Lit Log #1: Stepping Out of The Fog

In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey creates a rule-abiding and caged atmosphere in the psych ward. The narrator, Chief Bromden, tells the story through visions and hallucinations that help the reader understand characters at a deeper level. One major delusion that is relevant to understanding the power dynamics in the ward is the fog machine. Bromden claims that there is a fog machine that is controlled by Big Nurse and the staff. “Before noontime they’re at the fog machine again but they haven’t got it turned up full; it’s not so thick but what I can see if I strain real hard. One of these days I’ll quit straining and let myself go completely, lose myself in the fog the way some of the other Chronics have […]” (37) I think the fog symbolizes Big Nurse’s authoritative manipulation and getting lost in the fog means losing sight of reality and individuality. We can see that Bromden is a Chronic but he still fights through the fog and doesn’t want to lose himself in it. But even though he doesn’t want to give in to the fog, he also doesn’t want to escape the fog. Bromden considers the fog a safe place where he can hide from reality. “That’s what McMurphy can’t understand, us wanting to be safe. He keeps trying to drag us out of the fog, out in the open where we’d be easy to get at.” (112) The patients are aware that they are being manipulated by Big Nurse, but they stay in the fog because it’s safer than trying to make sense of everything on their own and rebelling against Big Nurse.

I find myself relating to Bromden and the patients. Growing up, I always obeyed my parents and I never questioned their authority. To me, everything they said went and they knew what was best for me. I think that in a way, this contributed to my people-pleasing tendencies because I was always rewarded for following their rules. As I grow older, my view points don’t align with theirs as much and I start to want different things in life. But because I grew up constraining myself to follow their rules, speaking my mind and rebelling against my parents was something I avoided. I decided to stay in the fog of obedience of my parents and in result, never had to deal with the consequences of rebellion.

I would like to think that my compliance is something I choose for myself, but the hard truth is I’m scared of facing the disappointments of the real world. The actions I make will always have consequences but if I make them on my own, I won’t have the safety net of my parents to fall back on. This is something the patients in the ward also experience. They rely on Big Nurse and view her as a mother figure. They remain loyal to her during the first half of the book when they are in the fog because they see her as someone who is selfless and gave up her life to care of their “insane” selves. “Our dear Miss Ratched? Our sweet, smiling, tender angel of mercy, Mother Ratched, a ball-cutter? Why, friend, that’s most unlikely.” (54) In this quote, Harding defends Big Nurse as McMurphy tries to pull the patients out of the fog. McMurphy shows them the many signs of her manipulation, but the patients refuse to agree with them or take action against her power because of the safety they feel under her fog of authority. It’s Big Nurse’s job to make them feel less crazy, even if that means being caged and controlled. It is only when they see McMurphy succeed to rebel without getting sent to the Disturbed ward that they feel propelled to speak out and step out of the fog.

McMurphy inspires the patients to act on their initial desires to rebel against Big Nurse. Even though he is also a manipulative person, it’s justified because he strives to unite the patients to fight against mistreatment that he also personally experiences. Big Nurse is manipulative in a way that divides the patients so she can have more control over them. From McMurphy I learned that rebellion is extremely important for stopping unhealthy patterns of authoritarians. “The residents, the black boys, all the little nurses, they’re watching her too, waiting for her to go down the hall where it’s time for the meeting she herself called, and waiting to see how she’ll act now that it’s known she can be made to lose control […] There’s no more fog any place.” (129) Big Nurse’s perfect facade that she has been putting up has finally cracked. The fog, and fear that lingers with it, disappears once the patients realize that Miss Ratched can lose control, just like them. We tend to view authority figures as superior and fail to notice they are human as well. Once we take them off a pedestal, we will find the courage to express our individuality and the strength to face the consequences of doing so.