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Summary: Nurse Ratched

709 Words3 Pages

Have you ever saw a person talking to themselves or speaking to a person not physically present? Perhaps on a lesser scale, you have encountered someone who seems sad all the time or jumps from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, with anger in between. Currently we are in legislative session, which is a time when parliamentary and presidential systems come together for the purpose of discussing laws and appropriating funds. This time is crucial for anyone who receives mental health services, as it is when the distribution of funds is allocated for programs. Without appropriate funding the patients suffer in various forms to include abuse due to lack of funding for qualified staff, lack of research for treatment, and lack of programs to assist …show more content…

The person in charge of the institution in the book was Nurse Ratched. Often, she was referred to as the “Big Nurse.” Nurse Ratched demanded respect and power from the wards of the institution. She manipulated the patients and the other staff members to obey her. When the nurse is introduced in the novel, an eerie feeling overwhelms you. Instantly you can feel the fear of the narrator, Chief Bromden, whom is also a patient. Early in the novel the nurse is described as strong and powerful, “Practice has steadied and strengthened her until now she wields a sure power that extends in all directions…”(Kesey 23) The sure depth of her power is illustrated here. Chief Bromden believe that Nurse Ratched is the face of the Combine - the machine he depicts as society. The Chief, believes that the Nurse is only part of the system not the broken system in and of itself. Physically, the Nurse is described as plastic by Kesey. This matches her personality. Often, Nurse Ratched pretends to be sweet. She smiles and will talk sweetly, however this is a false misrepresentation of her true personality. Her uniform is always finely pressed and crisp white. She exudes Obsessive Control Disorder, which has significant irony due to her employment and behavior towards the mentally ill. The uniform

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