SOCIAL WORK 215 - EXAM 3

EXAM 3


By Felicia McCaw
Saginaw Valley State University
Introduction to Social Welfare and Social Work Social Work 215


EXAM 3
Felicia McCaw
Page 1

1. Discussion and Summarization of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. A Milos Forman Film starring Jack Nicholson

This movie was based on a novel written by Ken Kesey and reflects interaction between fellow mental inmates or inhabitants located in an Oregon asylum and their daily interaction with each other. During the film a patient by the name of McMurphy was interviewed, questioned and admitted by staff to the Oregon asylum. He was suspected of pretending to be crazy to evade working. Each day reflected drama and confusion instigated by this person (McMurphy) to evade the rules and become the champion of everyone on the ward and take over the power play between himself and nurse and all the staff. Also, with cunning and ingenuity he and the other mental inhabitants escaped the asylum and stole a fishing boat and went fishing and came back later in the day with captured fish and was taken into custody and returned to the asylum.

McMurphy was able to establish a rapport with the other inhabitants and was the leader in causing all the disturbances as well as initiating them to play basketball and getting the Chief to open up and participate.
Unfortunately, McMurphy caused a disturbance and attacked one of the orderlies and was given electroshock therapy to curve his behavior. When he came back everyone was worried that he would not be the same but the shock treatment was not effective and he continued on in his pattern of being the leader and brought about continual disturbances. His last deed of bring women in the asylum and bribing the night orderly caused such irrevocable harm that Billy committed suicide after being caught with a woman and Nurse Ratched’s threat to tell his mother of what she saw and what he did. After, McMurphy saw that Billy had committed suicide he blamed Nurse Ratched and attempted to stranger her to death. After this attack McMurphy is lobotomized and left in a vegetative state, silent and motionless and the Chief overcome with emotion and grief smothered McMurphy during the night and escaped by throwing the shower room control panel through the window.


EXAM 3
Felicia McCaw
Page 2

2. Analysis of the Social Value utilized in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

The asylum of Oregon is utilizing the Social Value of Individualization which means that each patient is unique and worthwhile and worthy of being focused on individually and help move them in direction of the recovery mode. While in the process of doing so each professional firmly believes in maintain that each individual is entitled to their inherent dignity which needs to be respected. Everyday reflects that each individual’s behavioral patterns has to be monitored, studied and documented and treated in an unbiased professional fashion and realize their behavior will sometimes have to be corrected by either negative or positive reinforcements. Unfortunately, some actions are unpredictable and have to be studies to try to prevent horrible acts from reoccurring if possible and if not then these acts that caused these weird behavioral switching should be closely monitored and checked. Further, the Principle of Individualization is a valuable key role in ensuring various problems are addressed uniformly, goals, needs and cares are of upmost importance and the need for different patterns of relationships with clients or inhabitants are significant and require different types of methodology in approach to each person.

In this asylum clients’ right to determination is restricted and is based on interactions with a psychologist and instructions relayed to the nurses to fulfill and ensure everything is done according to the law correctly.