One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Chief Bromden Analysis

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

It is clear to see that Chief Bromden in Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” plays a very significant role throughout the novel. By respecting and admiring his father, Chief dreams about becoming a strong figure like his father. Chief loses his independence when he enters the ward for his “illness”. However, there is one figure who strives to help regain Chief’s independence. McMurphy, who joins the ward only because he thought that choosing the ward would be way more favorable to him rather than working, wants to help Chief Bromden regain his confidence so that they can strategize an escape plan together. Reminding Chief that his dream of becoming a passionate figure like his father is not too far

Thus, by acknowledging Chief differently from the other patients, McMurphy had discovered that the Chief is not mentally ill. He noticed that Chief had flinched when he heard that the orderly is coming. Also, Chief had a very joyful mood when McMurphy offered him a pack of gum. By showing his feelings we can infer that “his response to McMurphy’s gift of a pack of gum, Bromden reveals voluntarily that he can speak” (Porter). Up until this point Chief never revealed his secret to anyone within the ward, yet here he willingly speaks to McMurphy and laughs at his singing. McMurphy made him want to laugh at himself for the first time which would never really happen in the ward if he was not there because no one in the ward would suspect that the Chief is not deaf or mute. Not only does McMurphy acknowledges Chief more than the other patients by knowing that he is not ill, and also by learning about his background story. Chief comes from Columbia Gorge and his family is also just as big as himself. He tells McMurphy about his father and how he was a real strong independent Chief. Knowing all of

At the boat trip McMurphy gives everyone a role that they need to fill out. Chief was appreciative of how McMurphy wrote his name to go on the boat trip. He leaves everyone alone on the trip as if he was not there. This teaches not only Chief, but all of the patients that they can all have independent roles to successfully manage the trip. This is very useful for the patients to learn. McMurphy helped them “Because when the patients went on the fishing trip, Mac taught them to use what they have to full advantage” (King). To gain more independence for themselves, he told everyone to fill out a role that they should do while on the trip. By doing this everyone on the boat learns a valuable lesson that if one of the members did not do their own role the boat as a whole would not function correctly. In addition to letting everyone have their own role on the boat, McMurphy is also an influence of why Chief escapes near the end of the novel. By killing McMurphy, he showed McMurphy that he has regained the confidence that he had before he entered the ward. This was a very important way to show that the Chief had finally become independent again. Because McMurphy had helped him regain his strength for becoming an independent individual “Chief develops mentally from a person who originally could not see past the ‘fog’, into a reborn man” (King). At the beginning of the novel