Chief Bromden Character Analysis

McMurphy is at constant odds with Nurse Ratched, the antagonist of the story; she represents the anally fixated dictator. She has established system believed to find sanity by adjusting the patients to the outside world standards. Nurse Ratched tries to shape the patients not in their own image but an image that she sees all people should act. It is believed that what the Nurse is doing is helpful to the acute’s actually suppressing their individually. In the novel they are multiple power struggles between the Big Nurse and Randle Patrick McMurphy on Nurse Ratched side, she is trying to hold order among the ward to conform McMurphy. However, McMurphy acknowledges the way she runs the ward is not right and it is actually suppressing the acute’s masculinity and self-confidence. In one section Chief Bromden acknowledges why he believes McMurphy is so strong is because he is what he is. “I’d think he was strong enough being his own self that he would never back down the way she was hoping he would.” Nurse Ratched may have a hard time trying to make McMurphy conform but she has ease making the rest conform to her standards. These are the supposed standards that the patients believe they need in order to be accepted in society. However, they are the supposed beliefs that the majority of people believe in order to strive socially. It is not only the Combine’s Ward that there a sense of missing identity there is also. Compared to the society that humankind occupies, people

The oppressor, or antagonist, of the story is Nurse Ratched, or the Big Nurse. Her methods of oppression, including attempts to emasculating the men in the medical ward, is the foundation of the work. The nurse uses her power to manipulate the patients as well as members of the staff in the hospital. Since she is in charge of the entire ward, she runs it with an iron fist while concealing her feminism and humanity behind a patronizing façade. As the story progresses, Nurse Ratched loses some power over the patients with the introduction of a new patient on the ward, Randle McMurphy. As McMurphy continues to fight her oppression, her façade breaks down and falls apart as she loses control.

In Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there were two main characters that were in a battle to have the majority of control over the ward. Throughout the story, they engaged in different acts of stubbornness to see who could display the most power and which of the two could stand their ground the longest without giving in to the other. These two characters were: Randle McMurphy, a new patient who was determined to change the ways of the ward, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the asylum who preferred to have complete control over everyone and everything.

Both Taber and the men view Nurse Ratched as a counselor of their decisions, a mother. In fact, he tells the others, “This is Miss Ratched. I chose this ward because it’s her ward. She’s, girls, just like a mother. Not that I mean age but you girls understand” (37). The way that Nurse Ratched’s ward functions is by her manipulation of the men through the use of pills and lobotomy as demonstrated on Taber. Thus, why he was dismissed, the men are set up to believe in conforming or are dehumanized enough to conform to Nurse Ratched’s authority in order to be prepared for the real world. However, Taber previously rejected her pills, “He still isn’t ready to swallow some-thing, he don’t know what is, not even just for her” (34). This action-made decision influences the progress the patients make as individuals as they follow his footsteps. The men realize they can follow their own decisions and although few are afraid of her authority some chose to rise against her along with McMurphy, “ dragging them out of the fog till there they stand, all twenty of them, raising not just for watching tv, but against the Big Nurse, against her trying to send McMurphy to Disturbed…” This is parallel to the attitude presented by Taber, when he refused to take the pills, and ignored the Nurse’s request, making him metaphorically influential of the

As soon as McMurphy arrives on the ward, he challenges Nurse Ratched’s abusive regime in hopes of restoring humanity and the rights of the individual. It didn’t take long

In the beginning of Part III, Bromden has been reflecting on his past when he remembers a scarring experience that affected him for the rest of his life:

This belief has made her incredibly sure of herself and given her confidence with the unruly patients. Chief Bromden is observing the Big Nurse and through her expression he creates this picture in his mind of a robot, which oversees every movement, thought, and word said. Since she is described as a robot, I imagine the nurse to be cold and have a metaphorical mask over her face at all times. In order for her to maintain her value of order in the hospital, she must show no sign of affection or love in her behavior. If she were to grow too attached to a patient, the smooth order of the hospital would turn erratic because the patients could do whatever they want and receive little punishment in return. I predict that the nurse must not be married or have any children, because she behaves so frigid and her actions are script-like. If she were to have a family, the BIg Nurse would sometimes show pity or kindness to the patients. The quote contains both imagery and simile, because the nurse is compared to a robot, and the narrator describes how the nurse keeps an eye on everything in the ward. The Big Nurse is like a robot because Chief Bromden believes her to control everything that is happening in the hospital, similar to a machine. In addition, the imagery in the quote depicts the nurse with wires shooting out and sending constant signals, another indication of her power over the

Chief was was your early years like? I was big and strong, I used to play football in high school and I was considered a football star.

Prompt: 2. Does McMurphy win or lose his battle with Nurse Ratched? Justify your answer with three specific examples from the text.

The author seems to be disenchanted with McTeague's life, rather deciding to sign on with a mild interest, only to show his own pity for McTeague. The rambling description of McTeague's room is done to show the absolute averageness of the parlor that homes the dentist. The tone created from this is almost condescending but not quite there yet. Instead, the narrator simply drones on about the simple treasures that McTeague holds dear to him. Hwoever, as the narrator does this, it seems as if the narrator is beginning to pity him as each item is giving a description of why he needs it, and the reason is often to please other people.

McMurphy learns that involuntarily committed patients cannot leave the hospital without staff approval. Therefore, he cannot leave at the end of his six months sentence, but when Nurse Ratched says he can and he begins to submit to her authority. However, by this time, he had become the leader for the other patients. Their sanity, their claim to manhood lies in the balance. Cheswick, dismayed by McMurphy’s surrender, commits suicide.

Nurse Ratched and Big Brother have many similarities in their deeds - they are able to constantly monitor others and execute their powers. The actions of the nurse towards her patients are crude and inhumane. The big difference, however, between these two leaders lie in the achieving of their goals. While Big Brother manages to get his aims realized, Nurse Ratched is deprived of it, by the brave actions of the patients. The patients try to deprive her of feeling of being a dominant dictator. Both, Big Brother and Nurse Ratched seem to be powerful leaders, and integral part of a system, their unconditional control causes a negative impact on a person’s mind.

The narrator's characterization of McTeague as a gentle giant, with his use of candid diction, judicious handling of syntax and juxtaposed detail, reflects his impartial attitude towards McTeague. The narrator’s impartiality is conveyed most effectively through his use of candid diction. Though McTeague is characterized as a gentle giant, it is not so because the narrator finds him favorable. The narrator uses words such as “docile”, “obedient”, and “not vicious” to describe McTeague’s personality.

Bromden is a very conservative yet diverse character. In “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, Ken Kesey depicts Bromden as an inconfident, shallow man with great hidden potenial that only shines when he is pushed. Many reasons of his flaws and triumphs can be seen through out the book.

She believes him to be an ordinary man and that he will eventually settle down. Nonetheless, McMurphy continues to do all he can to annoy her. Throughtout the story, the two battle against each other, seeing who will give in to who first. Everything is rather harmless until and inmates party rolls around. McMurphy smuggles in prostitutes to help out the inmate, Billy. When the nurse found out what had been going on she was furious. Billy ended up slitting his throat and bleeding to death. McMurphy was in real trouble with the nurse this time. To retaliate he tore open Nurse Ratched uniform. As a result, McMurphy is taken away and give a lobotomy. When he returns, he has been changed into a vegetable. His Indian friend known as Chief Bromdencannot bear to see his friend in such a state, and ends up smothering him to death to save him from such a miserable existence. However, he escapes to freedom after that. Ironically, dead Mcmurphy had given this man a new life.