One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Comparison

Between the film and novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the roles of the characters as well as plotlines were manipulated to supposedly better fit a film adaptation. Charles Cheswick, played by Sydney Lassick, is an Acute patient of the mental ward admitted for his short temperament. Described as a “rabbit” by another patient, Cheswick is one of the first to be charmed by McMurphy’s rhetoric and actions and strongly supports all of McMurphy’s doings and suggestions. Cheswick, with so much belief in McMurphy even tries to emulate him by bringing up his own opinion and demand during a meeting after years of stagnated expression. Unfortunately for the novel version of Cheswick, no support was to be had and he suicides. Cheswick ’s adaptation from novel to film and it’s lack of death loses and gains new meaning to the overall narrative of the story. In the novel, Cheswick is not supported by McMurphy, who submitted to Nurse Ratchet out of fear due to the possibilities of a life-long stay at mental ward. Cheswick knew where McMurphy stood and

Instead his character is downgraded to a whiny sidekick. Regardless, Cheswick still elicits the same response from McMurphy however, the response is a watered downed version of the events of the novel. For example, cigarette and George’s bath scenes sperate in the novel but were combined in the film. McMurphy punches the glass window of the nurses’ office to grab cigarettes for Cheswick who was complaining and brawling with the orderlies as a result. Cheswick again was inspired by McMurphy and act like a child complaining for cigarettes; the scene is confusing with a conversation devolving into a clutter of arguments. The change in the story’s narrative leads McMurphy to act out of annoyance instead of guilt and anger. However, Cheswick’s survival in the movie does lead to a more impactful climax of Billy Bibbit’s suicide as it would be unexpected and foreign to the