Abby Hudrlik

Question 1:l
     In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, the narrator chosen was Chief Bromden. He is a patient in the mental ward and got the nickname "Chief Broom" because of his job in the ward which is to sweep. Since he is the narrator, as a reader we know the most about him. While in the hospital, he pretends to be deaf which gives him an advantage in the ward. People feel that they can speak freely around him because he won't hear. With his knowledge of the people without them knowing, he has unknown power.
     He talks a bit about his family and heritage. We learn that he is Native American his mother was a white woman who convinced his Indian father to sell his tribal lands. He received his last name from his mother instead of his father which upsets him. He is 6'7 and played high school football. He joined the army during WW2 where he learned about different types of machinery which later on influences his hallucinations of machines.
     In the beginning of novel Chief Bromden is weak to say the least. He's constantly hallucinating and experiences seeing a "fog" quite often. Also, he's bullied in the ward which makes him self conscious and small; but being 6'7, he is clearly not.  He feels trapped in his own mind and I believe he was depressed until McMurphy came along and helped distract his fear and taught him to believe in himself. Bromden says "One of these days I'll quit straining and let myself go completely, lose myself in the fog the way some of the other Chromics have,  but for the time being I'm interested in this new man" (Kesey 42). This is him basically admitting to his lack of self confidence and that one day he'll lose his marbles, but for now he's going to distract himself with this peculiar new face in the ward. As the story goes on, Bromden starts to find confidence within himself. This all with the help of McMurphy of course. He helps Bromden see that Nurse Ratched is a "monster" and not trying to help the men at all in the ward. His hallucinations start to decrease and even starts to talk. His breakthrough in the story is whenever he murders lobotomized McMurphy and manages to escape the hospital. Over all, my opinion on Chief Bromden definitely changed. I saw him  as some crazy guy who hallucinates and doesn't see himself for his worth at first, but then I realized how smart he actually was. He faked being deaf to get insight on patients and with the nurses. He found himself and slowly became stronger with the help of McMurphy.