Questions on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Q: How Effective was the ending (specifically the part about turning McMurphy into a vegetable)?
A: I think that having this ending was extremely effective.  It turned McMurphy into a martyr because it showed how he was willing to lose his life (his thoughts and personality) for the group in the ward.  Changing McMurphy also aids to the Nurse's evil personality/character (clearly labeling her as the villain in the story).

Q: What did the backstory contribute to our knowledge of the Chief?
A: Knowing the Chief's backstory definitely helps the readers throughout the story.  It makes us pity him, and therefore want to listen to him.  Basically, it makes the readers trust him more so than if we didn't know his story.

Q: What was the purpose of the fog throughout the book?
A: The fog showed the readers just how observant the Chief was in the ward.  For example, when he is under the fog and has a nightmare about the ward being an industrial combine, this shows how he realizes what the ward really does to people.  He understands that the ward is cruelly treating the patients in order to make them "like everyone else."

Q: How effective was the use of an "insane" character as the narrator?
A:  It was very effective to have the Chief as the narrator (even if he was "insane") for several reasons.  The first is that he has been at the ward the longest, so he knows more about the place and the people in it than anyone else.  Secondly, he depicts McMurphy as an idol.  This helps the readers identify him as the hero (really, the antihero) of the story.  Finally, the Chief pretends to be deaf and mute throughout the story.  This enables him to hear or see things that any of the other patients probably wouldn't hear or see, such as the Nurse losing her temper.  This also gives the readers more insight as to what goes on in the ward.

Reading Journal: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #2

At this point in the story, I think that McMurphy is definitely gaining some ground over Nurse Ratched.  Towards the end of this section, especially, a lot of action happens in which he beats her.  Not only does he, himself, try to go against some of the regulation that occurs in the ward, but he's starting to get some of the other patients to join him.  For example, "Harding shuts off the buffer, and leaves it in the hall, and goes pulls him a chair up alongside McMurphy and sits down and lights him a cigarette too...  Then Cheswick goes and gets him a chair, and then Billy Bibbit goes, and then Scanlon and then Fredrickson and Sefelt, and then we all put down our mops and brooms and scouring rags and we all go pull us chairs up" (138).  This shows the beginning of a big battle with the Nurse, and I think that this event predicts what might come later on in the story: a full-fledged "rebellion" of sorts against the Nurse.
I think that Chief's viewpoint might be a bit warped at times, so his reliability isn't very great all of the time.  He doesn't seem to be very important to the plot right now, other than the fact that he's the narrator.  Sometimes he rambles on about things that don't really contribute to the main plot of the story (unless one counts the treatment of the patients and how they go through daily life as a main part of the plot).  McMurphy has changed the Chief in that the Chief now has more spirit than he did before McMurphy showed up.  The Chief is becoming more involved in the rebellion against the Nurse along with some of the other patients.
I'm rooting for McMurphy at this point in the story because he tries to stand up for what is right, while the Nurse is just plain mean to all of the patients in the ward.

Reading Journal: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #1

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I think that the hero, though difficult to determine at first, would have to be McMurphy.  He encourages the other inmates to rebel against their terrible treatment in the institute.  McMurphy seems to have the same morals (in the ward, anyway) that the readers do, and we support him.  Taking both of those things into account, he would have to be the hero.  The villain of the book would have to be Nurse Ratched.  She treats everyone in the ward terribly.  She uses awful, degrading psychological processes on them, and everyone in the ward is terrified of her.  The Nurse has to keep everything running smoothly not for the patients' sakes, but for the sake of her power.  For example, "I see her sit in the centre of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend her network with mechanical insect skill, know every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants" (p 26).  At this point in the novel, I'm unsure of the antihero.

Reading Journal: The Great Gatsby (7-9)

Interpretive and Evaluative Questions:

1. Q: How did Gatsby's death contribute to the theme of the book?
    A: The theme of The Great Gatsby is to not dwell on one's past wishes because they will only result in consequences.  Gatsby's death indirectly resulted from the choice he made in regards to his love for Daisy.  He chose to tell Tom about this affair, and then drove off with Daisy, which killed Myrtle.  This caused Wilson to kill Gatsby.  This was a huge snowball effect, all starting from Gatsby's life-long wish of five years.  Having these things happen to Gatsby show that if you hold on to something long enough, that thing will take over your life (in a bad way).
2.  Q: Who is the hero of the story and why?
     A: I think that the hero of the story is Gatsby.  Throughout the book, the readers come to identify with him in that his story is the classic underdog story.  He has a good motivation throughout the story, and he doesn't do anything against the readers' morals.  Generally, most people who read the book want Gatsby to succeed.  All of these things combined make Gatsby the clear hero of the story.
3.  Q:  What do the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg symbolize?
     A:  I think that these "eyes" symbolize exactly what Wilson says they symbolize--God, or at least some higher power.  The eyes are said to be "neglected," and religion is definitely neglected by the upper class in the novel.  Also, the eyes watch over everything that happens in the story: Tom's cheating, Myrtle's death, etc.  God is supposed to watch over everything that happens, as well.
4.  Q: Why would Fitzgerald choose Nick as the narrator of the story?
     A: First of all, Nick is in a very good position in that he is related, in some way, to all of the main characters.  He knows Daisy and Tom and lives next door to Gatsby.  Also, I think Nick was fairly impartial--fairly.  Even though he had some opinions, they didn't distort the readers' perceptions of the book.  Nick told the story as it was and didn't lie about anything.  In addition, I also think that having Nick as the narrator left quite of bit of the characters up for interpretation.  Many people have many different opinions about the different characters.

Reading Journal: The Great Gatsby (4-6)

Questions for The Great Gatsby chapters 4-6:1.  What is the purpose of Meyer Wolfsheim as a character? How does he affect the way we see Gatsby?
2.  What does the backstory about Jay and Daisy's past do to our impressions of Gatsby?
3.  What does the story of the rest of Gatsby past due to our impressions of him?
4.  How does your overall impression of Gatsby change over these three chapters?  Do you like him more, less, and why?

Answers:
1.  Meyer Wolfsheim seems to add more mystery to Gatsby as a character, since he appears to be of much lower status than Gatsby.  For me, he made Gatsby seem a lot higher up in status since he was a gambler and didn't have as pleasing of an appearance.
2.  Personally, I thought the backstory to Gatsby and Daisy brightened my perception of the former considerably.  I thought it was sweet that he had been faithful to her this whole time, as well.
3.  The true story of Gatsby's past didn't surprise me, since Gatsby has been so mysterious for the entire story so far.  It didn't really come as a shock or change my opinion of him because it seemed to fit right in with his personality already.
4.  My impression of Gatsby brightened greatly in these three chapters.  I like him more probably because of the way he still loves Daisy, and she appears to be happier with Gatsby than with Tom.  Also, Gatsby is nice to Nick, who is the narrator of the story.

"Black Batton Stomp" by Jelly Roll Morton

Questions for blog:
1.  How do you envision this music playing a part of Gatsby's parties?
2.  What is the mood?
3.  What activities go along with this music?

Answers:
1.  I think it fits well with how I envisioned his parties.  It fits perfectly with the time period.  Also, I think it goes well with the class of these people.
2.  The mood is very upbeat and exciting.  It's in a major key and the saxophones are very prominent, which both contribute to the upbeat mood.
3.  I picture old, 20s-style dresses, coming with 20s-style dancing.

Reading Journal: The Great Gatsby (1-3)

So far in The Great Gatsby, Nick appears to be the hero of the story.  His values seem to be (so far) those of the reader since he doesn't do anything dishonest, unjust, etc.  Plus, the reader pulls for him throughout the story.
Jordan is the antihero.  She is dishonest, and she cheats in her tournaments.  "Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible.  She was incurably dishonest" (p. 58).  Despite her moral values, Nick seems to like Jordan, and therefore, the reader does, too.
At the moment, Gatsby is still a mystery in the novel since the reader doesn't know much about him.  On page 48, Nick describes Gatsby as having, "one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it," and then discusses how he could be extremely understanding.  Because of the underdevelopment of his character at this point, Gatsby would be very hard to classify, though he could potentially be the villain.