Individualism and Society

Chief’s challenge is to disappear from society. When R.P. McMurphy arrives on the ward, he tries to talk to Chief. Billy comes over and tells him that he is just a “deaf dumb Indian” (from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and not to pay any attention to him. R.P. McMurphy tries to get Chief involved by trying to get him join in a basketball game and to vote so the men can watch the World Series. Chief has everyone fooled except for R.P. McMurphy. Chief tells R.P. McMurphy about his father and how “Combine” beat his father down. He says that his father was as big as a mountain but society broke him. Chief’s father gave into them and he says that R.P. McMurphy will also give into them. This microcosm of society sees that R.P. McMurphy is big and they need to break him. After Chief’s father died, everyone ignored him so he turned his back on society, ignoring them. R.P. McMurphy helped Chief to reappear to society by waking his strength and confidence. Chief’s strength and confidence allowed him to escape from the ward.

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Milos Forman suggests that conformity to society can lead to the destruction of an individual. R.P. McMurphy was an individual but society reduced him to the walking dead. Chief took R.P. McMurphy’s spirit with him escaping from a narrow-minded society. Being yourself is better than being someone you are not.