Windows

Here we can see Chief Bromden looking through the window of the ward late at night. A grass field dimly lit by moonlight lies on the other side of the window. Across the field, there are scattered digger squirrel holes and pine trees. In the distant sky, there’s a flying v of birds soaring through the moonlight. Chief Bromden can see a dog exploring the dark lonely field. Chief Bromden watches the dog exploring the night saying, “sniffing digger squirrel holes, not with the notion of to go digging for after one but just to get an idea of what they were up to at this hour.” (142) Bromden sees part of himself in the dog as they are both exploring late at night. Bromden himself was “I walked among the guys heaped in long white rows like snowbanks, careful not to bump into somebody, till I came to the wall with the windows.” (141) Bromden is exploring the ward late at night, not with the intention of escaping but simply because he is curious as to what goes on late at night when everyone is asleep. Similarly, the dog is exploring the field, not with the intention of going after a digger squirrel but just because he is curious. As Bromden continues to watch the dog, he sees the dog look up into the sky and after a few moments, Bromden hears the geese too. Bromden notices that the dog “was still standing with his paw up,” (143) long after the geese flew over them. Bromden has been watching the dog enjoy its freedom and yet at the sight of birds, the dog becomes jealous of their ability to fly. The dog stands there watching them fly, wishing he too could fly. At the same time, Bromden leans his head against the window, watching the dog, wishing he too could be free to run in the open field. While the two aren’t in the same position, they share jealousy of what someone else has that they don’t. This shows Kesey’s intent to demonstrate the things everyone takes for granted. The dog has no idea that Bromden is watching and doesn’t realize how lucky he is to begin with. Kesey is demonstrating that the grass will always be greener on the other side, even when some people don’t have any grass at all. While Bromden and the dog are both jealous of other animals’ freedom, they still have polar opposite positions of freedom themselves. When the dog wanders off from home, he still has the option to come and go whenever he pleases whereas Bromden is stuck inside. Bromden is stuck behind the glass window, watching a dog do everything he wishes he could do himself and for that, he envies the dog. Up until this moment, we’ve seen constant similarities between the situation of patients in the ward and animals that are mistreated. For example, Bromden’s description of one of the patients being summoned by the big nurse saying, “he crawled to her like a dog to a whipping.” (86) This situation goes one step further and puts the dog in a position of more power than Bromden and the other patients, adding to his sense of helplessness. He is no longer on the same level as a captive animal, he is now beneath it.