Why is harding in the ward

Dale Harding Although he is married, Harding is a homosexual. He has difficulty dealing with the overwhelming social prejudice against homosexuals, so he hides in the hospital voluntarily.

After he loses his virginity to Candy Starr in the nighttime ward party, he is initially proud. But when Nurse Ratched threatens to tell his mother, Bibbit slits his own throat and dies. However, Ratched has lost her tyrannical power over the ward. The patients transfer to other wards or check themselves out of the hospital. McMurphy was not only a symbol of freedom, but he was also the meaning of it. His strong character is what the others needed to make their stay in the ward worthwhile. Nor more than right that it should be this way.

We must learn to accept it as a law of the natural world. The rabbits accept their role in the ritual and recognize the wolf as the strong. In defense, the rabbit becomes sly and frightened and elusive and he digs holes and hides when the wolf is about. And he endures, he goes on. He knows his place. Now, would that be wise? Would it? Tell me why. I can understand it with some of those old guys on the ward. Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power.

Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become. Hitler an example. Food for thought there. She was losing her patients one after the other. After Harding signed out and was picked up by his wife, and George transferred to a different ward, just three of us were left out of the group that had been on the fishing crew, myself and Martini and Scanlon.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Plot Summary. All Themes Sanity v. Insanity Institutional Control vs. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.

The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Ironically, then, Harding has checked himself into the hospital because of an emasculating wife only to be further emasculated by the stern and insinuating Nurse Ratched.

Harding helps McMurphy understand the realities of the hospital. Although he is married, Harding is a homosexual. Harding is an Acute patient, one who has voluntarily committed himself to the hospital. Billy Bibbit A year-old man dominated by his mother to the extent that he is still unmarried and a virgin. Bibbit is also a voluntarily committed Acute, despite the fact that his wrists reveal a previous suicide attempt. In his mind, this is the only way to give Mac back his freedom.

When the authorities are made aware of their location, Edmund tells Dolly that he will take the blame for her actions and she will be free to return to work. Dolly dismisses him, however, and shoots numerous officers and is shot to death in return moments later.