Loyalty and Laughter

As I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,  I cannot felling bothered by a certain line. The narrator explains how at  “Eight-twenty five some Acute mentions he used to watch his sister taking a bath; the three guys at the table with him falls over each other to see who gets to write it in the log book.” (35) I find it odd how the patients have no sense of loyalty towards each other when speaking. Even though the doctor says “it’s helping your fellow,” I find it surprising that the patients take this to heart (50). They seem all to eager to betray their friends; it makes me wonder why they even talk to anyone. My friends and I trust each other; that is why we tell each other things. I would not like living in a place where nothing I would not know whether or not what I say would be safe.

However,I cannot help admiring the narrator’s ability to portray his boredom without actually making the text boring. In an structured operation that runs with machine-like precision, the narrator nevertheless produces entertainment, something that I would not have thought possible. I find the image of three guys falling over each other to write something in a book quite amusing, but the narrator clearly expresses his boredom because he counts the minutes. It reminds me of the scene in the 1985 movie Clue where Evette, the butler, Mrs. White, and Mr. Green all crash into each other (I provided the link below. The scene I speak of is at 2:00). When this mental image comes to mind, I chuckle. Although the narrator deals with difficult issues, I like how he makes them enjoyable to read about.

A clip of Clue (fast forward to 2:00 to find the part I speak of)