An In-depth Look at the Minds of McMurphy and Nurse Ratched

In the world Ken Kesey creates, the characters have a wide range of emotions and various psychological conditions. Two characters who appear to be the most sane, in actuality, have the most severe psychological problems. Both Ratched and McMurphy feel the urge to act as the most dominant members of the Ward. Each needs to be the most domineering and powerful individual, and as a result, they subtly battle one another in an attempt to gain the support of the patients. However, each of them has varied methods to attract the power needed to rule.

Ratched, a woman who has controlled the ward since before Bromden arrived, has sent the wheels of motion into play, and took control of everything around her. The entire ward functioned in conjunction with her very thoughts; everything was attuned to her senses. From the actions of the black men, to the strict day-to-day procedure, Ratched knew every small detail about the ward. Even the glass separating her workstation is crystal clear. Nurse Ratched even held precedence over the Ward doctor, the supposed top authority of the building. She controlled and manipulated him, just as she did to anybody else that set foot in her domain.

McMurphy however proved to be the only one that could resist her rule. As he began his stay at the ward, every one of his actions invariably found a way to break one of Ratched's rules, or just annoyed her. He did not give in to her control, instead, he began to form his own empire. He began by trying to win the support of the men around him. Unlike Ratched who ruled through her reputation and the fear she generated, McMurphy attempted to act friendly with the men, joking around with them and promoting their manly instincts which Ratched had put away. He showed them pictures of nude girls, encouraged them to gamble, and incited them to fight in support of something they wanted; the World Series.

Although these two psychological conditions are essentially the same, the thirst for power, the approach that each individual takes towards the same problem is completely different. Since the mindset requires the individual to be in total control, it is impossible for two people with the same condition to coexist. They would be in turmoil until one ceased to exist, just as was the case in the novel. Furthermore, the completely different approaches to the same issue show the extent of difference between the two individuals. To McMurphy and Ratched, the situation upon the ward was turned into a survival of the fittest scenario, where both individuals adamantly battled towards the same goal.

Personally, I see myself living with the philosophy presented by McMurphy. He chooses to lull the people he wants to control in a sense of security by becoming their friend and mentor. He plays a psychological game with their head, making them think that they are in control of themselves, when in essence, McMurphy's every wish is carried out by them. Furthermore, I do not believe that ruling through fear is a smart idea, simply for the reason that given a proper incentive to rebel, the incentive in the novel being McMurphy, the people will immediately begin to rebel, and what you worked so hard to create will slowly deteriorate. We see both approaches in both history and modern day society, as rulers attempt to take control of their people, through one method or the other. Although both work, one must always dominate over the other.