One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, written by Ken Kesey, tells the story of a group of male inmates admitted and living in a psychiatric hospital in Oregon. The story is narrated by the omniscient Chief Bromden, who focuses mainly on the quest for power between head nurse Ms. Ratched and the newest member of the group, R.P McMurphy. Although both try to get the best of one another, their efforts were a waste for the real victor to emerge from all of the chaos was Bromden, for he was the only one who completely benefitted from the situation.
From day one, McMurphy had one, and only one goal : he was going to "get Ms. Ratched's goat." Throughout the entire novel, his objective was to strip the head nurse of the power she had mysteriously harnessed from the residents. Over the duration of his admittance, McMurphy was able to do just that. He was able to persuade many into doing exactly what he wanted, whether it was arranging a fishing trip with the Doctor, or convincing innocent Billy Bibbit into sneaking a harlet into the ward. While he was successful in almost completely overthrowing Ms. Ratched’s dictatorship, he still was not the champion of this competition. At the end of the novel, Bromden noted that McMurphy was in fact a changed man: he had lost his rough, rugged exterior that made him such a leader to his peers. Ultimately, the loss of his life following a lobotomy did not exactly constitute a win.
His opponent, however, was also able to play an evenly matched game. Miss Ratched was able to keep her patience with this nuisance, despite his relentless attempts to break her. Her "nerves of steel" and seemingly endless supply of patience worked to her advantage. The other members of the ward truly feared her, which made McMurphy's job very difficult for the residents were afraid to rebel. Throughout the entire novel, even when it seemed as though McMurphy had finally "got her goat," she remained in control of her ward and shocked everybody. Despite her...