- In some aspects, "crazy" would not be an accurate term to describe Chief. He is in the hospital because he refused to talk and to speak. This manifestation occurred after Chief was ignored as the white men were plotting to take his land. He still has the ability to think on his own, to speak, and to hear. However, the Chief experienced hallucinations, mainly visual, in the first part of the book. That would nearly be enough to diagnose him with a schizophrenic label. We are never truly told what Chief has, but we see the disappearance of these hallucinations toward the end of the book when McMurphy's influence has taken over the patients.
- Cuckoo's Nest displays the Nurse as a controlling, manipulating, influential womanly figure. She could represent the corrupting influence of power that strong communistic governments hold, but her influence also stems over to the power of women at the time the novel was written. It was seen women in the government would cause oppression, debilitation, and dehumanization. As much as she tries, she cannot conceal the obvious sign of her womanhood - her large bossom.
3. In the end, which character achieved the most success? The Nurse or McMurphy?
- We still see the Nurse as on obtrusive figure, but McMurphy has completely shattered her power. She will never again regain the influence she once held in the ward. Because of this, McMurphy has achieved the most success in the hospital. He sacrificed himself to the good of the other people, allowing everyone to escape or be set free.
4. What is the significance of the fog, and why was it reoccurring?
- Because this is a mental institution, we know that the patients are heavily medicated by the Nurse. During the 60's, pharmaceutical companies also chose to use these patients as experimental drug testers, often giving them unconstitutional amounts of medication. Chief was experiencing the fog more often during the first part of the book where we know the Nurse was continuously handing him pills to take. As he begins to think for himself and stop taking the medication, he can think more clearly and rid himself of the medically-induced fog the nurse created.
