Thinking about Themes

In class on Friday, our substitute teacher, who had not read One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, attempted to join in our discussion by questioning us, along with the other English period, about the major themes of our current novel.  While we are generally used to different types of in-class discussion, this idea remained in the back of my mind throughout this weekend’s reading.  I started to really focus on the theme of choice and the role it has played so far.  Chief Broom chooses to remain in the fog and free of pain while McMurphy chooses to work for a quicker release instead of the patients’ wellbeing.  Both of these choices seem to represent taking the easy way instead of the right path.  Instead of facing the problem in front of them, they choose to work for a simple, temporary solution to deal with their life in the ward more easily.  This makes me even more curious about what will happen in Part 3 of the book.  I think that the author will either commend them for finding a way to survive in a horrible environment, even if the means are morally questionable, or have them realize the error of their ways.  I am glad the sub got us thinking in this area, for even though the theme of choice has much development to undergo, it will be interesting to see how the purpose of the novel changes with this progress.