Chapter XVI The Frozen Jug Band Summary and Analysis

The Vietnam Day Committee plans an anti-war rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus. Somebody in the committee decides that inviting Kesey to speak is a good idea, but the trouble is that he sees little value in the rally. Kesey and the Pranksters consider war to be yet one more game that people play, and the rally is part of the same game. Therefore, anti-war rallies do nothing to stop or avoid war. Both sides of the game are about ego. The only way to fight against war is to turn away, ignore it and take the ego away from the game.

As one of the final speakers, Kesey explains his philosophy in the strange way of the Pranksters. He plays Home on the Range on a harmonica with...