he's deaf to get things out of people. He doesn't have to say anything to the other patients (like big nurse). Although one question I have is does he ever talk?
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Becca Seidenzahl
11/17/2015 10:18:47 am
I agree with this and reader #1 because Chief pretends to be deaf so people don't bother him. He uses this to hear things and I don't understand why he is there if nothing is actually wrong with him.
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Jiselle
11/17/2015 09:56:34 am
Reader #11 is right with the fact that Chief Bromden fakes his disability so that people leave him alone but he still wants to hear everyone's thoughts and what not. If chief isn't actually ill I don't get why he is in the ward.
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daniel c
11/17/2015 10:02:22 am
@reader #4
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daniel c
11/17/2015 10:04:53 am
@reader 10
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Megan Fata
11/17/2015 10:15:00 am
I agree with all of the readers. Chief acts in a way that he's not to try to get his way.
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Becca Seidenzahl
11/17/2015 10:16:34 am
I agree with reader #1 because the group sessions aren't helping anyone. No one is willing to open up, big nurse is doing a bad job of handling this.
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ryan franicevic
11/17/2015 10:35:20 am
#3 does a really good job explaining the feelings bromden has toward the combine, and how he tries to fool everyone into thinking he is deaf and dumb. McMurphy sees through this though his act. I believe bromden and Mc Murphy will become good friends though all of this.
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Lauren seidenzahl
11/18/2015 08:06:12 am
I agree with reader #2 because it is true that people act like someone they're not just to get attention. I also agree that it is a complete waste of time and it's not worth it in the end. Especially if you're chief, who probably has some really great things to say
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shannon heraty
11/19/2015 04:12:47 pm
I agree with reader 1 that pretending to be deaf is hard and also why he would do something like that. He proably doesn't want to say anything because he would either get ignored or he thinks no one would care what he says.
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