Activities and Comprehension Questions:

pp. 9-13

Comprehension Questions:

1)Who is the narrator of the story? Chief Bromden or Chief Broom

2)To what ethnic group does Chief Bromden belong? Native American, or Indian

3)What race are the attendants? African American, Black

4)Why does Chief Bromden hide from the attendants? What is he trying to avoid? He doesn’t want to be shaved before breakfast.

5)What is Big Nurse’s real name? Ms. Ratched

6)What do you think is meant when the Chief refers to the “machine”? It is a metaphor for a controlling force that keeps people in line and conforming.

Activity: Draw a picture of Big Nurse based on the description of her on page 11.

pp. 14-18

Comprehension Questions:

1)When there is a new admission, what do the black attendants grin about, and look up and down the halls for? A jar of Vaseline

2)What does McMurphy do that the Chief finds surpising because most new patients don’t do this? Laugh out loud and a lot.

3)What did McMurphy bring with him that was his own? A deck of cards.

4)What other thing does McMurphy try to avoid that the attendants want to prod him with? A thermometer.

Discuss: What does it mean that McMurphy sounds “big”? What do you think is meant by his big and free laugh?

Activity:

List some ways that McMurphy’s personality is a contrast to the atmosphere of the mental hospital.

pp. 19-28

Comprehension Questions:

1)What is the log book used for? Patients write notes about each other to “tattle”.

2)What was done to Ruckly because he was fierce? He was given a lobotomy.

3)Where was McMurphy before he came to the mental institution and why was he in there? McM was in jail at a work farm. He was sent to jail for fighting.

4)Who was the “bull goose looney” before McMurphy showed up? Harding

5)What does the Chief feel when McMurphy shakes his hand? He feels McMurphy’s power.

Discussion:

What are the differences between the Chronics and the Acutes?

When McMurphy shakes hands with everyone in the ward, does it remind you of anything? Where is there a story about healing people by laying hands on them, and who performs the laying on of hands?

What does the description of Harding’s hands, comparing them to “white doves”, suggest about Harding’s character?

Activity:

What do you think the Chief means when he says “What the Chronics are – or most of us – are machines…” on page 19?

Reread the descriptions of each of the characters so far. Make a T-chart that separates the Chronics and Acutes by name. Draw a little cartoon sketch of what you think each of them looks like based on the description. Use one word to describe each of them.

pp. 29-41

Comprehension Questions

  1. Who has a doll’s face? Nurse Ratched/Big Nurse
  2. What does the Chief describe as being “spotless as snow…white and cold”? the black attendant’s uniforms
  3. Who was in the Army with an electronics background? Chief Bromden
  4. According to the Chief, why are there magnets in the floor? To maneuver the patients
  5. What question did Taber ask Nurse Ratched and the other nurse, Miss Flinn, that got him into trouble? He asked what medication he was supposed to take.
  6. What group is being taken on the tour by the Public Relations officer? A ladies’ club
  7. Who is adjusted and dismissed to return to society? Taber

Activity:

Open Mind: Find places in the text where you see symbols, especially in terms of the way the Chief describes life on the ward. Draw what you think is in the Chief’s mind, as per the instruction handout.

Discussion:

Do you think the Chief is a reliable narrator? Why or why not?

The Chief refers to “ thick fog”. Is this real fog? What do you think it means?

Contrast McMurphy and Big Nurse. How are their personalities different? Are they the same in any way? If so, how?

What does the Chief mean by “the Combine” “adjusting” everyone and everything?

Comprehension Questions pp. 42-53:

  1. Why are the tables cleared from the day room? To make room for a group meeting.
  2. What is in McMurphy’s hands at the beginning of the meeting? A deck of cards.
  3. How old is McMurphy? Thirty-five
  4. What is the last crime that the nurse mentions that McMurphy was accused of, but was not convicted? Rape
  5. Why are the sides of Old Pete’s head deformed? A doctor puled him out by the head with a pair of tongs, or forceps, when he was born.
  6. Where did Old Pete work before he went into the institution? At the railroad
  7. How does one of the black orderlies get knocked out? Old Pete punches him
  8. When the doctor makes a slight mistake, McMurphy tells him not to worry about it because Nurse Ratched started it. What did Nurse Ratched do? She mispronounced McMurphy’s name

Prediction:

Predict how you think the battle between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched will end. (Must be at least a paragraph)

pp. 53-69

  1. Who is McMurphy talking to when he describes the pecking party? Harding
  2. Who does McMurphy say starts the pecking party? Nurse Ratched/Big Nurse
  3. What kind of animal does Harding use to describe all the patients? a rabbit
  4. The shock therapy table looks like what? A cross
  5. Who supposedly received over two hundred shock therapies? The Chief
  6. What is the bet McMurphy makes with the other men? That he can make the Big Nurse lose her temper and her cool.

pp. 70-77

  1. At the beginning of the chapter, what does the Chief say that the Big Nurse controls? Time and the clock
  2. What does McMurphy hear that Harding and the other patients don’t hear any more? the music
  3. What card game is McMurphy playing with the patients in this chapter? Blackjack, or Twenty-one
  4. What does McMurphy pick up off the ground for Miss Pilbow? A pill and a pitcher of water
  5. What kind of animals are printed on McMurphy’s boxer shorts? whales
  6. What does it say on McMurphy’s tattoo? “Fighting Leathernecks”
  7. What does McMurphy figure out about the Chief at the end of the Chapter? He’s not deaf

Comprehension Questions pp. 78-82

  1. For the first time in a long time, the Chief goes to bed without what? His sleeping pill
  2. What does a worker drive into Blastic’s heel? a hook
  3. What surprises the Chief when the worker cuts Blastic open? There is no blood, just wires and nuts and bolts and dust.

Discussion:

What do you think the Chief’s dream means? What does it tell you about his character?

Comprehension Questions pp. 83-91:

  1. What does McMurphy do in the latrine that patients haven’t heard in years? Sing
  2. What does McMurphy ask a black boy for that is usually locked in a cabinet until 6:45? Toothpaste
  3. The Chief tells a story about his papa looking at the sky and seeing what kind of birds? Geese
  4. What does McMurphy tell the nurse was stolen from him in the middle of the night? His clothes
  5. What did the aide named Washington forget to give McMurphy? His “greens”, or uniform, or clothes.
  6. At the end of the chapter, the Chief talks about which one of the five senses? Smell

Comprehension Questions pp. 92-101

  1. What is the length of the measurement McMurphy mentions at the beginning of the chapter? Fourteen inches
  2. What does McMurphy try to hit with the square of butter? the clock
  3. When McMurphy taps on the window of the Nurse’s station, what does he want the Big Nurse to do? Turn down or off the music
  4. Who interviews McMurphy? (They both come out smiling) Doctor Spivey
  5. What do the Doctor and McMurphy have in common? They both went to the same high school.
  6. What do the doctor and McMurphy want to hold on the ward? a carnival
  7. Who does McMurphy say had a bolt in his jaw? his dad

Comprehension Questions pp. 104-111

  1. What does McMurphy want to watch on TV? The World Series
  2. What does the Nurse begin locking up in the Nurse’s station at night that belongs to the patients? their cigarettes
  3. McMurphy says that he might break out of the institution with which other character? Cheswick
  4. Until it is proven that this object wouldn’t accomplish the job, what is the object that McMurphy first says he would throw through the window in order to escape? a chair
  5. At the end of the chapter, what does McMurphy try, and fail, to lift? a big panel that is bolted to the floor
  6. What does McMurphy throw on the ground at the end of the chapter? The IOUs from the other patients

Comprehension Questionspp. 112-115

  1. What sport/activity is pictured in the poster that the Chief describes? Fly-fishing
  2. What is hard for the Chief to locate at night? His bed.
  3. What does the Chief say McMurphy is trying to drag the patients out of? the fog
  4. What does Rawler do on page 115, and how does he do it? He kills himself by cutting off his balls, and bleeds to death.

Comprehension Questions pp. 116-128

  1. The Chief begins the chapter with a very detailed description of what? the fog
  2. What problem of Billy Bibbit’s does the Nurse begin the meeting discussing? His stuttering or speech impediment
  3. What does the Chief describe that he and the others are doing during the meeting? They begin to float.
  4. What does Scanlon like to watch on TV? The (World) news
  5. On the first vote, how many people vote to watch the World Series and change the TV schedule? Twenty
  6. Who is the last person to vote who creates the majority? the Chief
  7. What does McMurphy do when Big Nurse switches off the TV? He continues to sit in front of the blank screen, pretends he’s still watching, and acts like nothing has changed.

End of Part 1

  1. Make a prediction about what will happen in Part 2.
  2. Write five paragraphs that discuss either the motif of Christ, or the theme of the conflict between authority and conformity, as personified by Big Nurse, and the individual, as personified by McMurphy. (Use the Say-Mean-Matter chart as the basis for the essay)

Comprehension Questions pp. 129-137

  1. What room is the Chief cleaning in this chapter? the staff room
  2. What character does the Nurse stare at for a very long time before the staff meeting begins? the Chief
  3. What is the purpose of the staff meeting? What are the Nurse, Doctor Spivey and the residents trying to figure out? what to do about McMurphy and his disturbing influence. Whether to keep him on the ward, or send him to Disturbed.
  4. What is surpirising about the Nurse’s opinion? She says that McMurphy should NOT be sent to Disturbed, as he will become a martyr to the other patients.

Comprehension Questions pp. 138-144

  1. What measurement does McMurphy ask the Big Nurse to tell him? Her breasts.
  2. What work assignment does the Big Nurse give McMurphy? cleaning the toilets, or latrines
  3. McMurphy tells a story about a blindfolded man who was doing what? Rining a bull backwards
  4. What artistic hobby of McMurphy’s, besides writing letters, surprises the Chief ? His paintings
  5. As the Chief looks out the window at the moon and the sky, what animal does he see? a dog
  6. What two people come up behind the Chief as he looks out the window, and what do they make him do? Geever, the black aide, and the little nurse with the birthmark. They want the Chief to go back to bed.

Comprehension Questions pp.; 145-151

  1. At the meeting in the beginning of the chapter, McMurphy asks Doctor Spivey why the Nurse iss allowed to take what from the patients? their cigarettes
  2. In this chapter, what sport or activity are the patients forced to participate in? Swimming
  3. Which character explains the difference between being committed and serving a sentence in jail to McMurphy? the lifeguard
  4. What did the government want to build on the Chief’s tribes lands? a dam
  5. How does Cheswick die? he drowns

Comprehension Questions pp. 152-156

  1. What happens to Sefelt at the beginning of the chapter? He has a seizure
  2. What does one of the black attendants do with a stick wrapped with tape and why? Puts it in Sefelt’s mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue during the seizure.
  3. Frederickson has rotten ______? gums Why? from the Dilantin, or seizure medication
  4. What does the Chief say is nearly fixed on page 156? The machine, or the Combine

Comprehension Questions pp. 157-161

  1. Where are the patients taken at the beginning of the chapter that scares the Chief? the library
  2. Whose wife comes to visit? Harding’s
  3. What is McMurphy reading? a cartoon book
  4. Who explodes at the other patients in this chapter? McMurphy
  5. Who says he’s been having nightmares, and what does he see in them? McMurphy. He sees faces.
  6. At the end of the chapter, who pretends that he is a pilot? Martini

Essay Question pp. 157-161:

Take into consideration the following questions from the chapter pages 157 to 161 in Cuckoo's Nest. Then write a 3-paragraph essay based on your answers.

What is Harding's sexual orientation?

How would you descripe Harding's wife? consider the way she looks and her personality?

Why does she raise a single eyebrow when she sees McMurphy?

What kind of men keep showing up at Harding's house looking for him?

What kind of men does Harding's wife like?

What are the intellectual differences between Harding and his wife?

After considering all of these questions, in the 3 paragraph essay, use your answers to these questions to explain what's wrong with Harding's marriage and why he's in a mental institution.

Comprehension Questions pp. 162-168

  1. What do the men have to get X-rayed? Their chests
  2. What does Harding tell McMurphy about while they are waiting for their X-rays? EST
  3. What fact does McMurphy learn that is true about most of the patients? They are in the mental hospital voluntarily. They don’t have to be there.
  4. Who ends up wiping blood all over himself? Billy Bibbit

Comprehension Questions pp. 169-173

  1. What does McMurphy want to stop and get after the X-rays? his cigarettes
  2. What punishment does the Big Nurse apply to the patients for their rebellion over the World Series three weeks earlier? She takes away their privilege of using the tub room for cards and other games.
  3. What does McMurphy do at the end of the chapter that shocks the Nurse and everyone else? He punches through the glass of the Nurse’s Station to get his cigarettes.

End of Part 2

Part 3

Comprehension Questions pp. 174-190

  1. What kind of sports team does McMurphy organize? a basketball team
  2. What happens to the first new window in the Nurse’s station? McMurphy breaks it again
  3. What happened in the game between McMurphy’s team and the aides’ team that almost started a fight? McMurphy elbowed Washington, one of the black aides, in the face.
  4. What happens to the second new window in the Nurse’s station – be specific? Scanlon breaks it with the basketball
  5. What kind of trip does McMurphy organize for the patients? a fishing trip
  6. The Chief tells a story about three people who show up at his father’s place on the reservation. What do these three people not realize about the Chief? He speaks English
  7. What does the Chief hide under his bed? Gum
  8. What is the very first thing the Chief says? Thank you
  9. Who does the Chief say grew bigger than his father and mother combined? His Mother
  10. What does McMurphy “give” to the Chief for free that would have cost him ten dollars otherwise? He can come along on the fishing trip.
  11. McMurphy says he has a training program for the Chief that will do what? Get him back to his old size.
  12. McMurphy asks the Chief if he thinks he could do what? Lift the control panel in the tub room

Comprehension Questions pp. 191-218

  1. At first, how many men are signed up for the fishing trip, including the Chief? Nine
  2. What is the warning that Big Nurse keeps giving about the fishing trip? That the ocean is dangerous, and people often drown or sink on fishing expeditions. The trip isn’t safe.
  3. What is George obsessed with? Being clean, or sanitation
  4. Who is made the captain of the ship? George Sorenson
  5. When only one of the two girls shows up, what problem is created? All ten patients can’t fit into one car – they need another car if everyone is to go.
  6. How does McMurphy solve the problem? He gets Doctor Spivey to drive, so that there are enough seats for everyone.
  7. Where do the patients stop on the way to go fishing? At a gas station
  8. How much money did the Doctor pull out while they were there? Ten dollars
  9. What drink does McMurphy buy for the patients? Beer
  10. Who catches a big salmon that Scanlon wrestles on the deck of the boat? Chief
  11. Who hurts his thumb? Chief
  12. What does Candy hurt on the trip? Her breast
  13. The men are missing three of something important. What is it? Life jackets
  14. Who is waiting for the men when they get back to the dock? The captain and two policemen.
  15. What ended up in a tree in McMurphy’s story? a dress

Part 4