Chief Bromden And The Other Patients example essay topic

Chief Bromden only begins to move towards sanity when he regains self-esteem and the ability to act upon his decisions. Discuss. When talking about a person who is 'sane' it means they are normal. To be 'normal' is to be accepted by 'society'. Chief Bromden calls society the 'combine'. He has been institutionalised because he has been filled with self doubt his whole life and considers himself 'weak'.

To have self-esteem is to feel good about oneself. This attribute plays a huge role in Chief Bromden's life. Having a 'good's elf-esteem can help a person to succeed in life, on the other hand to have a 'lack' in self-esteem can drive a person to insanity or even death. If this low level of self-esteem is recognised it may be a target that leads to abuse from others. Chief Bromden like everyone else relies on his self-esteem to maintain his sanity. And like others he has experienced a lack of self-esteem at a very young age where it is considered most important.

His memories of "Columbia" showed that the people sent by the government ignored him, as they thought he was deaf and dumb. And when he did speak they didn't seem to notice. Another memory which caused his lack of self-esteem was his mother. She was not Indian, but a white woman who had dominated the Chief and his father. She was "Bigger than Papa and me together".

We know the Chief is a huge man, and he describes his father as "big" as himself. This woman could not be bigger, it is physically impossible. This shows the mental hold his mother had on him and how she lowered the level of his self-esteem. In Nurse Ratched's ward, of all the "acute" patients only Scanlon was committed.

The rest of the acute patients were on the ward voluntarily. Prior to the committed McMurphy's arrival, all these patients had one thing in common. They all lacked self-esteem. Billy Bibb it said that "If we had the guts I could go outside today... If I had the guts!" They all can't cope with the 'real' world. The patients are 'inside' the ward to hide from this 'reality' and the problems that life deals them.

In most cases, when a patient is in such a ward they are expected to 'heal' and become "fixed". This includes their regain of self-esteem, but in Nurse Ratched's ward they do not get a "fix" because they have all been sent to a's honky "mechanic". To gain control of her ward Nurse Ratched ignores and challenges what her job description asks of her. Nurse Ratched hand picks her staff (black boys).

A patient by the name of Taber is raped by the black boys just because he asks a feasible question which challenged Ratched's authority. Rape may be considered the best way to strip ones self-esteem. The Nurse is aware he was raped, and does nothing. Does Nurse Ratched look at 'rape' as a form of control? If so, does the sanity of Nurse Ratched's ways and Nurse Ratched herself need to be questioned? R. P McMurphy is committed to the ward from a jail type farm.

He is the 'hero' of this story. When he first walks in the door the Chief knew he was "different", the Chief first describes him as having a "real mans laugh", one that the Chief had not heard for years. It was this laugh and McMurphy's simple presence that provided a 'sane-like' atmosphere that the ward had been lacking. It was not known that with a little bit of time this "red-headed hero" would cure the patients. McMurphy provided the patients with a sense of hope, protection and confidence that would soon boost their self-esteem greatly. Chief Bromden's lack of self-esteem would lead to him wanting to escape from 'reality'.

The 'fog' which surrounds him these times is used as a protection device, to hide. "When it gets thick enough you " re lost in it and cant let go, and be safe again". But this all changes when McMurphy arrives. The fog begins to elevate out of the Chief's reach and therefore he can't use this as protection, he doesn't need to. The Chief finally conquers the 'fog' when he shows everyone that he could actually speak and hear, after all the years that he had gone along with the "Combine's" perception of him being deaf and dumb. This first happened when the Chief's name was signed up for the fishing trip.

"My name was there, the last put down". At first Chief Bromden was scared of what everyone else would think, but later he thought the better of it. "It scared me some (them knowing)... to hell with that crap". There is another scene when McMurphy and Chief are talking about how McMurphy will build him up "as big as a mountain" and they start talking about ladies.

Chief unwarily gets an erection and McMurphy quickly points this out. "Why would you look at that, you have already started growing Chief". McMurphy had not only made an impact on Chief Bromden and his self-esteem, but he also helped all the other acute's in the ward regain enough self-esteem needed for cure. The activities and actions that McMurphy planned were actually helping the patients, even though some were for his financial gain.

As Harding said "What's wrong with him making a little profit? We " ve all certainly got our money's worth... ". The fishing trip scene is where the Chief notices that McMurphy succeeds in healing the patients.

"I notice Harding collapsed beside McMurphy and is laughing too. And Scanlon... And Se felt and the doctor, and all". These were the first 'real' laughs they have had for years. They have all been "cured" in this scene. One must wonder how Chief Bromden and the other patients would have been if McMurphy hadn't been committed to the ward.

Despite McMurphy's death, he succeeds in his mission of setting the other patients free. Chief Bromden gains his size and confidence and now feels he can face 'reality' without retreating to his imagination due to this self-esteem. Also, almost all the other patients leave the hospital because they no longer need someone to follow. They have all learned from McMurphy to live on their own and have rejected the brainwashing of the "combine.".