Examine the personality of Nurse Ratched. What does she represent and how does Kesey present her as the embodiment of control?.
Nurse Ratched is an important figure and Kesey tells us many things about her throughout the novel. At the beginning we are given a insight to what Nurse Ratched looks like, "Her face is smooth, calculated, and precision made, like an expensive doll, skin like flesh coloured enamel, blend of white cream and baby-blue eyes, small nose, pink little nostrils," this is making sure that we know and remember that Nurse Ratched is a woman, and that despite her character that is all she is inside. However she has a cold exterior, she wears a pristine, crisp white nurse's uniform and enjoys being the one in control. Kesey tells us that Nurse Ratched is an old acquaintance of Billy's mother. Billy is very unstable and cares about what is mother thinks about him, this gives Ratched an advantage over Billy because she knows that she can control Billy by threatening to tell hiss mother anything that he does. Ratched enjoys this advantage so much that she takes it too far. At the end of the novel when Billy is found with Candy in bed she tells Billy that she is going to have to tell his mother and Billy then slits his throat. Nurse Ratched knew that he may do something like this but she still did it, she still pushed him when he was in a disturbed frame of mind. This proves that Nurse Ratched feels she has to be superior in any situation even if it means that there are unfortunate consequences. Nurse Ratched is also in control of Doctor Spivey, Doctor Spivey knows that he would not be able to run the ward without Ratched's help, so he must let her do as she pleases because he is frightened to lose her and have no one to take her place. It is Harding that tells us of this information when McMurphy is convincing him that Nurse Ratched is not there "Angel of mercy", "Doctor Spivey is exactly like the rest of us, completely conscious of his inadequacy.
