Jamie Zeng 11/23/15
Thesis and Three Perfect Paragraphs - OFOTCN Mr. Ferencz
McMurphy helps the men of the ward because he teaches them to fight for control of their lives.
Initially, McMurphy leads the men to rebel against authority by giving them the confidence and support they need to do so. When McMurphy challenges Nurse Ratched and calls for a vote to change the television time, Chief Bromden sees “that big red hand of McMurphy’s is reaching into the fog and … dragging them [the men] blinking into the open… till there they stand, all twenty of them, raising not just for watching TV, but against the Big Nurse… against the way she’s talked and acted and beat them down for years” (Kesey 140). Although Nurse Ratched keeps her ward in an oppressive state, McMurphy single-handedly engenders a mass rebellion against her, shattering the men’s blind conformity. From that moment on, the men start to vocalize their thoughts more often, as…show more content… Harding refuses to be swayed by his influence at first, ardently claiming that they need Nurse Ratched to teach them their place because they are all cowardly “rabbits.” Although most of the men bow their heads shamefully at his statement, Cheswick disagrees: “‘No,’ Cheswick says and steps in beside McMurphy. ‘No, by God, not me. I’m not any rabbit’” (Kesey 67). Cheswick is one of the first men to recognize his own potential after McMurphy’s arrival, as evinced by his outburst. Later on, McMurphy pleads Chief to be the deciding vote to change the television time, and Chief thinks to himself that McMurphy’s will is what makes him raise his hand but immediately realizes, “No. That’s not the truth. I lifted it myself” (Kesey 142). McMurphy manages to bring Chief, who pretends to be deaf and dumb out of self-preservation, back into reality; for the first time in years, Chief (as well as the other men) becomes truly aware of