One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Lesson 7
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ELA

Unit 3

11th Grade

Lesson 7 of 37

Objective


Explain the metaphor of The Combine using textual evidence.  

Readings and Materials


  • Book: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey  pp. 36 – 41

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Target Task


Question 1

Using details from this section, explain the following quotation:

“The ward is a factory for the Combine.”

Question 2

In the context of the flashback on p. 39, “snapped into brilliant focus,” and “with my mouth open,” mainly serve to show the narrator’s:

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Key Questions


  • Why does the author include the disturbing description of Taber’s treatment on p. 36?
  • What does the phrase “machinery hums” refer to?
  • Why do you think the nurse feels the technician made an “excellent suggestion” on p. 37?
  • What does the author’s use of diction reveal about the technicians and their patients?
  • What is the effect of the author’s repetition of the word “spinning” on p. 37-38?
  • What kicks off Bromden’s flashback on p. 38?
  • What do we discover about Bromden’s past in his flashback?  
  • Why can’t Bromden go out onto the bus with his team?
  • What might the “jacket” symbolize?
  • What does the narrator mean when he says, “I was a whole lot bigger in those days.”?
  • How does the jacket impact the way the girl treats the narrator?
  • What motif is reinforced by the paragraph beginning with “all those…” on p. 40?
  • What does Bromden say about the ward’s relationship to the Combine? 

Notes


Assign p. 42-49 for HW.

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Lesson 6

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Lesson 8

Lesson Map

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