Cuckoo's Nest ~ #2

At the end of Part 1, despite a long, arduous struggle for the upper hand, McMurphy has managed to get ahead of the Big Nurse. His breaking of the glass symbolizes his ability to cut through the Nurse's facade, although she has admittedly worn him down considerably by this point. His failure to lift the control panel demonstrates that McMurphy is not invincible and comes with his own vulnerabilities that make him susceptible to Ratched's control. Outside of the ECT room, where Harding and McMurphy are conversing, McMurphy expresses a certain degree of defeat and hopelessness in the face of the seemingly unshakeable Nurse's regime. He reveals fear at the thought that the Nurse has the potential to increase his stay at the ward by however long she wishes and finally acknowledges the true power that she wields. However, McMurphy has also proved on several occasions that the Nurse is indeed fallible and her kindly demeanor not as pliant as once thought. By breaking the glass at the end of Part 1, McMurphy declares his overall triumph over Nurse Ratched - at least thus far in the book.

The entrance of McMurphy in Chief Bromden's life has allowed him to challenge the idea that the totalitarian ward regime is indestructible. He is united with the other patients in their desire for the Nurse's oppressive rule to collapse under McMurphy's constant pressure. He more openly expresses his own views and personal wishes (still in the context of his mind only, however; he has not yet ventured out enough to dare speak). Still, part of him resists change, as seen in his attempt to "hide" within his own schizophrenia-induced fog during a group therapy session. He is not yet totally on board with the idea of revolution within the ward and still clutches onto his fear of the larger regime at hand. The Chief almost seems to have submitted to the unyielding rule of the Combine both within and outside of the hospital, and his still-provincial mind keeps him from embracing the idea of radical change just yet.