Characters
An intelligent inmate who struggles with his own insecurities.
Who is Harding?
To maintain control and structure over the patients' lives.
What is the purpose of the daily schedule in the ward?
The word "cuckoo" in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, refers to what kind of animal?
What is a bird?
Staff working at the asylum for the Nurse.
Who are the orderlies?
The story's setting.
What is an asylum, ward, or mental institution.
The narrator of the story, who pretends to be deaf and mute.
Who is Chief Bromden?
It symbolizes freedom and the healing power of nature.
What is the significance of the fishing trip?
It symbolizes freedom and the healing power of nature.
What is the significance of the fishing trip?
The name of the Nurse who runs the ward.
Who is Nurse Ratched?
The state where the story takes place.
What is Oregon?
Patients in the ward who are considered to have a chance at recovery.
McMurphy's rebellious actions provoke a violent response from the orderlies.
What event leads to the fight between McMurphy and the orderlies?
A controversial treatment for depression and psychosis used mostly in the 1950s and 1960s.
What is EST or Electroshock Therapy?
The large half Native American man who pretends to be deaf and dumb.
Who is "Chief" or "Broom" Bromden?
The narrator's first flashback takes him where?
What is bird hunting with his dad.
The head nurse who represents oppressive control in the asylum.
Who is Nurse Ratched?
Tensions rise as McMurphy and Nurse Ratched clash over control.
What happens during the group therapy session?
The way that mental illness is viewed in modern society.
OPEN ENDED QUESTION - DISCUSS
The mental health condition most likely affecting the narrator?
What is schizophrenia?
Two obvious animal symbols already revealed in the first chapter.
What are birds and dogs?
A rebellious inmate who challenges the authority of Nurse Ratched.
Who is Randle McMurphy?
McMurphy's decision to plead insanity to avoid prison work details.
What event leads to McMurphy's arrival at the asylum?
Being put in a mental health facility whether you want to be there or not.
What is being committed.
The narrator believes the "Big Nurse" has these things in her bag.
What are cogs, wheels, machinery parts, forceps, pliers, porcelain pills, copper wire, etc.
The narrator believes he can escape into this meteorological (weather) phenomenon.
What is fog.