Lit Log #1

I chose to create a late 1940s era monopoly board with quotes from the book scattered throughout and a clock in the middle. The book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, By Ken Kesey is set in the 1960s, but I assumed that the psychiatric facility would not have the most up to date, or new board games, which is why I used a 1940s Monopoly board for my inspiration. The clock in the middle showcases squiggly hands both pointing to the three on the clock to illustrate the ways in which our narrator, Chief Bromden, often gets lost in time. Like on pg. 103, when Chief states, “There’s long spells- three days, years- when you can’t see a thing.” I wanted to show Chiefs loss of time because I think that it is very significant to a question our class has posed a few times in various discussions: how reliable is Chief Bromden’s narration? From the very beginning of the story we are questioning if what we are being told is the truth of what has happened, or it’s just Chief telling us what he believes he saw, early on in the book he addresses this, “It’s still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.”(8) This leaves the reader questioning whether or not we can trust Bromden’s narration throughout the rest of this story. On my Monopoly board I scattered different references to the story throughout the classic Monopoly squares. I color coded these squares to group different topics that are related to some of the main characters together. I used the color green on the “Work Farm” and “Casino” squares because both of these squares are relevant to the character, McMurphy. On each corner of the board I included a main reference included throughout the book that has been mentioned more than once. The Nurses Station, the Shock Shop, and the Broom Closet. All of these locations are essential to the facility, and have been mentioned in multiple scenes throughout the story. In the fourth corner I replaced the class Monopoly “Go” square with a “Do NOT Go” square. I chose to include this because a lot of the characters within this story seem to be trapped in the psych ward, with no choice to leave, and no life waiting outside for them even if they did. I chose to include squares that are present within the actual game Monopoly because I wanted to signify our narrator’s constant fight between the real world and the world within his head. It is clear that Bromden is constantly trying to differentiate between the psych ward and his present, and his past memories. This creates a confusing plot and leaves me wondering sometimes if what Bromden is describing actually happened, or if we are just inside of his head. I wanted to create the same kind of confusion on my board which is why I mixed in Baltic and Mediterranean avenues with the Columbia River Dam.