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1984
135160 Views

Well, if this book doesn't make you want to tape over your laptop camera, we don't know what will.

1984 Summary
136167 Views

By the end of this video, you will be brainwashed. There's nothing you can do about it; we just wanted to let you know. We like to think we're bigg...

A Farewell to Arms
20538 Views

You might be hearing a chorus of farewells if you recommend A Farewell to Arms as the next read for your Fabulously Feisty Feminist Book Club.

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 47687 Views


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Description:

Who's really the crazy one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a la Shmoop. Nurse Ratched's mental ward: come for the

00:17

rest and recuperation, stay for the mind games and spirit breaking.

00:24

It's not a very nice place.

00:25

You know you're somewhere special when the nicest and most sympathetic person...

00:25

...is a guy who smothers his friend to death with a pillow.

00:26

The sheer number of unstable minds on display brings up the big question:

00:30

Who's the looniest toon? Is it our hero, the man who aims to misbehave,

00:39

McMurphy?

00:41

Well, he has been institutionalized. That's usually a good sign that something's wrong

00:51

upstairs.

00:52

So maybe he's in a mental hospital for a reason.

00:56

And McMurphy's brain operates on another level. He never seems to realize the danger that

00:58

he's in, or the power that Nurse Ratched has over him...

01:02

...even though his arch-nemesis is watching his every move, he's mostly concerned about

01:08

baseball and women. That is, until McMurphy tries to strangle

01:16

Ratched to death.

01:20

Yeah... that's not gonna get him points on the sanity scale.

01:27

But to be fair, he hasn't had an easy go of it. McMurphy's a bit of a maverick, and he

01:34

can't stand the fact that the world's trying to squeeze him into a mold.

01:36

Maybe all that crazy behavior is just a way for him to rebel.

01:40

So is he really nuts, or is it, like, the system, man?

01:46

If it is the system, doesn't that mean Nurse Ratched is the crazy one?

01:51

Well, for starters, she's super manipulative, and her desire for power and control is definitely...

01:58

maniacal.

01:58

Sure, she speaks sweetly to everyone... but she's also hiding some seriously creepy monster

01:58

eyes behind that friendly mask.

01:59

Are we the only ones who get a "serial killer" vibe when she's around?

02:02

Speaking of serial killing, Ratched drives two men to suicide and basically murders McMurphy

02:06

by ordering a lobotomy.

02:07

How does she react to all of that? With a big fat "Meh."

02:11

But we'll hold off on saying that she's 100% certifiable. If McMurphy is a victim of the

02:17

system, Ratched might be a victim, too.

02:21

She has her orders, after all. But wait a sec. If McMurphy and Nurse Ratched

02:23

are both actually sane, then what's really going on here?

02:25

Maybe we're supposed to see that "crazy" is all about perspective.

02:28

Sure, McMurphy is a little nutty, but his actions also make us realize how arbitrary

02:34

"sanity" can be...

02:36

...especially when the poster child for "having your ducks in a row" happens to be the murderous,

02:41

mean-spirited, "Ultimate Grinch" Nurse Ratched.

02:43

To put it another way: if Ratched is normal, we might just rather be nuts.

02:50

So what do you think?

02:51

Is McMurphy the bonkers one who belongs in a mental ward...

02:54

...is Nurse Ratched a psycho herself...

02:57

...or is crazy just a state of mind? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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