Cuckoo's Nest Fear

In the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the characters are in a mental hospital for various reasons. Narrated by Chief Bromden, a large Native American man, the story tells mainly of a newcomer to the hospital, Randle McMurphy, who is not actually mentally ill, but pretends to be to escape work detail. A much-feared middle-aged woman named Mildred Ratched runs the hospital. She runs the hospital like a concentration camp, with harsh rules, little change, and almost no medical oversight. The “prisoners” have a large amount of fear of Nurse Ratched, as she rules the place like she is a soulless dictator, the patients get no say in any decision made. This is exemplified when McMurphy brings up the World Series, and the patients take a vote on it. Though everyone wants to watch it, they have so much fear for Nurse Ratched that they are too afraid to speak out against her wishes.

After the first World Series vote, McMurphy watches a few other

Using his skills as a leader of the people, he helps the patients by instilling in them the strength to stand up to Nurse Ratched by simply raising their hands in favor of watching the World Series. However, even though McMurphy got all of the Acutes to raise their hands, Nurse Ratched has assigned him an impossible task by telling him he needs a majority vote. Seeing as how none of the Chronics are cognizant enough to understand anything McMurphy is asking of them, he cannot win, and therefore, the World Series will not be played. As a protest of Ratched’s unfair policies, McMurphy pretends the Series is on and loudly commentates on the imaginary game, getting the patients excited and energized for a game they aren’t even watching. Nurse Ratched looks on menacingly, and attempts to shut the excitement down, but it further proves the fact that McMurphy has won this battle with