One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Practice Test

These questions are part of the practice quiz. Start practicing

• What is the irony surrounding the ward tours given by the public relations man?
• Why does McMurphy get angry with the patients?
• What happens during the basketball game between the Acutes and the aides?
• What effect does McMurphy have on the ward's dynamics?
• In the ward, what does the term Walkers describe?
• What realization does Bromden have about McMurphy's rebellion?
• Which term best describes Vegetables in the ward's classification?
• According to Harding, who are "rabbits" and who are "wolves"?
• How does Nurse Ratched begin the first Ward Meeting?
• What does Bromden believe about the fog's effect on his perception?
• What is McMurphy's general strategy to stay safe on the ward?
• What does the term 'bull goose loony' refer to?
• What incentive does Nurse Ratched use to encourage Acutes to spy on each other?
• What image does the public relations tour of the ward present?
• What is an Accompanied Pass?
• What is the shape of the EST table, and what image is it meant to evoke?
• What is the Combine?
• Why won't the captain allow the patients on, and what does McMurphy do?
• During Harding's ceremony, what phrase does he use to describe their state?
• How does McMurphy keep himself safe?
• What visual image does Bromden use to describe the magnitude of Nurse Ratched's anger?
• Why does McMurphy declare that he is going to escape the ward?
• Which statement correctly describes the Acutes and the Chronics?
• Which pair shares the EST sequence?
• How did the Nurse Station glass break for the third time?
• Why does Bromden want to sign up for the fishing trip?
• Who brings alcohol to the ward for the party?
• Why does Ratched eventually allow McMurphy to leave Disturbed?
• Why does Bromden pretend to be deaf and dumb?
• According to Harding, what is the history of electroshock therapy, and is it painful?
• How do the patients feel about McMurphy stopping rebelling and sticking up for them?
• Why do aides nickname Bromden 'Chief Broom'?
• What does Nurse Ratched post on the bulletin board to turn the patients against McMurphy?
• How does Ratched appear behind the repaired glass at the Nurse Station?
• During the basketball game, what is the effect on McMurphy's standing with the other patients?
• How do Harding and his wife interact during her visit?
• Who narrates the events of the novel?
• What is the likely purpose of Ratched's silence during the staff meeting?
• Why is Bromden assigned to cleaning the staff room during meetings?
• In Bromden's memory, who would shoot the bird if it moved?
• What is the primary way Nurse Ratched maintains control over the ward, as described in the text?
• What is true about the Acutes in the hospital at that time?
• Who do McMurphy and Harding say they voted for to prove lunacy?
• Who 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.'?
• What action by McMurphy triggers Doctor Spivey to stand up to Nurse Ratched?
• How does McMurphy plan to escape the ward?
• What change does the doctor propose for activities when the World Series plan is discussed?
• Who is Harding's counterpart and nemesis?
• Whose bank account balances are declining, and whose are increasing? Why is this important?
• Who says that s/he was 'born dead'?
• Who knows that Bromden is not really deaf?
• What phrase does McMurphy use to describe the ward meeting's social effect on the group?
• Which tactic does Nurse Ratched typically rely on to maintain control, as illustrated by the cost scandal?
• In the ward events described, who confiscates the second game room during a group meeting?
• What is the "religious ceremony" Harding performs the night of the party?
• What rigged bet does McMurphy make with the patients? What is Bromden's response?
• How does McMurphy figure out that Bromden is not deaf?
• Who accompanies Doctor Spivey in driving the patients on the fishing trip?
• Who makes it possible for the patients to go on the fishing trip after Nurse Ratched says that they cannot go without a second driver?
• What trait does Nurse Ratched select aides for?
• What does Ratched do after the fishing trip is approved?
• How does McMurphy win his bet with the patients?
• Does McMurphy believe that things will change if Nurse Ratched leaves?
• How does McMurphy remind Bromden of his father?
• Are most patients committed voluntarily or involuntarily?
• Which statement about Harding's feelings toward his wife's attention is true?
• After what event does Bromden's fog disappear?
• Into what two groups are the patients divided?
• What does Bromden do during his last night in the ward?
• What persuades Bromden to raise his hand?
• Which two actions does Bromden take on his last night?
• What does McMurphy do to Nurse Ratched?
• Which character says the line 'still sick men in lots of ways. But at least there's that: they are sick men now. No more rabbits, Mack' and what does it signify?
• Who observes that the EST treatments affect McMurphy?
• What happens after Ratched threatens to tell Billy's mother about him sleeping with Candy?
• Why does Bromden fear that everyone knows that he is not really deaf?
• What is Therapeutic Community, and who explains this term?
• What happens to Bromden's fog after the World Series protest?
• Why did McMurphy think the staff and patients didn't encourage him to stop rebelling, and what is Harding's explanation?
• Who is the ward's head nurse?
• What evidence does Bromden find of the Combine in the outside world?
• How does McMurphy rebel against Ratched’s refusal to turn the music down, and what is Ratched’s reaction?
• What effect did Bromden's mother have on his father after the Combine pressure?
• Why does Bromden believe that Ratched can set the clock to any speed? How does he escape her pace?
• What does Bromden hallucinate when he is being shaved?
• In which unit is Old Rawler a patient?
• What material did the aides place to fix the broken glass at the Nurse Station?
• Who recognizes that Bromden is not truly deaf?
• Why do McMurphy and Bromden get sent to Disturbed?
• Why does Bromden think the after-effects of the party were inevitable even if McMurphy escaped?
• What is 'frontal lobe castration'?
• Who is the 'Big Nurse'?
• Which statement about the Chronics is true according to the ward description?
• At roughly what time do Billy and Candy go to the Seclusion Room?
• What does McMurphy win from the other patients when they play cards?
• In Bromden's nightmare, who is the person hung on a meat hook and slashed?
• What deal does McMurphy make with Bromden?
• What causes Nurse Ratched to appear as a tractor-sized figure in Bromden's mind?
• What beverage is mixed with cough syrup during the party?
• The EST table's shape evokes which religious image?
• Who is the president of the Patients' Council?
• Which staff member is bribed to admit Candy?
• How does Bromden describe the ward’s fog?
• How does Nurse Ratched feel about her breasts?
• What happens at the gas station on the way to the fishing trip, and what do the patients learn?
• During group meetings, the patients begin to voice criticisms about what?
• According to McMurphy, why was he labeled a psychopath?
• What is the function of the logbook in Nurse Ratched's system?
• On the way back from the fishing trip, what do the patients pass by?
• What does Bancini repeatedly complain about?
• What does Bromden do for the first time after EST?
• What do Dr. Spivey and McMurphy talk about during their interview?
• When McMurphy steps out of the shower, what is he wearing underneath his towel?
• During what events does Bromden hear ringing in his ears, and what makes the ringing stop?
• Who defends McMurphy about his bank account?
• What bet does McMurphy make with the other patients?
• From which facility was Randle McMurphy transferred?
• When does Old Blastic die?
• How does Ratched assert her power during the staff meeting?
• Why does Bromden speak to McMurphy?
• According to Bromden, what does the fog come from?
• Who says, "if Ratched can't cut below the belt she'll do it above the eyes"?
• What condition would have allowed McMurphy to avoid electroshock therapy, and does he meet that condition?
• What are Sefelt and Fredrickson, and how does Ratched use their incident to justify ward rules?
• Why doesn't McMurphy escape when he returns from Disturbed?
• Which group is considered curable?
• What is McMurphy's demeanor after they pass his old house?
• Why does Ratched set up a group meeting without McMurphy?
• What effect does the Sefelt incident have on McMurphy's demeanor?
• What events lead up to Cheswick drowning? Why is it possibly a suicide?
• Who is Old Rawler on the ward?
• What does McMurphy do when an aide refuses to give him toothpaste?
• How well does McMurphy clean the latrines?
• What happens to McMurphy after the lobotomy?
• Which action demonstrates McMurphy's willingness on EST?
• What nightmare does Bromden have the night that he doesn't take his medication?
• Which character is most associated with the 'fog' motif?
• What action does Nurse Ratched take when the World Series is turned on against her orders?
• Where does Nurse Ratched go after her outburst about the TV?
• What image is used to describe Ratched’s appearance behind the fixed glass?
• How does Bromden escape from the hospital?
• Where do Billy and Candy go to have sex?
• According to Harding, why can't the patients listen to the news?
• How are McMurphy and Sandy discovered after the party?
• Why does Nurse Ratched refuse to grant McMurphy an Accompanied Pass?
• Who grants McMurphy's request to set up a fishing trip?
• What does Bromden imagine about the nurse with the strawberry-colored birthmark?
• How are Billy and Candy described when Ratched finds them?
• What is the purpose of Spivey's carnival suggestion?
• What does Cheswick express to McMurphy after returning from Disturbed?
• What does Bromden experience while going through EST?
• Who says, 'I've got worries of my own without getting hooked with yours. So just quit!'
• Who is the primary antagonist in charge of the ward?
• What is hanging in the tree in front of McMurphy's old home?
• According to McMurphy, who is a "ball-cutter"?
• What memory shows Bromden thinking about his childhood for the first time in a long while?
• What does the Japanese nurse explain about army nurses?
• Which patients are involuntarily committed?
• When does Bromden know that he has beaten Ratched?
• What does Bromden reveal about his father's experience with the Combine?
• What do patients start to do during group meetings?
• What small scandal regarding the cost of the boat rental occurs?
• Instead of accusing directly, how does Nurse Ratched rule others?
• During the card game, what does McMurphy win from the other patients?
• Why does McMurphy call the ward meeting a "pecking party"?
• When hiding in the mop closet, what memory does Bromden recall?
• Who explains the Therapeutic Community concept to McMurphy?
• Who are the 'aunts' accompanying the patients on the fishing trips?
• Who is primarily responsible for enforcing conformity and controlling the ward?
• How does Nurse Ratched use McMurphy's rising bank balance in ward politics?
• After the attack, who remains on the ward?
• How does Bromden describe the Combine's effect on individuals?
• What plan does Harding propose to help Turkle and keep the other patients out of trouble the morning after the party?
• In the group meeting, what motive does Ratched attribute to McMurphy?
• In the Ward Meeting, whose personal life does Nurse Ratched bring into discussion?
• What does Bromden tell McMurphy about his parents' relationship?
• Which action demonstrates Dr. Spivey's willingness to challenge Ratched during the ward's off-ward activities?
• Which patient is identified as the only Acute aside from McMurphy who is committed?
• Whom did McMurphy want to accompany him on an Accompanied Pass?
• What does Billy Bibbit tell McMurphy about why he stays in the hospital?
• Why does Ratched say she cannot turn down the ward’s music after McMurphy asks?
• How does McMurphy relate to Bromden pretending to be deaf?
• Which event signals the ward's turning point as described?
• What do the patients do on the boat?
• Which doctor does McMurphy charm to influence ward policy?
• Which statement best reflects McMurphy's approach to challenging Nurse Ratched?
• What broader takeaway about ward authority does the Sefelt incident illustrate?
• What happens when the patients return to the dock from the fishing boat?
• What did McMurphy claim to have done to get transferred to the ward?
• How many total shock treatments does McMurphy undergo, and do they affect him?
• Ratched threatens to tell Billy's mother about what involvement?
• What did McMurphy do after Ratched rejected his Accompanied Pass request?
• What does McMurphy's file warn the ward staff about, and how does McMurphy respond?
• What does McMurphy realize about the ward's power?
• What is McMurphy's punishment for attacking Ratched?
• In the vote to watch the World Series, who votes for it?
• Who is the central catalyst for the ward's collective actions such as the fishing trip and basketball?
• On the EST table, how do McMurphy and Bromden act?
• What is Nurse Ratched's one feminine feature?
• Who says the line 'those Chinese Commies could have learned a few things from you, lady'?
• What does Doctor Spivey suggest for the ward? What is Nurse Ratched's reaction?
• Why has the number of instances of 'the fog' decreased, according to Bromden?
• After the ward attack, what is Ratched's condition?
• What chore does Ratched assign to McMurphy?
• Why was McMurphy transferred to the ward?
• Which group is considered incurable?
• Why did none of the patients vote to watch the World Series initially?
• Which statement best summarizes the ward's underlying control, as described by the characters?
• Who says the line 'we are witnessing the end, the absolute, irrevocable, fantastic end'?
• How does the Japanese nurse characterize army nurses' approach to governance?
• What action does McMurphy take at the Nurses' Station after the punishment, signaling a challenge to Ratched's control?
• How does McMurphy embarrass Billy Bibbit?
• During the staff meeting after the World Series protest, what do the staff (other than Ratched) decide about McMurphy? What does Ratched think?
• Why doesn’t Sefelt take his medication?
• What does McMurphy learn from the lifeguard? What is his reaction?
• What is the ward's mood after the fishing trip and the group's increased camaraderie?
• What is McMurphy's final strategic move after the staff meeting?
• What is the outcome of the vote?
• Why does Bromden hide in the mop closet at the start?
• How does Candy enter the ward the night of the party?
• What does McMurphy propose as a 'solution' for Ratched?
• What punishment does Ratched impose for the ward's World Series protest?
• According to Harding, what is the only power men hold over women?
• What process turns Acutes into Chronics according to the ward?