Chief Bromden is the narrator. How does seeing things through the Chief's eyes change the book? What does the Chief's perspective add to McMurphy's perspective?
For most of the story the chief is a passive observer, not involved in anything. This allows us (through the chief’s eyes) to watch the various interactions from “the outside”. He obviously sides with Mac but sees the very real need for structure and discipline that is provided by the nurse. While not quite neutral, the chief is not heavily polarized towards either viewpoint, allowing us to form our own views. The chief’s perspective balances McMurphy's somewhat radical views and allows us to see the other side of the story.
Can you trust the Chief's perceptions? What are his most typical distortions? In what terms/ metaphors does he see reality?
While very perceptive of the inner workings of the institution, it is hard to trust chief Bromdem’s narration implicitly. While his use of machinery and electronics to describe “the combine” are a useful metaphor - helping us see the precise control authority such as nurse Ratched can hold over society – his graphic accounts of events such as the death of Blastic are seen as hallucinations and leave us unsure whether we can trust him- is he sane?
The chief illustrates most negative aspects of modern society (i.e.-domination and monotony) through machine/electronics metaphors. The precise synchronization and manipulation of these “machines” that Bromden sees is exactly what the nurse is trying to achieve.
Is the Chief really crazy? How is he perhaps sane -- seeing a deeper truth?
One some levels the chief is mad, but he is also extremely insightful and aware of the hospital, and the establishment he names “the combine”. His mental problems may arise from his wartime experiences. Shellshock? Post-traumatic-stress? Also due to his oppressive white mother, who drove his father to alcoholism? His hallucinations (e.g. - workers experimenting on Blastic) show an irrational fear of authority, especially as he has the size and strength to withstand any physical confrontation. However, his self imposed deafness and dumbness protect him from these dangers and allow him to see things others cannot. He sees both the atrocity and the necessity of the nurse’s strict control.
What are the Chief's main defense mechanisms? How do they help him cope? What is the fog?
Bromdem’s false deafness and dumbness is the thing that protects him most from the dangers that he sees. People ignore him, and thus do not bother him. His constant submission to both Ratched and the black boys lets them further ignore him, as he never threatens their authority – in fact he allows the black boys more power than they are entitled to, doing all their dirty work for them.
The fog appears whenever anything upsets the chief. The fog is his insanity, hiding the world from him, and him from the world (or so he thinks). It is similar to a small child covering their eyes and thinking that because they can’t see anyone, no-one can see them.
You will need to construct a map of the Chief's past. How did the Chief get the way he is at the beginning of the book? How was war tied in? What were other major causative factors?
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