One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Fog Analysis

Lauren Teter
Mrs. Lombardo
Honors English 9
23 March 2017
Clarity of the Fog Imagine being stripped of identity, and insight to reality. This is what being in the fog is like for Bromden from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey. The fog creates another obstacle, that the patients have to go through in order to protect themselves. The novel is set in a mental institution, and focuses on the mistreatment of the patients. One patient in particular is Bromden, who is also referred to as both Chief and Broom. In the novel, it’s strongly implied that Bromden suffers from schizophrenia, based on his delusions and his continuous mention of fog. The fog can be interpreted as a result of Bromden’s schizophrenia, and is an ongoing
Nurse Ratched and the Combine don’t want the patients to have any insight, so they use the fog as well as fog machines to blind them from the truth. Nurse Ratched keeps the truth from the patients, which weakens them, and strengthens her power. In "Overview: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," it explains, “If [Nurse Ratched’s] patients remain weak, it is easier to control and mold them, and so she promotes fear and suspicion among both inmates and employees,” (Gillespie, John T, and Corinne J.). The fog machines makes it easier for her to overpower everyone in the ward. The machine symbolizes her domination over the patients. For instance, when McMurphy snaps at Nurse Ratched and Bromden says, “She'll go on winning, just like the Combine, because she has all the power of the Combine behind her… Right now, she's got the fog machine switched on, and it's rolling in so fast I can't see a thing but her face, rolling in thicker and thicker, and I feel as hopeless and dead as I felt happy a minute ago… I know now there is no real help against her or her Combine… And the more I think about how nothing can be helped, the faster the fog rolls in,” (Kesey 101). As Bromden realizes that there’s no hope, the fog machine comes on, and he goes back into a state of confusion. Nurse Ratched has total control over everyone, because of the
The fog can be interpreted as self-manipulation, a weapon used to create confusion, as well as a state of mind under different treatments. It can also be used in many ways, such as self-preservation, power, and punishment. The fog affects Bromden the most. He stays in the fog, because it’s where he feels safe. It’s how he protects himself from Nurse Ratched, the Combine, and sometimes even himself. However, McMurphy’s arrival changes everything for Bromden. McMurphy drags Bromden out of his comfort zone, and brings him out of hiding. This is great for Bromden, because he’s tired of hiding. Now he wants to clear the fog and see the truth. Which is his right, as well as ours. Everyone deserves to hear the truth, and to be free from any form of manipulation. We all get lost in the fog at times, so we have to remind ourselves that there’s always a way out of the fog and into the