“I see a lot of fog
and a few lights. I like it when life’s hidden. It gives you a chance to
imagine nice things, nicer than they are. “- Ben Hecht
As we progress through
the madness that is One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest, we begin to realize that the Chief isn’t really as crazy as
he seems, it’s more like he just happens to be caught in the middle of an
insane situation. Throughout the story, small moments make the reader question
whether he is a reliable narrator. In the end, I believe he is. Exaggerations
non-withstanding, I believe he is narrating the very messed-up reality he
happens to be living. One of the most questionable aspects of this narrator is
his description of “the fog” which appears in the ward when he is tense or
scared. As I read I realized that the phrase above could easily be said by the
Chief in the moments when said “fog” consumes him. To him, it is very clear
what “the fog” is and what it means, but to the reader…
What is this “fog” that seems so important
and pacifying in the brittle mind of our narrator?
At some point, I got
to thinking that the fog could be a drug used on the patients of the ward to
blur their memories, making them susceptible to any punishment the Big Nurse
decides they deserve. This hypothesis is supported by the Chief on page 7 when
he states that the two black helpers “...start the fog machine again…” A drug
is to me, a very plausible theory for the fog because it provides an
explanation to the calming and memory effects this phenomenon has. There are
however, other possible explanations to this specific symbol in Kesey’s book.
It could mean peace of mind; it could represent a person’s sense of security;
or more significantly, it could symbolize mankind’s tendency to turn a blind
eye to the most horrible events in the world. In the book, the fog usually
shows itself when the Chief feels uncomfortable, scared, or tense; showing that
the last meaning for the fog could be very accurate. As human beings we shy
away from all of the previously mentioned feelings, preferring to turn our
heads and walk away rather than to face them, locking ourselves away in a world
where, like the quote at the beginning of this post states: everything seems
better than it is.
Whatever “the fog”
truly signifies may be clarified in later pages, or maybe it will never be
fully explained, left open to every reader’s interpretation. In any case,
whatever it represents is a safety valve for the Chief. After he’s consumed by
the fog, he seems more peaceful, calm. When he is enveloped by the fog, to the
Chief, “…life’s hidden.”
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