Chapter 23
On the way back to the ward, McMurphy looks like he's mulling something over. Bromden starts hearing a ringing in his ears, like the kind he'd get before a football game when he was young. In the canteen, McMurphy buys three cartons of cigarettes.
Back in the ward, the group meeting starts and this time attention is directed at Sefelt in an attempt to get him to start taking his medication again. Bromden can barely hear them talking over the ringing in his ears. Near the end of the meeting, the Big Nurse announces that, because the men so blatantly disregarded the rules by sitting in front of the television during the afternoon, they will be punished with the withdrawal of a privilege; namely, the use of the tub room to play cards.
Topic Tracking: Power and Control 8
No one objects. She starts to end the meeting, but before she can, McMurphy gets up and crosses the room to her. He says that he'd like one of his cigarettes for a smoke, then runs and smashes his hand through the window and gets a carton. He apologizes, swears that he didn't see the glass there at all, and walks back to his seat smoking a cigarette. The ringing in Bromden's ears stops
Topic Tracking: Humor 4
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