9/26-27 "2 Cents Discussion"

Students came to class with three different levels of questions on Part Three of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. The three levels were Comprehension/ Recall, Analysis/ Inference, and Synthesis.

In preparation for next week's Socratic Seminar, along with the final in-class essay on Friday 10/5, students engaged in a full class discussion where they literally threw in their 2 cents each time they added a substantive comment in response to a student's question.

Topics of discussion included the following:

Biblical allusion in the novel: Is McMurphy a Christ-like figure? Ist this a fair comparison? Are there Judas or Peter figures among McMurphy's "disciples?"

Individualism and power: How does McMurphy give the other patients a strong sense of individualism during the fishing trip? How does this affect the nurse's power? What is the power of laughter on the fishing trip?

Gender and the role of women: How does the character of Candy help move the plot forward in this section of the novel? Does Kesey seem to use his female characters in respectful ways? What impact do female charcters have in the novel? Compare and contrast the nurse and Candy, how are they different and similar in their roles in the novel?