Mad Men

This winter break, my sister and I watched many episodes of one of our favorite TV shows, Mad Men.  Caught up in the vivid and dramatic lives of the sharp characters, I slowly realized the insanity of their lives.  Set in the sixties at an advertising firm in New York City, the characters' lives are full of lying and cheating.  The very first episode opens with: "MAD MEN A term coined in the late 1950's to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue."  Although the title of the program fits well with the glamourous lives and setting in the show, the double connotation of the title, as "mad" men, or insane men, seems obvious with the crazy lives the characters live.  Watching so many episodes of the program allowed me to realize how, as seen in Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest that society exiles psychiatric patients in the sixties, the average person in the sixties seemed insane as well.  Overall, this break I realized the almost hypocritical characteristics of society in the sixties.  

Above: Mad Men

Right: The characters of Mad Men

5, 10, 15, 20

I read a few of my classmates blogs who wrote about their seemingly insane actions, and I thought to myself that I do not perform any similar actions myself.  When I told my mom about this discovery, she laughed as she told me about my obviously insane daily action.  Starting from a very young age, every time we sit in the car and listen to the radio, I need the volume to be in an increment of five.  It seems very strange, as this is the only OCD type habit I have, but I cannot help the need to turn the volume every time I see it does not end in a zero or a five.  I clearly remember when I was eleven years old and my sister and I were in a fight.  She had the advantage as she sat in the passenger seat and she turned the volume to twenty-three, just to upset me.  I could not stop kicking her seat and screaming so my mom had to turn it to twenty-five so I would calm down.  I do not know why I feel the need for the volume to be in an increment of five, but for some reason it extremely bothers me when it is not.  Overall, this habit of mine seems to remind me of the insane characters from Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

English Discussion

Today, I looked forward to English, as I knew that due to the band and strings concert, more than half of the class would be gone.  I felt confident as I walked into the room because I was sure that I would talk a lot more than usual, and I knew I would get a good discussion grade this week.  Much like some other blogs I have read, I struggle with class participation points and force myself to talk in class.  But today, I felt that with such a small number of students, I would get the opportunity to speak multiple times.  However, contrary to my anger second semester last year from being a member of the largest class, I believe that such a small group made it more difficult for me.  I do appreciate the days when the room is split in half and the discussions are smaller, but then again, the loud buzzing from the other group makes me feel like there is less attention put on me when I talk.  However, today the room seemed empty as I stared at more than half of the unoccupied desks.  I believe that if the class was usually this small, I would be more comfortable talking, but it seemed so unfamiliar to talk with a small group.  Overall, shocking as it sounds, I feel more comfortable talking with a large class than a small one.  

Families of the Insane

During the extended weekend, I spent a lot of time reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  I found the part where Harding's wife Vera comes to visit the ward particularly interesting.  It made me think about whether I should pity Harding, the insane patient, or his lonely wife more, and furthermore made me contemplate the families of psychopathic patients.  I still seem indecisive but I thought a lot about both options.  Although married, their visit seems awkward and strained: "He and his wife haven't moved toward each other yet" (183).  Kesey's use of negative diction such as "haven't" creates an uncomfortable tone, and he also uses pathos to evoke sympathy from lonely family members of the mentally ill.  The stiff tone and pathos emphasize the stress families must deal with when a member lives in an insane asylum, especially during the 50s and 60s when society outcast the mentally ill.  After Vera asks her husband for a cigarette and he reaches in an empty pocket, she says, "'Oh Dale, you never do have enough, do you?'" (184).  Kesey's rhetorical question indirectly characterizes Vera as upset because of her obvious unsatisfaction in her marriage, as well as utilizing pathos to evoke sympathy from wives of the mentally ill.  The double connotation of her comment, and the pathos and indirect characterization enhance her loyalty for remaining in a difficult marriage.  Overall, I pity both Harding, for his suffering a mental illness, as well as his wife, for her apparent loneliness in the unhappy marriage.  

The Cover's Importance

As we delve further into Kesey's unique novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I keep wondering when the cover of the book will become significant in the story.  When we first got the books, I looked at the cover and tried to predict some important plot line.  I guessed that the man standing on the roof a house may foreshadow someone committing suicide later in the book.  Also, the cover's picture paired with the title also makes me think of "flying" as an act of liberation, which seems quite significant with the story thus far.  Every time I pick up the book, I notice the blurry outlines of the drawing, which seem to reflect the "blurry" and confused minds of the patients in the ward, especially Bromden and his difficulty distinguishing between imagination and reality.  Also, the burnt orange and yellowish color scheme seems to represent a feeling of excitement and rebellion, much like the feelings McMurphy brings into the ward.  Contrastingly, the dark grey and black colors of the man exemplifies a gloomy tone which illustrates the sadness of the patients in the ward.  Overall, the seemingly plain cover actually foreshadows important aspects of Kesey's novel and will most likely play a large role in what happens next in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Law and Order

After I woke up on Monday morning and discovered we had a snow day (!!!) I could not fall back asleep.  I stumbled into the living room and turned on the TV.  Floored by the tough decision to choose between Dora the Explorer, The 700 Club or Law and Order: Criminal Intent, I automatically turned to the legal drama and relaxed as I became intrigued in the show's dramatic plot.  The episode tells the story of a man who graduated at the top of his class from Brown Medical School, but performs illegal surgeries on mentally ill patients.  An opthamologist who believes mental illness is caused by physical aspects, such as eyes, conducts inhumane treatments on his patients.  However, he himself suffers with schizophrenia, but his denial that his genius brain could betray him in such a way leads to his awful and illegal needle-through-eye treatments.  He also uses his patient's illnesses to his advantage, as he knows that their label as insane will prevent their family and friends from believing their complaints of inhumane treatments from their doctor.  Thankfully, detectives Goren and Earnes arrest the law breaker, but after the episode ended, I thought about it's similarities to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Bromden lives in the mid-20th century when treatments for the insane were obviously inhumane and society treated the mentally ill in an ignorant and repulsed manner.  In this episode of Law and Order, the victimized patients are also treated like children when they complain, and the ill doctor seems blinded due to his own illness.  Overall, after I watched this dramatic episode, I could not wait to continue reading Kesey's novel.  

Lobotomy Schmotony

During Thanksgiving break, my sister studied hard for a test on Neuroscience.  Coincidentally, I quizzed her on some notes discussing the structure of the brain when she taught me about some of the scientific aspects of lobotomies.  I quickly forgot about what she told me, but researching mental health of the 50s and 60s and starting Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest sparked my memory of the peculiar treatment.  The frontal lobe of the brain controls an individual's personality.  The story of Phineas Gage depicts the significance of the frontal lobe.  Once an upstanding citizen, the rail road worker had a great personality.  However, a frightful accident at work lead to a large metal rod going through his forehead, straight through his frontal lobe.  Astonishingly, he survived, but forever lived a grouchy, lazy alcoholic.  Lobotomies strove to use medical equipment to mix up the frontal lobe of the brain in order to cure the mental instabilities of psychopathic patients.  However, lobotomies often led to drastic personality changes, such as rude, mean, and childlike actions from adults.  Bromden's seemingly childlike personality matches the common effect of lobotomies and I cannot help but wonder what other references to lobotomies I will read about in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  

What's a Cuckoo?

After reading the beginning chapters of Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I decided to research the unfamiliar bird of the title.  Not that I really do know that much about birds, but I'd have to say that the cuckoo is a bird I know nothing about.  After some research, I learned that cuckoos are medium-sized birds with soft feathers. They live on every continent except Antarctica and are said to be extremely secretive.   Also, they are known for their numerous unique calls, which they use to attract a mate and define their territory.  An interesting aspect of the cuckoo bird is that they are brood parasites, or birds that lay their eggs in other bird's nests.  The female bird chooses a nest of a familiar species, often similar to the birds who raised her.  Also, their eggs resemble the eggs of the nest they use, as to throw off predators.  After much research, I wonder if any of what I learned will be significant in the rest of Kesey's novel.