The Growth of a Giant

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."

- Gail Sheehy 

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", by Ken Kessey, narrates the story of how one particular person  impacted the lives of several inmates in a lunatic asylum. What is interesting to notice within the novel's development is how characters change because of this person's influence and inspiration and how they grow either crazier or sane; specifically, how they grow out of the Combine.

Perhaps the most dramatic change occurs within Chief Bromden, the novel's narrator and one of the most important characters in the book. Bromden, originally an Indian from Columbia, starts off as a massive, mute outsider who is incredibly observant, passive, and inoffensive. This upsets the reader because the Chief, as he is nicknamed, could easily stand up not only for himself but for the other men in the ward if he were brave enough; his size is intimidating. Bromden repetitively demonstrates how fearful he is by describing some sort of "fog" that blocks his vision whenever the Big Nurse attempts to control the men in the ward. 

Thankfully, McMurphy is introduced into the asylum. After he discovers that the Chief is not really deaf, both of them start building a friendship that inspires Bromden speak; he starts off only chatting with McMurphy at night but then grows more confident and occasionally speaks up or simply acts up against the fog. One of the most surprising moments is when Bromden raises his hand and votes in favor of a schedule change under the eyes of the Big Nurse and then confesses to himself that he raised his hand because it was his will and not because of peer pressure.

He continues growing more and more confident until one day McMurphy notices the potential within Bromden's size and promises the Indian that he will make him "big" again until he is capable of lifting the metal box that would allow them to break a window and escape the hospital. This promise on McMurphy's behalf of making the Chief "big" again cannot only be understood from a literal perspective but also from a symbolic angle; McMurphy wants to trigger Bromden's confidence in himself.

The red-headed is able to do so and Bromden's development is demonstrated at the end of the book when, aside from hitting the black boys back when they hit McMurphy in the showers, he faced the punishment for that with courage. He did not see any fog before the EST took place and was able to easily escape it once it ended; something that surprised even himself. However, what surprises readers the most and what proves the theory of Bromden undergoing an internal change is the fact that he suffocates McMurphy. McMurphy, who is the ward's saint and inspiration and impulse, becomes a Vegetable after three EST's and an operation. Bromden and the rest are incapable of believing he could actually end up that way, so Bromden acts "courageously" and suffocates McMurphy with a pillow. Yes, Bromden is killing a man, but it took a lot of bravery to do so specially when he could suffer terrible consequences for doing so. Moreover,  the act of accepting how such a lively man like McMurphy could not undergo the rest of his years as a Vegetable took a lot of courage too. More surprisingly still is the fact that Bromden escapes the ward after murdering his friend. 

Conclusively, regardless of whether Bromden is now crazier or not, he became brave. He gained his voice again and his confidence was restored, so much as to make him escape the ward and hop on a truck off to Canada. One single man was able to transform Bromden into a more courageous indian who then escaped the Combine and overcame his fears. This should serve as an inspiration to stand up for our selves and avoid wasting time following unjust rules from either Big Nurse's or the Combine itself.