Ccukoo's Nest Questions

1). Why did the Chief kill McMurphy?
          I believe it was because it was no longer McMurphy, in Chief's mind. He had been replaced, was a tool of The Combine. Bromden killed him to put him out of his misery.

2.) Why was it that Bromden always saw machinery, and not anything else?
          Since Bromden had served as a mechanic in the war, that probably had an effect on his paranoid-delusional symptoms. It is unknown whether he was insane before the war or not, but if not, the trauma of the war is probably what did it. Since he was constantly dealing with machinery at the time, his insanity simply followed a track that his mind was familiar with.

3.) Why did Kesey place such emphasis on the black boys in the story?
          I honestly don't know and would like to. He keeps talking about them, despite the fact that they aren't very important to the plot. Maybe they represent a certain aspect of society; I'm not quite sure.

4.) Kesey worked in a mental hospital before writing this book. How directly do you think that effected this novel? Did he just use the system from experience, or do you think certain events in the story happened at the hospital where Kesey worked?
          I doubt that the hospital that Kesey worked at had as many inhumane treatments as the one in the novel, but I'm also guessing that a few elements were there, such as a Shock Shop, etc. The question is whether Kesey's hospital was as outdated as the one in the book, still doing lobotomies and the likes.
         

Second Gatsby Reading Blog

Meyer Wolfsheim's sole purpose, it seems, is to show a sort of "dark side" to Gatsby. Wolfsheim is representative of all of Gatsby's illegitimate dealings. In fact, it almost seems as if Wolfsheim is supposed to directly be Gatsby's shadier half, what Gatsby might have been or one day will be. It certainly gives Gatsby depth, and makes the reader begin to question whether Gatsby is a hero or, in fact, an anti-hero.

But to counter this, you learn of Gatsby's history with Daisy, and you begin to sympathize with him again. There isn't much more deserving of sympathy than a man whose lover leaves him while he is fighting overseas. When a man has lost that much, it is understandable that he would turn to dealings with people like Wolfsheim.

The rest of Gatsby's past is pretty neutral. Sure, it makes a feel-good story when a poor-born main character rises in wealth and status, but it's kind of negated when you realize exactly how he attained this. So the two early pieces of information are the most important to the reader's impression of Gatsby.

My impression of Gatsby in this section went up. Obviously, his tragic history with Daisy brings me a great deal of sympathy for him. Normally, for most people, this would be balanced by the discovery of his elicit dealings, but not me. This is mainly because I suspected this from the start, so it was already factored into my opinion of him. Therefore, verification of his activities didn't do much to lower my opinion of him. I still think Gatsby is an excellent person, despite having some flaws.