I didn't realize that this novel has been banned by many different schools because of its racism and misogyny, I don't believe that Ken Kesey was aiming for that. I don't know if his interpretation of Nurse Ratched is part of being sexist, or just using her as a symbol of dictatorship. After the first group meeting with McMurphy arriving at the hospital, he said that she's a ball-cutter, and was trying to defend the patients at the mental institution, he also mentioned that some of them arn't as crazy as they are supposed to be, and that they are just being locked up from their freedom, so he wants to help them out by changing the way things are in the mental institution, and in order to do that he has to surpass or bring down the head of the institution which they all believe is Nurse Rachted who's in control, and not the doctor. I think that Nurse Ratched is more on task, and she's just trying to do the best in her job to make herself happy, I dont believe that she's emasculating the patients in order to that, but McMurphy and Harding made an argument about it, and they agreed that she is indeed trying to emasculate them, or as they called her a ball-cutter. I still didn't read the author's thought about Nurse Ratched except for her physical description, but Cheif Bromden never talked about how he hated Nurse Ratched to the guts like the others, except that he hates when she tells the black boys to shave him in the morning. And just because he referred to the aides as "black boys" it doesn't mean that he's racist, after all African Americans are black, and there is nothing wrong of saying that.If some of the patients aren't committed, then why don't they just leave the mental institution? Why do they feel as if they have to put up with Nurse Ratched instead of being out there in the world where they can do whatever they want according to law, but still have much more freedom than being locked inside the institution, what are they afraid of? I mean it's really worth a try, and that's what I think will happen after McMurphy and the others go fishing.
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If some patients aren't committed, they should not simply leave the mental institution. If they choose to do so, without proper guidance and supervision, they will potentially violate the law, and they will wind up right back where they came from. Many of the patients in the institution have been segregated from the real world for so long, that if the institution released them without proper guidance and supervision, they may not know what is appropriate behavior. It is far better for them to continue to receive help from professional nurses and doctors who would assist them in transitioning back into society.
I personally feel that mental institutions are not necessarily the answer for those people that are mentally ill. For example, there are a number of people who are in jail who are mentally ill. What actually differentiates a jail from a mental institution beyond receiving psychiatric medications? What about those people that are in the middle, such as the ones who are not diagnosed as being mentally ill, but have done something bad? Where do these people fall in place? There is no institution out there that can serve such people? Do they go to a jail? Mental institutions and jails should be reformed because they deny people their civil rights to a certain extent. There are many other ways to punish a prisoner rather than through the use of physical and emotional consequences, such as EST (Electrical Shock Treatment) or lobotomy as used in the book.
In conclusion, fortunately I have never been in a mental institution or a jail. However, one of the teachers I had at my old school worked in a mental institution for many years. She told me that many of the prisoners that she worked with were not bad people. She also taught me the importance of "not judging a book by it's cover," just because someone looks bad. I do not think that people who commit minor offenses should be punished to the same extent as people who commit more serious offenses. People should be treated respectfully and humanely even though they may be accused of certain things!
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