Hands, pros and cons

If you would look really closely on page 65, you will find another reference to Harding's hands. Oh, I see you don't have your book on you! Well, why don't I read it for you.. "'Harding! Shut your damned mouth!' It's like a slap. Harding is hushed, chopped off cold with his mouth sill open in a drawn grin, his hands dangling in a cloud of blue tobacco smoke." Did you catch it? Well, although a very small reference, Kesey felt the need, when describing how Harding is feeling, to illustrate just exactly what his hands are doing. This shows how much Kesey wants to emphasize hands throughout this book, primarily those of Harding. And that just maybe, we will find a greater significance later in the book to Harding's hands and those of his comrades in the ward.