One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Throughout Ken Kesey’s tremendous novel, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, the character of Chief Bromden develops from: a damaged, diminished man to a fully reformed human being. Randle McMurphy, a brawling gambling man enters the terrifying grey world of the institute, but he is there by choice after pleading insanity to escape prison. The arrival of McMurphy contributes to the progression of Bromden’s maturity. At the beginning of the novel Chief Bromden’s paranoid character is emphasised by the repetition of his fear of the combine and the thick clouds of fog which it emits to control the patients.

Chief Bromden’s fear of the machinery which makes up the combine is revealed in the description of nurse Ratched when she is first introduced to the novel, “She’s got that bag full of a thousand parts she aims to use in her duties today – wheels and gears . . . ” This shows the paranoia of chief Bromden as he believes the nurse is trying to implant machinery into the patients to make them a part of the “combine”.

This word choice helps to emphasise that the Chief is afraid of being combined and his humanity taken away.

Chief Bromden believes that when the “combine” begins to lose its grip on the patients it emits a thick fog to subdue the patients. “They start the fog machine again its snowing down cold and white all over me like skimmed milk… ” This effective use of a simile emphasises how Chief Bromden feels that the “combine” has a grasp on him and he cannot escape from it.

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Chief Bromden’s social retardation is again displayed by him being referred to as an “acute”, emphasisng the severe state of the patients. When McMurphy first enters; “The aides have him sweeping a l-large part of the time. There’s not m-much else he can do, I guess.

He’s deaf. ” This illustrates his disability and his stuttering, shown by alliteration, reinforces the idea that he is mentally ruined. Bromden’s speech barrier is shown yet again when he says “He’s de-de-deef and dumb”, this alliteration is symbolic in that Bromden is trying to come out of his shell, therefore his stutter relates to how he, as a person, does not flow either. It also highlights Chief Bromden’s social disability as he spends his day sweeping by himself and also the patients believe him to be deaf and dumb emphasising how he must have had no social interactions with the other patients who are in the “combine”.

As the novel develops Chief Bromden’s character begins to transform, this development is helped by the introduction of McMurphy, who, from very early on has an inclination that the Chief is not actually deaf and dumb. “Why, you sure did give a jump when I told you that the coon was coming, Chief. I thought someone told me you was deef. ” This shows how very early on in the novel McMurphy begins to realise that Chief Bromden is not actually deaf and dumb. This is the turning point in the novel for Chief Bromden’s character, after this meeting with McMurphy his character begins to change.

“First time in a long time I’m in bed without taking that little red capsule”, emphasisng Chief Bromden’s change of character. As the novel progresses so does Chief Bromden. “I was kind of amazed that I’d remembered that. It was the first time in what seemed to me centuries that I’d been able to remember, much about my childhood. ” These memories which Chief Bromden recounts are the memories when he first feels neglected, thus he has found the reason for his sickness and now knows he can be cured.