One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Mcmurphy Transformation

In Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the main character and narrator, Chief Bromden, is noticeably stuck inside his own head as he acts deaf and dumb to escape the pressures of being a part of something. As the novel moves on, for someone who’s perception of living is to stay transparent and withdrawn totally inside himself the Chief takes a transformation from his delusional mind and gains strength physically and mentally, creating a journey towards freedom and finally, breaking free from the ward and from himself. Kesey uses the story of the transformation to unravel ideas about how the pressures of society can lead individuals to conform within themselves, resulting in them to feel weak and insignificant, separating

Kesey uses McMurphy to pull the Chief away from the shadows by encouraging him to use his voice and help him understand his ability to put it into practice. Chief first begins his development to himself and the rest of the ward when he raises his hand to be the last vote for McMurphy’s determination to watch the World Series. Although Kesey portrays McMurphy as a powerful intimidation against the Chief, the reader inevitably understands this moment as the beginning of Chief regaining his ‘bigness’ which makes him stand out from the other Chronics and start a journey with the Acutes. Kesey uses this scene as a pivotal point within the story as the moment becomes the first time Chief finds himself clear from the thickness of the fog flooding his mind. The impression that is made on Chief is that he is controlled by McMurphy to do as he says, but what is revealed is that this idea within the story marks the Chief’s first individual decision to be seen. “It’s too late to stop it now, McMurphy did something did something to it that first day, put some kind of hex on it with his hand so it won’t act like I order it. There’s no sense in it, any fool can see; I wouldn’t do it on my own”. Kesey heavily uses the character of McMurphy to illustrate the changes Chief undergoes as he opens up and starts to reconstruct his strength and power. To

Through training with McMurphy Chief also regains his ultimate physical strength which pushes him closer to his escape. Through his complete transformation Kesey reiterates the idea that someone filled with so much self-doubt and fear can overcome defeat and find themselves being heard and acknowledged. As the Chief continues to grow and becomes a stronger man, McMurphy dwindles down into a vegetable as he attacks Nurse Ratched and receives a lobotomy which erases his memory and becomes powerless under the rest of the Acutes. That same night Chief suffocates him with a pillow and uses his strength regained with the help of McMurphy to lift the control panel up off the floor that he once could only move half a foot. He throws it through the main window, shattering it and escaping from the ward. As Chief transforms into a man who finally realises his own physical and mental power and uses it to prove his worth to himself and society, Kesey proves the importance of freedom and the possibility for people to change. “I remember I was taking huge strides as I ran, seeming to step and float a long ways before my next foot struck the earth. I felt like I was flying. Free. Nobody bothers coming after an AWOL” the Chief continues and plans where he will go next, using