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Two Examples Of Situational Irony In Mcmurphy

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Two Examples Of Situational Irony In Mcmurphy
Kesey utilizes various examples of irony amongst the many characters and their interactions in the hospitals. The situational irony of the piece rests in the fact that Nurse Ratched runs a psychiatric ward, but seems to struggle with a mild disease herself. Her constant need for the ward to follow plans and be immaculate suggests that she may suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or a similar disease. At some points, her disorder seems to be worse than those of the patients. It seems ironic that the individual overseeing patients with mental diseases may have a disorder herself. Another example of situational irony in the piece deals with McMurphy’s lobotomy. All through the novel, McMurphy questions why the patients are in the hospital.
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