Combine Institutions

The combine is a large machine that is used to harvest grain on many farms.  The combine cuts up the grain real small.  The psyche ward that is shown in Cuckoo’s Nest is portrayed by Chief Bromden as a combine.  The chief feels that it is a combine because all of the patients in it have no authority and are thought of as inferior.  They are made to feel like they are being cut to pieces emotionally.  It is not only the patients that were belittled in the Ward.  Even the Doctor was a victim of the Big Nurse taking away the manhood of each and every male in the ward.  McMurphy is just as vulnerable as every other male on the ward since the problem was not of personality but instead it was based upon gender.  The patients did not see the full extent of the problem and believed that McMurphy was different because he would never give up.  For awhile McMurphy was able to withstand the punishments from Big Nurse but eventually just like every other man in the ward, he would be forced to lose hope and give up.    

Many institutions are run similar to this where the people do not have many rights and are belittled by authority figures; however an institution should not by synonymous with being run like a combine.  In many institutions the main goal is to help the people instead of making them feel weak.  The decision if an institution is considered a combine is not black and white.  There are many gray areas that depend on how each and every institution is run.  Schools for the most part should not be considered combines because the students are meant to be helped.  On the other hand authority figures in some schools may make some rules that are not in the best interest of the students and which take away some of their rights.  Some authority also feel that the students are inferior to them, which in a way is true, however for a school to be run as smoothly as possible, a teacher has to be able to identify with students and treat them somewhat as equals.