Hardings Hands

On the bottom of page 57 it seems Harding loses control his hands, "Harding flinches, and I see his hands begin to creep out from between his knees like white spiders from between two moss covered tree limbs, up the limbs toward the joining at the trunk." Harding eventually regains control of his hands, but not after they settle with a firm grip on his package. I believe Kesey is saying that unconsciously we cannot control our hands, but once our conscious realizes whats up, we regain composure. This is evident on page 57 and 58 because McMurphey talks about the Big Nurse as being a "ball cutter", and Harding rightfully grabs his to make sure their still there. But when McMurphey brings up the fact of Harding's hands, he regains control. I think Kesey might be making such a big deal out of Harding's hands because he wants to ephasize the point of the Big Nurse being a "ball cutter."

What do you think Kesey is saying through this passage, and why is he making such a big deal about Harding's hands at this particular moment?

Description of McMurphy's Hand

"I remember the real clear way that that hand looked: there was carbon under the fingernails where he'd worked once in a garage; there was a dirty Band-Aid on the middle knuckle, peeling up at the edge. All the rest of the knuckles were covered with scars and cuts, old and new. I remember the palm was smooth and hard as bone from hefting the wooden handles of axes and hoes, not the hand you'd think could deal cards. The palm was callused, and the calluses were cracked, and dirt was worked in the cracks. A road map of his travels up and down the West. That palm made a scuffing sound against my hand" (Keezy 24).

Welcome

Welcome to the Handy Men's blog page. We're working on "hands" for the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Feel free to post whenever