At the beginning of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, Chief Bromden is on an unknown quest. This quest is to become less “crazy” and to get away from Nurse Ratched’s version of a perfect ward. Another goal is to realize that he is big not only physically but also mentally again.
Chief Bromden’s quest begins when McMurphy arrives at the ward and says ”You boys don't look so crazy to me”(Kensey 22). This is significant because they are not committed to the ward. McMurphy does not find this out until later and improves their spirit and gives them some good laughs while he does not know. While Chief is in his haze he is always sweeping even when there is nothing that really needs to be swept. This is why he is called Chief Broomden for the begining majority of the book. Throughout the book this “haze” seems to disappear. This is because McMurphy clears his mind and makes him think about how his life is going. Chief hallucinates less as the book goes on and the “fog” that his mind hides…show more content… They talk down to him and make him seem shorter than what they are. Everyone knows how tall he really is but they take advantage of his thought process and make him feel even smaller and weaker. Towards the end of the book before the fishing trip, McMurphy asks Chief if he would like to go on the fishing trip and tells him how it would be such a great time. In response to this Chief says that he is one of the indigents which means that he is broke. McMurphy offers Chief a deal. This deal was that Chief could come along on the fishing trip as long as he would lift the control panel in front of the ward to make McMurphy money later on. McMurphy says ”To hell with what you think; I want to know can you promise to lift it if i get you big as you used to be? You promise me that, and you not only get my special body-buildin’ kit for nothing but you also get yourself a ten-buck fishin’ trip for free!”(Kensey
