One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Chapters 16-18
Chapters 16-18
As they all sit there in defiance of Nurse Ratched, staring at a blank TV screen, Bromden begins to question his position. But he is sent to the meeting room where Nurse Ratched has just called a meeting of the doctor and the other residents in the ward. The doctor opens the meeting and informs the others that Nurse Ratched had called a meeting about the condition of McMurphy and what should be done with him. Nurse Ratched remains unusually quiet in the beginning as the doctors and residents try to read the outcome she expected from the meeting. The residents and the doctors claim that McMurphy is a dangerous influence and so should be transferred to the Disturbed Ward. Nurse Ratched surprises everyone by contradicting the decision of the residents and doctor. She believes that McMurphy is not extraordinary and that sending him away would only make him a martyr to the other patients. She instead believes that McMurphy will soon come to reveal his true image of being a mere braggart very soon.
All the patients now sit in front of a blank TV in the afternoons as they hope to watch the basketball games. Nurse Ratched never switches on the TV, but the patients are regaled by stories of the many adventures that McMurphy has had. Bromden feels the fog come in less and less. He has a lot more clarity and is able to focus on things that he couldn't in the past. For the first time in many years, he looks outside the window. Bromden watches a dog play in the grass and observes a flock of geese fly across the sky, and he begins to reminisce about his time out in nature. He is soon interrupted by one of the orderlies and the nurse with the birthmark. The orderly takes Bromden back to bed to tie him to it while the nurse prepares medication for him.
The Acutes begin to air their complaints in the group meeting far more often. They look to McMurphy for support and openly question Nurse Ratched. Cheswick is particularly vocal and demands that their cigarettes should no longer be rationed. Surprisingly, Nurse Ratched doesn't seem to ever lose her patience, and her behaviour confounds McMurphy, who is unable to understand why she continues to act like she is in control. On a trip to the pool, he has a conversation with a patient from the Disturbed Ward about the differences between being imprisoned and being committed to a mental hospital. After understanding the control Nurse Ratched has over his ability to leave the institute, he begins to behave himself and carry out all his assigned duties. The other patients in the ward are extremely confused. Bromden understands and compares the actions of McMurphy with his father's, who had signed over their village land to the government for the construction of a dam. In the next meeting, Cheswick makes another stand, but this time he gets no support from the other patients and McMurphy. He panics and begins to shout when the orderlies drag him to the Disturbed Ward for a short time. Later in a pool session, Cheswick sticks his hand through a grate and drowns himself.
Analysis
The staff and Nurse Ratched fail to revise their opinion on Bromden's deaf and dumbness even after he has raised his hand in the meeting. During the meeting, the nurse makes it clear that she doesn't believe McMurphy is in any way special and that she can eventually exert control. When McMurphy discovers the kind of control Nurse Ratched has on him, his first instinct is to immediately concede and toe the line. After Cheswick is betrayed by McMurphy's inaction, he returns to the ward a defeated man with no hope. His death is yet another win for Nurse Ratched.
