Fighting the "Combine"

Since my last entry, much has happened. McMurphy, the protagonist, has been introduced, changing the entire atmosphere of the novel. He was sent to the institution because he faked insanity to get out of doing work in the fields. Having been in the ward less than a day, he has already started poker games and is already at odds with the Nurse. I find it interesting that Kesey did not use McMurphy as the narrator even though he is, by far, the most prominent character. Whenever we see McMurphy assessing his new surroundings, we are unable to gain insight into what he is thinking. As unfortunate as this limitation is, I believe that Kesey has a reason for it. It allows for a certain level of intrigue to surround McMurphy. As I read further and further into the book, I began to notice that most of the patients who are in the ward are actually quite normal and really, should not be there. It is the Nurse who makes them believe that they should not venture out into society. McMurphy, however, disagrees, and this actually serves as one of the primary points of conflict between him and the Nurse. The patients, themselves, however are not given the liberty to voice their opinion since they have been deemed unfit to take care of themselves and their opinions are often overlooked. Even the head doctor of the ward follows her lead due to her ability to intimidate people. Again, this leads back to the point of Nurse Ratched having too much unregulated power.