--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Big Nurse is able to set the wall…" description: "\"“The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants by just turning one of those dials in the steel door; she takes a notion to hu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg" --- # The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever… ![“The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants by just turning one of those dials in the steel door; she takes a notion to hurry things up, she turns the speed up, and those hands whip around that disk like spokes in a wheel. The scene in the picture-screen windows goes…” quote by Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg) > ““The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants by just turning one of those dials in the steel door; she takes a notion to hurry things up, she turns the speed up, and those hands whip around that disk like spokes in a wheel. The scene in the picture-screen windows goes through rapid changes of light to show morning, noon, and night - throb off and on furiously with day and dark, and everybody is driven like mad to keep up with that passing of fake time; awful scramble of shaves and breakfasts and appointments and lunches and medications and ten minutes of night so you barely get your eyes closed before the dorm light's screaming at you to get up and start the scramble again, go like a sonofabitch this way, going through the full schedule of a day maybe twenty times an hour, till the Big Nurse sees everybody is right up to the breaking point, and she slacks off on the throttle, eases off the pace on that clock-dial, like some kid been fooling with the moving-picture projection machine and finally got tired watching the film run at ten times its natural speed, got bored with all that silly scampering and insect squeak of talk and turned it back to normal.”” [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The “Big Nurse” manipulates perceived time, forcing people into frantic, artificial schedules that erode natural rhythms. **In simple terms:** Forced speed disrupts natural life flow. Key Takeaway Question imposed pacing. Themes control time society mental health stress Mood irritated critical Type satirical critical When to use this quote - hospital work - shift work - student life - digital notifications Key Concepts Power dynamics industrialization chronopolitics Questions to Reflect On - What routines feel artificially accelerated? - How can you reclaim a natural pace? A Different Perspective The hyperbolic tone may exaggerate for effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaking point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaking-point/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ## Related quotes > [“While McMurphy laughs. 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The scene in the picture-screen windows goes through rapid changes of light to show morning, noon, and night - throb off and on furiously with day and dark, and everybody is driven like mad to keep up with that passing of fake time; awful scramble of shaves and breakfasts and appointments and lunches and medications and ten minutes of night so you barely get your eyes closed before the dorm light's screaming at you to get up and start the scramble again, go like a sonofabitch this way, going through the full schedule of a day maybe twenty times an hour, till the Big Nurse sees everybody is right up to the breaking point, and she slacks off on the throttle, eases off the pace on that clock-dial, like some kid been fooling with the moving-picture projection machine and finally got tired watching the film run at ten times its natural speed, got bored with all that silly scampering and insect squeak of talk and turned it back to normal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Kesey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-clock-at-whatever-speed-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breaking point" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-clock-at-whatever-speed-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d52/ken-kesey-1034_breaking-point_the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-cl_992309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Big Nurse is able to set the wall clock at whatever speed she wants by just turning one of those dials…” — Ken Kesey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ken Kesey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Big Nurse is able to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-clock-at-whatever-speed-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/the-big-nurse-is-able-to-set-the-wall-clock-at-whatever-speed-she/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```