In all of the chapters we’ve read of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, there is a nurse named Nurse Ratched, more commonly known in the book as “The Big Nurse.” I chose to portray her this way to depict the power, control, and fear she has on the inmates of the asylum. I blended the red accents in her white uniform and obscured her face with a shadow to capture the essence of her character: a symbol of authority and fear. The composition allows viewers to put themselves on the dark floors of the hospital where the nurse’s demeanor embodies the emotional and psychological tension she imposes. Her head turned shows her disregard for identity, focusing on the rules and system she upholds. The significance of this piece is the exploring perspective and asking viewers to question how they perceive figures like her.

The decision to hide her face is one the most important parts of the artwork. It hides her features, allowing the viewer to interpret her character in the hospital. She can represent a figure of power and control and for others, she is a source of fear and vulnerability. Hiding her features ensures her identity is entirely shaped by perception. This artistic choice highlights the power of perspective and what it can cause people to do.

The choice of red accents in her uniform was done purposefully as the color red is seen with power, fear, and terror. Its emotional texture is a reminder of Nurse Ratched’s demeanor. The red coloring adds a layer of indifference that defines her relationship with patients. This choice shows her role as a nurse and oppressor, blending a facade of professionalism and manipulation.

Her head turned in the image, shows how she distances herself emotionally from the viewer, seeing them as nothing more than another inmate. It is done to make the viewer feel small compared to her, which also helps give soundness to her nickname “The Big Nurse.” Her face at that angle also suggests an avoidance of accountability for what may occur in the hospital but also gives her that feeling of always being aware of what is happening. It invites the viewer to feel who she is, overseeing the inmates and experiencing the control she wields over the inmates.

The dim lighting in the background is done to isolate her and the viewer. The flickering lights contribute to an environment of uncertainty and unease. The setting represents the system she upholds, designed to confine, control, and suppress. The background being empty also lets the viewer imagine what may be hiding in the shadows behind her. It serves as a silent commentary on the dehumanizing nature of the institution and what it is doing to its inmates.

The portrait of Nurse Ratched is not just a depiction of her fictional character but of the dynamics of authority and perception. The face covered by a shadow, red accents, and eerie setting contribute to creating an image that is unsettling and thought-provoking. It lets viewers imagine what power may mean to her and questions them on what power means to themselves and how they see figures of control. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is full of characters that have significance and power but Nurse Ratched is the strongest of them all.

The scene that this image was drawn to represent takes place on pages 57-60 of One Flew Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest, where McMurphy talks to Harding about Ms. Ratched and the happenings in the Ward. Eventually, responding to McMurphy calling them chickens in the discussion, Harding describes himself and the other patients as rabbits instead, “… All of us in here are rabbits of varying ages and degrees, hippity-hopping through our Walt Disney world.” (57) Due to how close to the beginning of the book this scene was, the reader has not come to an understanding of what the characters in the ward are truly thinking and feeling, and how differently they think has not truly been demonstrated. This is one of the first scenes that gives the reader insight to what is going on within the ward patient’s minds, and as the reader it was a little unsettling to me. That scene made me feel unsure about my initial thoughts that maybe patients at the ward didn’t have much of a difference mentally.

He continues the previous quote with explaining how their rabbitness relates to them being stuck in the world and their craziness, “Oh don’t misunderstand me, we are not here because we are rabbits - we’d be rabbits wherever we were - we’re all in here because we can’t adjust to our rabbithood,” (57-58). The animalistic comparison really stood out to me, and when I read this moment in the book I had an image in my mind of a giant wolf with sharp teeth making little rabbits tremble in fear and stay stuck in place. I was inspired by both the unsettling feeling this scene left me with, as well as this imagery that was left in my mind of the wolf and rabbit, to try drawing this scene. I tried to demonstrate that through my drawing; the wolf’s jaws and teeth are depicted around a rabbit - which is what Harding describes as the relationship between Nurse Ratched and the ward patients.

The drawing was designed to look similar in a few ways to some of the art styles that are shown in the book. Some of the style similarities can be seen when comparing this image to the image at the very beginning of the book, before the title page. This image (used for inspiration) shows a man curled into himself, sitting in a room with a chair and a door in the background, and his two hands are curled around his face. The drawing is black and white, and appears to be drawn in graphite or something similar. The shapes and lines used in the drawing are very sharp and angular. There is also a dynamic between lightly and darkly shaded parts of the art piece. I tried to use these three stylistic choices in my own artwork to create a similar unsettling feeling that leaves the reader a bit confused and shocked, because that is the impact this scene had on me.