Nurse Ratched: Katherine Connolly, 18 years of age, appears to be in good health. Miss Connolly… Would you mind telling me again why you are here?
Me: What? Oh, yeah, sure. Well, I basically think I should be locked up.
Nurse Ratched: That is not the type of terminology we prefer to use. Do you mean that you think you are a good candidate for one of our psychiatric wards?
Me: Um… Yep. I’m pretty much nuts.
Nurse Ratched: That has yet to be determined. And we do not call our patients “nuts,” they are simply here because of their “inability to adjust to society” (167).
Me: Oh, I see. As of late I have not been very capable of adjusting to society.
Nurse Ratched: And why is that?
Me: To be honest I do not exactly know why. But I do know when it started.
Nurse Ratched: Oh? When?
Me: My junior year of high school…during AP English 11.
Nurse Ratched: What is that?
Me: An English class designed for the more… let’s just say more motivated students.
Nurse Ratched: And what exactly did this class entail?
Me: Reading
Nurse Ratched: So the class required a lot of work?
Me: A lot of work? A LOT OF WORK ??? I ate, slept, and breathed AP English. I had a recurring nightmare in which I had to analyze a sentence that did not have ONE literary device in it. I would fall asleep in my other classes and wake with a start shouting, “It’s a synecdoche!” So yes, it was a lot of work.
Nurse Ratched: Before choosing to take this course were you informed of the many requirements?
Me: I heard it would be difficult, but I never thought it could possibly be as difficult as it turned out. But it wasn’t just the hard work…
Nurse Ratched: What do you mean by that?
Me: I do not know how to explain it. It’s just that the teacher had so many… rules! I had to put heading after heading on every piece of paper, I had to put the essay on TOP of the prompt, I had to pull quotes AND apply literary devices.
Nurse Ratched: Perhaps your teacher had a reason for doing so, after all, “everyone… must follow the rules” (25). Society puts in place certain guidelines in order to maintain a necessary balance and pattern. We must have some rules and you surely will find no lack of them here.
Me: It’s not like I mind rules or I have issues with authority or something. We just had so many rules to keep track of and I did not want to ask for clarification because— because, never mind.
Nurse Ratched: Miss Connolly, I think you were about to say something very important. I know you may feel reticent or self-conscious, but the only way we can make progress is if you are totally and completely honest with me. Now why is it that you did not want to ask for clarification on the rules?
Me: I, uh, well… I was scared!
Nurse Ratched: And what, per say, frightened you?
Me: [long pause] The teacher… Ms. Serensky
Nurse Ratched: What made you so afraid of her?
Me: She said she doesn’t like stupid people and I was afraid she would think I was stupid if I asked any questions or said anything. So I kept my mouth shut.
Nurse Ratched: Is that what led to your breakdown?
Me: Yes, right in the middle of a graded discussion. I just lost it. I started throwing desks and ripping pages out of books. But, I want to get better I really do. Do you think you can help me?
Nurse Ratched: Yes, I believe so. “We have weeks, or months, or even years if need be” (158).
Katie, I really like your idea of having an interview with Nurse Ratched about becoming a patient. Personally, I would love to see an interview between Nurse Ratched and Ms. Serensky...that would be interesting. Also, I really enjoyed the image of you throwing desks in the middle of a discussion; I cannot even imagine Ms. Serensky's reaction.
ReplyDeleteThis is really funny Katie. I can definitely imagine you throwing desks around, like a wild child. This actually reminds me of when I created a fake trailer about a wild child's quest for love for French class. Do you remember the crazy black afro wig you wore? It's funny how there are so many stimuli that will drive us down the same path to insanity. For you, it is AP English 11. Yet for the wild child, it was the years he spent in the woods alone. Therefore, I think that it is good to follow the rules to a certain extent. Where would we be without them? But I will caution you-- get away from the nurse. She has some skeletons in her closet that you do not want to get to near to. If I were you, I would transfer to another ward right away. It is for your own health.
ReplyDeleteKatie, I really enjoyed this post. I though it was really funny when you shouted "It’s a synecdoche!" Your dramatic tone towards AP English 11 reminded me of the stress I felt last year. Although this year is just as stressful, I am glad to say I feel less of it because being in AP English and other tough classes has taught me how to deal with stress.
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