Chapters 1-4

       The main character is called Chief. Chief is an observer, everyone thinks he can’t hear or comprehend anything but in reality that's what he wants everyone to think, this is shown when he says, “All of a sudden I was scared he was because he knew the way I was sitting there with my knees pulled up and my arms wrapped around them, staring straight ahead as though I couldn’t hear a thing, was all an act.(23pg)”. Chief wants everyone to think this because he wants to be able to have the upper hand over everyone else in the hospital. One of the major things Cheif observed was the two types of patients in the hospital, “...younger patients, known as acutes because the doctors figure them still sick enough to be fixed(15pg)” and “Chronics. Not in the hospital these, to get fixed, but just to keep them from walking around the street giving the product a bad name(15pg)”. The Acutes and the Chronics don't communicate with each other, instead, they separate each group and get one side of the room. Chief considers himself well but I don't believe that he's all there. At the beginning of the book, he is talking and says "When you got something under your belt you're stronger and more wide awake, and the bastards who work for the Combine aren't so apt to slip one of their machines in on you in place of an electric shaver. (6pg)". This sentence makes me think that Cheif is a very paranoid person. He's so untrusting that he believes that the people working at the hospital will replace his electric razor with something else. Another example of this is the first quote above, where he suspects the new person knows he isn't actually deaf. The fact that he would make everyone think that he's deaf is very telling as well.

There are two types of patients in the asylum: the Chronics and the Acutes. The Acutes are not as far gone as the Chronics, “the doctors figure them still sick enough to be fixed” (15). The Chronics are divided into three groups, “Walkers like me, can still get around if you keep them fed, and Wheelers, and Vegetables” (16). However, Chief is putting on an act, “[McMurphy] was laughing because he wasn’t fooled [...] by my deaf and dumb act” (24). The Acutes have conversations with other patients, play cards, practice different activities like rolling cigarettes, and much more, while the Chronics either mumble around doing nothing or are completely incapacitated. Chief is categorized as a Chronic, however, he acts like he is mute, but his thoughts run rampant with color. He has the memory of an elephant in how he recalls his interaction with McMurphy, describing his hand in great detail, and how he interacts with other patients. 

Chief is a reticent and introspective man, many perceive him as ill or “crazy” because of the way he presents himself, however, he is all the more different. Chief also sees reality differently from others, he believes everyone is out to get him, “they got special sensitive equipment [that] detects my fear” (03). The “Black Boys,” as he calls them, are hospital staff simply doing their job, but he thinks they are trying to make his life a living hell- he is scared of them. According to most patients, Bromden is timid, “he’s scared of his own sh-sh-shadow. Just a bi-big deaf Indian” (24). Bromden is quite resilient, he quietly listens to the happenings inside the asylum and knows much more than most patients, “[I] crushed it [the capsule] open [...] in the broom closet [...] I saw a miniature electronic element” (35). Chief is a very intelligent and sneaky man, contrary to what most believe. He interacts with others as if he is crazy, but he is simply over-analyzing the situation at hand. Chief is much smarter than the other patients, most are too far gone to discover the menace lying in the asylum. 

From what Chief describes, Acutes are people who are curable, who still have hope that they will leave soon. However, he explains that most people who come in as an Acute, got changed over to be Chronic due to “...a couple of mistakes..”(p.16) made by the hospital staff. Being Chronic to Chief was similar to describing a life sentence in prison. You were separated from others, thrown to the side like “...machines with flaws inside that can’t be repaired, flaws born in, or flaws beat in…”(p.16) Chief acknowledges that he is a Chronic, but goes even further by creating sub-categories. The sub-categories of Chronics are the ‘Walkers’, ‘Wheelers’, and ‘Vegetables’. Chief comes right out and tells the audience that he is a ‘Walker’ and that his category “...can still get around if you keep them fed”(p.16) whilst the others cannot, due to their worsening conditions. He also goes on to tell the audience about the atmosphere and the deviation between the two groups. The Acutes stay to one side, where it's cleaner, nicer, etc. And they don’t dare cross over onto the Chronic side due to how it “...smells worse than a dirty diaper.”(p.18) The Acutes also seem to talk about him rudely to his face because they believe that he is so far gone, that he cannot even comprehend simple conversations. Chief's depiction is seemingly accurate, as it's really only making groups based on condition and how mobile and in need of care they are. On the other hand, Chief’s depiction of the staff vs. the patients may be distorted. He claims things happen, such as when Ruckly was taken “...away to be fixed. They strapped him to that table, and the last anybody saw of him for a while was just before they shut the door on him”(p. 16) and states that “the staff, now, they consider Ruckly one of their failures..”(p.17).

Whereas I believe that the Big Nurse is strict on rules, what Chief is implying, would put her license at risk for being revoked, and would require doctor signature and approval. We can see that she likes things to stay orderly and for people to comply, so there is always a possibility of it being accurate but when she speaks to Mr. McMurry she uses manners to say “Please understand, I appreciate the way you’ve taken it upon yourself to orient with the other patients on the ward, but everything in its own good time….I’m sorry to interrupt you and Mr. Bromden, but you do understand:everyone…must follow the rules”(p.25). Which she goes about telling him to do things quite nicely but also passive aggressively. 

“One side of the room younger patients, known as Acutes because the doctors figure them sick enough to be fixed…” (15) “..the Chronics. Not in the hospital, these to get fixed, but just to keep them from walking around the street giving the product a bad name.” (15) Chief considers himself a Chronic, and divided into the group of “Walkers” He considers Chronics “.. machines with flaws inside that can't be repaired, flaws born in, or flaws beat in..” (16) It’s mentioned that everyone thinks Chief is deaf and that he cannot speak. He is rather the opposite of both of those but almost no one else knows that. That could seem that his “condition” is worse than it is. In terms of other peoples point of view, this categorization can seem accurate, but if they knew he could hear and talk, their categorization of him might change. He is pretty aware of what is going on, but he also seems to have some sort of hallucinations. About how the ward is a machine, how the nurse is in on it, ect. So from this point of view, the "Chronic" part seems accurate.

It seems that Chief observes many things with great detail. He might perceive things differently than the others do. “.. but even if he’s big, hes scared of his own sh-sh-shadow. Just a bi-big deaf Indian.” (24) They underestimate, or dont think too highly of him because they think he is deaf and dumb. And compared to McMurphy, Chiefs view is very different. This could chalk up to be because McMurphy is very new, while Chief and the other patients have been there for years. And it seems that Chief is much smarter than he lets on, seeing the ins and out of the place (minus his hallucinations) While others go along with the hierarchy, or how things work, Chief sees through it and peoples true intentions.