Chapters 26-30 (261-325; Finish the book)

Analyze the different character endings.

Billy- Billy had finally found the courage to rebel and live his life after he was inspired by McMurphy during the fishing trip. He had found his true self and felt like an entirely new person. His confidence and self-esteem had greatly improved compared to the person he used to be. His confidence and his old self-esteem contradicting one another was what led to his death though. He slept with the woman McMuphy had brought along the trip because he felt like a new person and wanted to express himself. He had adventured outside of his comfort zone but when he was caught and confronted by Nurse Ratched he reverted back to his old ways, especially after she used his mother’s possible disappointment against him. The overwhelming stress of thinking his mother would be so disappointed with his devious acts pushed him over the edge. His self-esteem and confidence was instantly crushed and he was devastated. He could not handle the stress so he ended up committing suicide. His character did develop and grow throughout the novel but he was not fully a changed man just yet which was what caused him to revert back to his old self in a matter of seconds.

McMurphy- McMurphy’s death at the end of the book was unfortunate but overall I do feel that it was necessary for him to win the battle between him and Nurse Ratched. He was able to inspire the other patients to find the courage to leave before his mind was too far gone after each session of electroshock therapy to keep fighting back. Nurse Ratched may have won the battle by defeating and destroying McMurphy’s mindset through shock therapy but his overall impact on the ward far outweighed the Nurse’s win.  The Nurse may have broken McMurphy’s rebellious mindset but he inspired the rest of the patients to break free and find the confidence to move on from the ward. 

Nurse Ratched- Nurse Racthed’s rule over the ward had fallen after she influenced Billy to end his life. She was trying to guilt McMurphy and the group for their actions by shaming Billy into thinking he had done something wrong but instead she broke him and he ended his life. She wanted the group to think that they were the reason Billy took his life, not her. All respect was lost for her after she helped lead Billy to his death. Her attempt to try to prove McMurphy wrong backfired and caused a great number of the patients to leave her facility. Instead of becoming more powerful and winning the feud with McMurphy, she doomed herself to a loss of control. 

Chief- The Chief had grown significantly with the help of McMurphy and found the confidence to move on from the ward. He did not want to be trapped in a place used to weaken others who are seeking to recover. He became the person he once was before and no longer stayed quiet. He left the ward in order to live the life he has been seeking. He left so he would no longer be trapped in a place that was holding him back for years. He found the courage to leave, even after fearing the outside world for years because McMurphy helped him grow. 

Other patients on the ward- The rest of the patients on the ward had been so inspired by McMurphy’s courage and rebellion that they too wanted to find the courage to fight back as well. McMuprhy had helped them grow as people and find a new sense of confidence that they had never had before on the ward. Nurse Racthed may have broken McMurphy but the other patients would not be controlled by her anymore. Many of them left the ward in order to honor McMuprhy’s sacrifice for them and because they had found their confidence with the help of him to finally leave the ward. 

Is this a tragic ending overall? Why or why not? I do not think the ending was tragic overall because more good came out of the ending compared to the bad. It was tragic that McMurphy and Billy lost their lives to the hand of Nurse Ractched but their deaths were necessary in order to inspire the other patients to find the courage to leave. The other patients were tired of being mistreated and held back by Nurse Ratched for years. They finally found the courage to leave and begin their lives outside of the ward as new people. I think that the overall impact of McMurphy helped the patients become new people and live their lives outside of the reign of Nurse Ractehd so I believe the ending was not tragic, even though the deaths did occur.

What is the overall message of the text based on how things end? I believe that the overall message of the text is to find the courage to grow and move forward before it is too late. The text is expressing to the audience that it is important to become the person you want to become before your time runs out. You should not let the fear of judgment from the outside world, even if you know that they may judge you, because your life can end in a matter of seconds so you should not wait to live your life to the fullest. Moving forward and becoming who you want to be can be scary but it is necessary if you want to grow as a person. 

Billy: His self-confidence skyrocketed due to McMurphy, but this was a part of his downfall. He ended up sleeping with the women McMurphy had brought along on the fishing trip, but Nurse Rached found out and threatened to tell his Mother. Knowing he has trauma with his Mother leads him to end his own life. He couldn't stand the fact that he'd be disappointing his mother again. 

McMurphy: He improved the other patients a crazy amount, but Mrs.Rached won the competition between the two of them by sending him to electric shock therapy. His death was very unfortunate but I believe it ended up making the patients realize how bad the ward actually was, leading them to leave. So it needed to happen, they let him go with dignity rather then being a sign of Racheds power. 

Nurse Ratched: She loses control over the ward when she leads Billy to end his life. Although her intention was guilting McMurphy and the others into thinking it was their fault for him taking his life when it was hers. She took her attempt to maintain power over McMurphy and the ward too far, leading her to lose it all. 

Chief: The difference between him at the beginning and the end of the book are night and day. He realized he had a voice and deserved to live a good life, not stay scared in the ward the rest of his life, and McMurphy's death aided in this deeply. As mentioned McMurphy's death was unfortunate but it lead to the patients realizing they were wasting away staying there.

Others: McMurphy leads the others to be brave enough to fight back and leave the ward. Since McMurphy died I understood it as though others wanted to leave in his honor. 

Ending: I believe that the ending wasn't tragic. Although sad things happened such as McMurphy and Billy's deaths, they needed to happen for other people to open their eyes and see what was actually happening, they were getting walked all over. It lead to patients realizing they were wasting their lives withering away in the ward when they didn't have to. So they finally got some of the bravery McMurphy was always showing and left. 

Message: I believe that one of the main messages of the story is it's okay to be different. Throughout the whole story, the patients are there because they are different than everyone else and believe it's a bad thing. Life is how you take it and everyone processes things differently. They were labeled as different because they were honest about their feelings, instead of being like most people and holding them in. 

Billy- Billy's death was tragic and extremely depressing, however, it enlightened the patients on what Ratched's intentions were. Suicide is always a sensitive subject because it is so saddening, and that is why it had the impact that it did on the patients. It made them realize that the hospital is not the ideal place to be staying.

McMurphy- McMurphy was killed in a violent and gruesome way. Ratched wanted him gone and she made it happen. This woke up the whole hospital out of their trance and showed them what it was really like. McMurphy instilled them with confidence and then he was deviously killed, enraging the patients and giving them a chance to escape.

Nurse Ratched- By making the mistake of shaming Billy she made him suicidal. This and her killing McMurphy from electro-shock therapy showed the ward who she really was. She couldn't maintain control of the facility because of her childish and deadly actions, leading all of the other patients to up and leave. Ratched lost to McMurphy even though she killed him.

Chief- McMurphy helped Chief find his voice and become closer to normal. Chief finally left the ward and found a life worth living. He needed McMurphy to realize that he isn't quite as broken as he thought, he just needed help. 

Other patients on the ward- They got to realize that they can live a life outside of the ward. McMurphy sadly needed to die for them to realize that. When they left the ward, they made Nurse Ratched lose the ongoing battle because once they were gone, there was no one left to control. 

Is this a tragic ending overall? Why or why not? - I think the ending is quite tragic. Even though more good things came out of it than bad things, there were two deaths and a major upheaval of power. The deaths of Billy and McMurphy needed to happen for the patients to realize the severity of the situation they were in and leave. 

What is the overall message of the text based on how things end?- Keep fighting for what you think is right, even if it ends badly for you. Even though McMurphy died, he showed all of the other patients that there is a life worth living outside of the hospital. He proved that the hospital and Nurse Ratched were horrible and despicable and showed the patients that they deserve better.

Billy- Billy committed suicide after being intimidated and threatened by Nurse Ratched. I think this is where the patients realized what an actual threat she was. They realized how far she will take things to try to gain a semblance of control. 

McMurphy-Ratched knew the only way that she could gain control and beat her enemy was to have him killed. And that is exactly what she did, she put him into electric shock therapy. Ratched knew that his influence on the group was getting too strong, but little did she know that it was already too late, and this pushed the other patients to leave. 

Ratched- All she did was make things worse. She couldn't control her patients, and instead causes the death of two of them. Even though she believed this would help, it only made things worse, but instilling fear, and elopement. She thinks she may have won against McMurphy, but she lost the overall fight. She lost their respect, and replaced it with fear. 

Chief- Chief was given the realization that he is much more than what people think of him. McMurphy helped him find his confidence and his death really encouraged him to find a better life for himself, even despite all of the years of feeling trapped and useless. 

Other Patients- McMurphy had such a large impact on this group of people that it rallied them together and taught them they don't need a leader, but need to work together. 

Tragic?-I think the ending could have been more tragic honestly. Obviously the deaths are tragic in how they went down, but it really made the ending less tragic for the rest of the patients on the ward. It could have been a lot worse. They could have stayed and all died 1 by 1. 

Message-I think the message of this text is that it really isn't to late to leave. No matter how stuck you think you might be, you always deserve better. 

Billy- Billy’s ending was tragic. Billy got caught sleeping with a hooker (which isn’t a billy thing to do) and Nurse Ratched used it against him. Nurse Ratched was going to tell Billy’s mom which would likely tarnish her opinion on her son. And although it may not have been Nurse Ratched’s intent to make Billy feel so guilty, she did. He couldn’t live with it and killed himself.

McMurphy- McMurphy’s ending is very sad, but serves a great purpose in this novel. Nurse Ratched will never have the power to destroy the effects that McMurphy has had on the ward, so she decides to destroy him. He gets sentenced to countless rounds of electroshock therapy, each making him physically weaker, until he dies. This sparks the trickle effect of rebellion in the ward.

Nurse Ratched- Nurse Ratched ultimately fails to carry out her agenda as the head nurse of a psych ward. She drives Billy to commit suicide, kills McMurphy in EST, and drives the rest of her patients to up and leave the ward. This is only a benefit to them, so I guess you could say she was successful. But in the most backwards way possible. She doesn’t do an effective job in the rehabilitation of any of her patients. 

Chief- McMurphy is able to show Chief that he’s not as small as the ward has suppressed him to be. He teaches McMurphy how to be big again, and helps grow his confidence. Chief goes back to his roots before he ever stepped foot in the ward. He was a tall, strong Indian, and he aspires to feel like one again. He finds the courage form Mcmurphy and from within to leave the ward for the greater good. He’s going to live freely and live the life he should’ve been living all along.

Other Patients- The courage of McMurphy and the courage of Chief brings the rest of the patients on the ward a similar courage. The deaths of Billy and McMurphy is an eye-opener for the other patients. They realize that a greater life is not promised and they have to chase it. They won’t achieve it by being controlled in a hospital. So all of the other patients also get the courage to leave the ward and go live their life. 

There are tragic events that happen at the end of this book, like the deaths of Billy and McMurphy. But I don’t believe that the overall ending of the book is as tragic as we think. McMurphy walks, so the rest of the patients can run. He shows what it looks like to fight for what you want, and to have courage and stand up for what you believe in. He is going to have a positive lasting impact on all of the patients that left the ward. All the other patients escape the wrath of the bad nurse and have the possibility to be greater versions of themselves. 

The message that I believe this novel is trying to convey is to fight for what you believe in. Don’t be complacent in life out of the fear of making mistakes or not having a perfect ending.

Analyze the different character endings.
Billy - i had a sort of idea what i thought Billy's ending would be. I assumed maybe he would have this sort of romance, sort of love story from a fantasy novel with Candy. I assumed that maybe he’d leave the ward at the end. Throughout the book he came out of his shell, like most others, with the help of McMurphy. However his ending was tragic, you could place this blame on McMurphy, Nurse Racthed, or even Billy himself. But his ending felt like a shameful and tragic one.

McMurphy - To me, McMurphys ending was also tragic. It was sad to see his confidence going into the lobotomy procedure (simply because he was outspoken, tried to help others, and tried to bend the rules a bit, nothing I see worth for physical and mental anguish,) and then him coming out of it. His promise that he would be okay after, nothing would go wrong. And then him coming out of it- unrecognizable. He wasn't talking, he didn’t look the same, it simply wasn’t McMurphy. It’s upsetting to us, as we support McMurphy in a lot of his and the other patients endeavors, and to see him as a completely different person (different as in he can't even move or talk..) we are struck with a sense of grief for him and the other patients. It’s a shock that this has happened to him, and even more so, the way he dies. It felt like, all his efforts went to waste. I wasn’t too sure what McMurphys role was going to be in the end of the book. But him basically getting his life taken away in more than one way, was not something I was prepared for.

Nurse Ratched - Nurse Ratched's ending, was not necessarily underwhelming, but, it was underwhelming. It was not surprising when she guilt tripped Billy, but it took a surprising turn when she took a beat down by McMurphy. In my mind, for her, she won and she lost. She won against McMurphy, she basically made him disabled, she ordered him a lobotomy. But for the rest of the patients, you could say she lost (against) the rest of the patients. It showed how confused the other patients were by McMurphys state after the lobotomy, and after realizing the truth, many had left. So in that aspect, I would consider the Nurses agenda to have failed.

Chief - Chiefs ending pretty much looked like the best case scenario for him. It was almost like he was “rehabilitated” due to McMurphy, not the ward or Nurse Ratched. His character seemed the most “improved” or rather the most that had changed. It’s a little weird to see this character that had devoted himself to not talking, and pretending to not hear, and changing that all of a sudden because of one person. Slowly at first, but still because of one person nonetheless. His ending, id consider a happy one. Based on his last couple lines in the book. Despite the fact that he killed McMurphy, he didnt see very affected by it, and just seemed to move on with his life. But finally decided to escape the ward. To me, this seems the best case scenario ending for him (considering Im not really thinking much for what other endings he could of had.)

Other patients on the ward The other patients on the ward were pretty much inspired by McMurphy. It was said in the book that most of them left the ward, probably because of what happened with McMurphy, and how he encouraged everyone in there, while building their confidence.

 Is this a tragic ending overall? Why or why not?

Overall, the ending was a shock to me, I’m not sure what I expected the ending to be, but it wasn’t this. I do think this is mostly a tragic ending, since it has to do with death, more than one in fact. But I think it depends which character you look at. I think Chief had a sort of content ending, while I would consider McMurphys tragic.

What is the overall message of the text based on how things end?

I would assume the message was something along the lines of believe in yourself and others, or stand up for what you believe in.