One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Chapters 6-9
Chapters 6-9
McMurphy is playing blackjack with the other patients, but his concentration is ruined by the loud music that Nurse Ratched plays in the ward. One of the other nurses tries to administer the medication for the night once Nurse Ratched has left, but her encounter with McMurphy distresses her so much that she is unable to give it all out. McMurphy is assigned the bed next to Bromden, and he elicits a response from Bromden by warning him about an approaching orderly, and thereby establishes that Bromden isn't deaf.
Due to the intervention of McMurphy in the ritual of nighttime medication, Bromden isn't forced to take the red pill. He detests the pill because of how it paralyses him with sleep, and this night he feels none of it. In his dream, he sees a huge machine that lifts one of the chronic patients, Old Blastic, and kills him most terribly. His death isn't marked by blood but by ash, glass, and rust. Bromden is soon woken up by a kindly orderly, Turkle, who works the night shift and sometimes helps Bromden by loosening the sheet that binds him to the bed. Now awake, he sees Blastic's dead body being carted away by the staff covered in a sheet.
Bromden is surprised to find McMurphy already awake. More surprisingly, Bromden begins to realise that not only is McMurphy awake but singing at the top of his voice. An activity so far removed from the life in the mental hospital that all the patients emulate Bromden's shock. He makes his way to the corridors, where he sees McMurphy exit the latrine wearing nothing but a towel and cap. McMurphy ridicules the policy about toothpaste and begins to use soap powder instead. Soon Nurse Ratched enters the ward, and she is immediately accosted by an orderly who explains the situation with the rebellious McMurphy. She is equally stunned to realise that McMurphy is singing. Bromden sees her transform with anger as she stamps across the hall. But McMurphy manages to redirect the nurse's rage to the hospital staff for being a cause of his nudity. The whole exchange leaves Nurse Ratched off balance, and Bromden believes McMurphy could even begin collecting bets on the wager he made the previous night.
McMurphy jokes with the patients about the great food at the hospital and makes bets. The acutes led by McMurphy continue to play blackjack, but he is quite disturbed by the loud and repetitive music of the day room. He complains about the music, but Nurse Ratched scolds him for being selfish as he fails to consider the presence of the older patients in the ward that require the music to be loud for it to be audible.
He suggests the opening of an additional day room so that the other patients can play cards and read away from the disturbance of loud music. She dismisses the idea immediately, and McMurphy concedes defeat. Later on, Dr. Spivey invites McMurphy for a personal interview that lasts a long time, and both of them return with grins. During the group meeting, the doctor interrupts the nurse to discuss the idea of hosting a carnival in the ward, much like the one organised by a high school that both the doctor and McMurphy supposedly attended. The nurse delays the discussion and attempts to control the meeting when she is interrupted by McMurphy, who prompts the doctor. The doctor adds that McMurphy suggested they raise the volume of the music in the day room on account of the older patients in the ward; instead, the doctor suggested the setting up of a separate day room for the patients that had complained to him in the past about the loudness of the music. McMurphy prevents the nurse from resuming control of the group meeting yet again by beginning to loudly discuss with the doctor the nature of his bizarre dreams.
Analysis
McMurphy's ability to fight The Combine is evidenced in Bromden's perception of the fog, which has begun to dissipate since McMurphy's presence. Bromden's refusal to take his night medication is also an indication of rebellion that McMurphy has begun to inspire. The laughter and singing that he brings to the ward represent hope and freedom to the rest of the ward. Nurse Ratched's discomfort at McMurphy's nudity is an assertion of his masculinity and represents a mild victory for him. Lastly, doctor Spivey also seems to have experienced emasculation at the hands of the nurse, and he too views McMurphy as a beacon of hope.
