Safety in Laughter

The quote that Katie discussed on page 113 is very relevant when discussing how McMurphy comforts himself and those who he cares for. It says "He is safe as long as he can laugh, he thinks, and it works pretty fair." This quote draws me back to earlier in the book where Mac is sort of mocking the rules in the ward by stating how ridiculous the lock on the toothpaste sounds: "Locked in the cabinet, is it? Well well well, now why do you reckon they keep the toothpaste locked up? I mean, it ain't like it's dangerous, is it? You can't poison a man with it, can you? You couldn't brain some guy with the tube, could you? What reason you suppose they have for puttin' something as harmless as a little tube of toothpaste under lock and key?" (Kesey 90)
It seems as though as long as Mac can find a reason to laugh at something, he is in control of it. He has the power to find something like locking toothpaste up ridiculous, and no one can argue with him. Being the sanest patient on the ward and being able to laugh at the rules sends a message to the Big Nurse, telling her that Mac has flown under the radar; he has not conformed, his personality and sense of reality are still intact. Unlike the other patients, he can recall how things were in the outside world, and he is aware of how childish the grown men are being treated. The fact that the black boy must defend a rule as trivial as keeping toothpaste locked up until 6:45 is undoubtedly something a normal human would laugh at. I think it goes along with the power and control of the ward that him and Big Nurse are battling for.
In the end, I think McMurphy's laughter is important in his safety, because Big Nurse cannot make him stop laughing. This laughter separates Mac from the machines; he is human and since Ms. Ratched is a machine, she cannot laugh and feel the emotions Mac can. Because his laughter is engaging for the patients and makes him a more humane person, he can hold this against Big Nurse. He can ally with the patients, giving him some power over her.

Throughout the book so far we have seen McMurphy use sex, gambling, and especially laughter as something that seperates himeself from the rest of the patients on the ward. His experience in these areas almost make him more interesting to the patients. He tests the limits and "beats to his own drum". He is not about to follow the rules of the combine, and if he does is intentions are not pure, it is only to win the bet against Nurse Ratched. On page 113 Cheif describes McMurphy's attitude towards the ward as well as the role of laughter and when he utilizes it: "A couple of time some stupid rule gets him mad, but he just makes himself act more polite and mannerly than ever till he begins to see how funny the whole thing is-the rules, the disapproving looks they use to enforce the rules, the ways of talking to you like you're nothing but a three-year-old-and when he sees how funnt it is he goes to laughing, and this agravates them no end. He's safe as long as he can laugh, he thinks, and it works pretty fair" (113). It is almost as if McMurphy uses laughter to hide from the seriousness of the ward and also to protect himself. Being able to laugh allows him to keep his sense of self and sanity, without it he would be no one, he would be conformed to the machine-like combine, like the rest of him. He is aware of how he is the only one that laughs and almost in an indearing way, wants to teach his buddies on the ward to embrace the laughter within them because is heightens the quality of life here on the ward. In my opinion, laughter is what is bringing him together with all the other patients, whom they're learning a lot from.

Singing

Until now, McMurphy really only was able to use laughter to escape the combine, but one morning chief wakes up to the sound of someone singing : "Hear him singing! Singing so you'd think he didn't have a worry in the world." (page 88) After this, Chief points out that they have not heard singing in years and all of the acutes are listening to the unfamiliar noise. Singing for McMurphy has now become another weapon because it, along with laughter, are able to unite everyone on the ward and make the mood more light and peaceful. Also, the fact that he is singing, while in his Moby Dick boxers is also funny because he really is proving his point to Nurse Ratched that she can't catch him when he is singing. Further, after his encounter with Nurse Ratched, just when she tries to walk away with at least some power left, he begins singing again, almost as if to emphazise her lack of control on him.

Empty TV Screen

At the end of the chapter, a revolution occurs where Nurse Ratched is overruled by the patients.  When they all rebel against her tasks she assigns them, it becomes apparent that they have truly begun to change the ward.  When Chief observes this scene, he becomes overwhelmed by satisfaction: '''Mr. Harding!  You return to your scheduled duties!'  I think how her voice sounds like it hit a nail, and this strikes me so funny I almost laugh" (138).  This scene exemplifies how the machine-like composure of Nurse Ratched has truly been shaken up, and how Chief is finally coming out of his shell, given he almost laughed out loud.

Sex

Mr. Harding is a patient on the ward. In the group therapy session, he discusses with the group issues he is having with his wife. As the nurse recalls these issues, it becomes apparent that a great deal of these issues are related to sex. He claims that her large breasts cause men draws unwanted attention from men. He also claims that his wife constantly thinks things are sexual gestures, even when they are not. "My dear sweet but illiterate wife thinks any word or gesture that does not smack of brickyard brawn and brutality is a word or gesture of weak dandyism." page 41.

Gambling

Playing blackjack isn't exactly on our list of creature comforts, but I sort of saw it as one. McMurphy brought all of the patients together, and everyone was really engaged in the game, even Chief said he could've watched all night. McMurphy shared some of his gambling secrets and of course had his share of laughs. "The laugh banged around the day room all evening, and all the time he was dealing he was joking and talking and trying to get the players to laugh along with him" (Kesey 78). McMurphy is really trying to unite the ward and bring everyone up, and playing cards together gives them all a good opportunity to bond. 

Doctor's Giggle

Upto this point in the book, McMurphy has pretty much been the only source of laughter. But during the ward's meeting, laughter, or rather giggles comes from an unlikely source, the doctor. The fact that McMurphy was able to get laughter out of someone who is under the control of Big Nurse was, in my opinion a big feat and shows how McMurphy is really trying ot shake things up. "The Doctor is working so hard to keep from giggling again he can't answer." Big Nurse get's very annyoed with the doctor and tries her best to reel the doctor back in and get him udner control, because if he is laughing and making the atmosphere seem fun and light, then her whole purpose of having these meetings (which is to further her power and make the patients feel inferior) is in jeapordy. I almost feel like McMurphy is using his laughter and trying to make it contagious to aid in the downfall of Big Nurse.

That is a great quote. It really shows the impact of McMurphy's presence on the ward and how he affects those around him. I think his laugh is genuine and the patients on the ward are starting to notice it more and more as the book goes on. It's almost as if his laugh is a source of fun, new, energy for the patients, it is very refreshing for them to hear such a real laugh. another quote I found on role of laughter in the ward is on the top of page 68. "Maybe not you, buddy, but the rest of us are scared to open up and laugh, You know, that's the first thing that got me about this place, that there wasnt anybody laughing. I havent heard a real laugh since I came through that door...Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing. A man go around lettin' a woman whup him down till he can't laugh anymore, and he loses one of the biggest edges he's got on his side.."

McMurphy's Laughter

Here's a great example of McMurphy's laughter, and the impact it has on the patients in the ward: "Nobody can tell exactly why he laughs; there's nothing funny going on. But it's not the way that Public Relation laughs, it's free and loud and it comes out of his wide grinning mouth and spreads in rings bigger and bigger till it's lapping against the wall all over the ward. Not like that fat Public Relation laugh. This sounds real. I realize all of sudden it's the first laugh I've heard in years" (11).

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