Psyc in Literature: The Blog

            Although the trip might initially seem like it was about fishing, it was actually about lowering the prisoners’ self-esteem. Before the trip, McMurphy and the others were being their usual selves, but when they were standing on the dock with the stripper, however, they are too ashamed to stand up for Candy. When the men return to the hospital, McMurphy is exhausted, which is exactly as Ratched would have liked it.

            This part of the book drew heavily on memories. As the car drives past McMurphy’s old house, he sees the dress. McMurphy is quiet as he stares at this dress, a reminder of the first time he had sex. Also, Bromden remembers the people that came in to buy his father’s land. These memories remind the reader that each of the people involved in this story have a past, and are more than just prison inmates.