Part 3: Potential

What are we capable of? What are the limits of our ability? It’s a question everyone asks themselves at some point or another. It’s a question that can give us hope and help us to find where we fit in our lives. What is our potential? Why are we here? Some people never live to their full potential. Others don’t realize what they are capable of. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest the patients at the mental hospital are unaware of their potential. For many years they have been conditioned to believe by Nurse Ratched that they would be lost in the outside world. That they are capable of nothing good and they can’t fit out beyond the walls, in place with society. In part 3 of the novel McMurphy sets the stones for them to realize they have worth, that they have the ability to surprise themselves. For example, when the gang stop at a gas station before they reach the docks, they are confronted by a gas attendee that tries to take advantage of them because he believes them to be too mentally ill to put up any fight. McMurphy tells the gas attendant that they are all crazy psychopathic murderers and this strikes fear in the attendant. The other patients realize that they can use their mental illness to an advantage; they can cause people to become intimidated by them and this is a source of power. They don’t have to fear the outside world as much because the people on the outside fear them as well, maybe even a bit more. Another example is when McMurphy refuses to help his fellow patients while out at sea. This causes fear in everyone but they soon realize their self worth. They don’t need McMurphy to catch fish, or to have a good time. They have the potential to do these things on their own, they are surprised by how much they are capable of and this brings out a newfound confidence in everyone.

What am I capable of?  It’s a question I ask myself every day it feels like. Sometimes I abuse it I think. How can I abuse a question you may ask yourself? Well, when I’m lying in bed, doing nothing productive with my life I ask myself this question. I’m confident that I could be successful in life. I’m confident in my abilities and I see myself as an intelligent being. I’m just lazy, and if I wanted to go out and do something productive I could. I know what I’m capable of; the problem is that society doesn’t know. That’s a major character flaw of mine I think. I expect things to just happen for me, like my dream job will just come to me in a silver platter and I won’t have to put any work behind it. I need to find a wind of ambition to come beneath me and throw me where I want to go. I want to do things in my life and I want to be someone of merit. I’m just super lazy, hopefully this is something I can work on.

I think like in One Flew Over The Cuckcoo’s nest society acts somewhat like Ratched in a way... What I mean is, we are told most of our lives that if we don’t do certain things we can’t be what we want to be. We must fit into society’s mold of how our lives must be. We must go through high school, and after that’s over we must go directly to university or college. While we’re there we must get a degree of some sort, and then begin looking for a job. After acquiring a good job you must then settle down, marry someone, start a family so then your kids can start the same bullshit cookie cutter life that we are all expected of doing. After all that, 50+ years of working you must retire and spend the rest of your days probably living in a nursing home until you die. I say screw all that, screw the established thought of what everyone thinks your life should be. Do what makes you happy, do things at your own pace, choose your life path and don’t let others choose for you. We only get one life, live it to your own max potential. You never know what’s out there for you if you don’t go and find it. Live it up!