Dear Randle McMurphy,
You will be greatly missed. The humor and ideals that you
brought to my classroom and my thoughts could never be replaced. It is sad to
watch you leave but I know you had an impact on any one that read your story.
For myself the big question was “who is really crazy, the people running the
place or the inmates themselves”. Through your unique tone and perspective it
was clearly the people running the asylum, crazy how that works. You taught me
that authority and entitlement is not always correct. Just because people who
end up on the right side of the fence preach something, does not always mean it
is right. You made me think beyond a uniform or badge, you made me into a real
thinker. I learned that you need to go beyond appearance before accepting
whether someone is right, you need to give both sides an equal chance. The way
you carry yourself is truly admirable, remember the time you pretended to watch
the World Series baseball game just to piss off nurse Ratchet. That was
hilarious! You are quite the character. To think that an instruction manual is
replacing you is absolutely crazy! I know your probably in stitches over this
whole thing but students across America will be missing out on the best read of
there lives.
Your attitude towards mistreatment is commendable and the way
you inspire others is biblical. Although you are being replaced, I know people
will always remember your witty humor and great leadership ability. You have
taught me things that I will never forget, best of luck.
Sincerely,
Kevin Timothy
I like that you chose to write to McMurphy, he was quite the character. What you said about going beyond experience is very true. In the book, all of the people in the ward were seemingly the insane ones, when really the doctors and nurses were crazy. No one ever gave the people in the ward the time of day, but that should not have been the case.
ReplyDeleteIt's clear from your letter that you have a broad understanding of McMurphy's character due to carefully reading and analyzing his story. It would be a shame if other students are not able to develop the same level of understanding of the characters in the stories due to the removal of fictional novels from English classrooms.
ReplyDeleteHaving just read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest myself I can relate a lot to your letter. McMurphy was an intriguing character constantly keeping the reader on his or her toes. Your line, "I know your probably in stitches over this whole thing but students across America will be missing out on the best read of their lives," really did well of representing Mack since his character just constantly laughed things off. Little details like that really make the poem what it is. I really liked how you related it back to our world, and your questioning of authority in it.
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to read One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest as from what i see in your farewell letter makes it seem like it was an interesting book. Its good that this book got you to analyze these characters and think very closely about many different things. Good job!
ReplyDeleteGreat letter, I loved this book. Randle was great, and he really kept you wondering throughout the entire novel, "Who really was crazy?". In fact, I'm still not entirely sure. I just now he got the last laugh, and not the Nurse and that's all that really matters. It's incredible what kind of marks these fictional characters can leave on us, considering all they are is words on a page. They're so much more than that.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed this letter. It was very well written. I have never read the book that you talked about but i think after reading you letter i am going to go and read it because you made it seem great. The comments above also helped the case because they said they enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI have only seen the movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. McMurphy is a very impressive character, but I didn't feel this much or have such deep understanding of the character. What you think of him really intrigued my curiosity on this book. I will definitely read this book after all the exams are done.
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