Bull Goose Loony

Another interesting point to consider in how birds are used in the novel is the use of the word loon to describe patients on the ward and of their "leader" as the Bull Goose Loony. The Bull portion of the description refers to the strongest (Theodore Roosevelt once said that he was stronger than a Bull Moose) and is also has strong male connotations. The Goose part is pretty general, as "Goose" refers also to swans, ducks, and other such birds. However, geese have been shown to mate for life and form "marriages" (both same and opposite sex) much like humans, so goose here could refer to a human sort of interaction. And the loon is another rather broad group of birds, but their name comes specifically from the loud yodel like call they make, and has inspired the term "loony" referring to, well crazy people. The call itself might refer to the fact that the patients have much louder (and stranger) "bird calls" that distinguish themselves from the outside society.