Character Change in OFOCN

Watching characters evolve and develop throughout a novel is one of the biggest payoffs in literature. In One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest Chief Bromden goes though the combine and emerges quite differently. However this is not thanks to Nurse Ratchet’s attempts at rehabilitation. Even though the Chief succeeds in escaping from the fog, the rest of the patients don’t. This raises the question: can people really change? I believe with the right circumstances people can rise to the occasion and change themselves for the better. 



               A lot of people believe that mental illnesses are incurable, that they can only really just be temporarily dealt with. Modern psychiatry proves that this is untrue. Nevertheless In the context of this novel mental medicine was quite more barbaric than it is today. Patients including the chief were afraid to deal with their problems because it could lead to treatments like EST. This creates quite a problem for the mental stability of the chief. We must remember that it was fear that turned chief Bromden "death and dumb". It is only through the help of McMurphy who is not plagued with fear that he eventually transforms and refuses to hide in the fog again. It is very significant to the novel as a whole that the chief was able to change himself, as it McMurphy´s goal to prove to nurse ratchet that his ways are superior to hers.
 
               In the end it is McMurphy who helps us answer our question. Through the use of perseverance and will power the Chief succeeds in changing himself and proving the nurse wrong.