Hiding and Invisiblity Post #1

Fog clouds our vision. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest I think that fog represents the lack of vision the characters possess. Whether it be medically induced or out of hallucinations, Bromden uses the fog to protect himself. Thus far, Bromden uses fog to cloud others people's vision so they cannot see him. However, he thinks that the fog is staff induced.The fog usually occurs when Bromden is afraid. For instance, the first time we see the fog is on page 7 (my page 7...probably your page 8/9) when they force Bromden into the shaving room. He clearly does not want to go and is fearful. He then states, "They start the fog machine again and it's snowing down cold and white all over me like skim milk, so thick I might even be able to hide in it if they didn't have a hold on me...They hold me down while she jams wicker bag and all into my mouth and shoves it down with a mop handle" (7). The above lines are pretty forceful and seem painful for Bromden. Bromden uses the hallucination of the fog as a safe place when he is scared. Part of his disorder is to want to seclude himself from society, and he uses the fog as an agent to do so. Additionally, the last line in the same paragraph says, "It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But it's the truth even if it didn't happen"(7). Although Bromden uses the fog for himself, I think he might use the fog as a metaphor for the impaired vision of people in the ward. The staff and even the patients are told what is true and cannot debate (ex: Mr. Taber). He says that they are told what the truth is even if it didn't happen. Every ones vision in the ward is foggy.