Chief Bromden has made it clear that he has a pretty serious mental illness which makes him view the world in a very unique way. One thing that he has avoided up until now though is how his life outside of the mental ward has influenced him. Let’s take a closer look at the significance of this flashback occurring now in the novel.
Reader #1-Bromden remembers something about his childhood. Before he remembers, he is about to sign the list for the fishing trip but he is afraid it will blow his cover that he is faking that he is deaf. This is clear in the text when: “Bromden wants to sign the list, but he is afraid to blow his deaf-and-dumb cover, realizing that he has to “keep acting deaf if [he] wanted to hear at all.” (Kesey part 3) This relates to the childhood memory he thought of. He remembered that when he was a child he spoke to people that came to his home, but they acted like he had not said a word. I think he thought of this memory because it relates to the fact that he is acting deaf. He is acting deaf because he doesn’t feel he will be heard if he speaks, and he hears more when he is deaf because people think he can’t hear anyways. Reader #2-The flashback to Bromden’s childhood was a significant moment for his character. This moment is important because it represents something that he remembers. He hasn’t had a memory of his childhood in a long time. It was about his Dad; he was selling land to three people. When Bromden spoke to them, they seemed like they didn’t hear him. Bromden thought back when, “About 10 years old” and he was “in front of the shack”(Kesey 210). This is meaningful to him because it was a memory with his dad and childhood that never occurs to him. Nothing has reminded him it until that moment. Reader #3-Chief Bromden has a flashback to his childhood. This flashback is when he is little a group of people come and are trying to take over his indian land. This is like the ward how McMurphy is trying to get rid of the nurse. His flashback explains his last name and the difficult childhood he had and how it might make him the way he is today. “As my sociology professor used to emphasize, there is generally one person in every situation you must never underestimate the power of” This is a good quote to relate to the ward and nurse ratched vs McMurphy. This flashback is meaningful to bromden, because it is the first time he has ever witnessed the brutality of people and what they can do. Reader #4-In Part III Chief has a significant experience, he is able to remember something from his past. This started with Chief remembering that he was not the one that started acting deaf, in fact he just felt he was never heard. This triggered a flashback to his childhood and the day the government came to his tribe’s camp to appraise the property so they could buy it and build a dam on the waterfall they were on. This flashback could have been triggered by the huge changes in the ward, or him asking himself why he chose to start acting deaf and mute. Either way this was an important and meaningful moment for Chief because he was “amazed that I’d remembered that. It was the first time in what seemed to me centuries that I’d been able to remember much about my childhood.”(Kesey 215). Reader #5-In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Bromden had a flashback and remembered something. Bromden remembers that people came over to talk to his dad about buying the land.”But someone should inform them of the government's plans” (Kesey 212).This is significant because this is the first time he remembered something from his childhood. This is meaningful to Bromden because he is slowly starting to remember things from his past and about his family. Before he had his flashback he was going to sign something but he couldn’t so he can hide his deafness. Slowly Bromden is starting to regain some memories he has from his past.
1 Comment
Paige
12/8/2015 10:03:57 am
I think reader #1 makes some great points. I agree with what they say about Bromdens childhood.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWelcome to Miss Hardie's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Blog! Here we will be posting our thoughts and discussing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Please join in on the discussion! ArchivesCategories
All
|