ge the system in a mental hospital. McMurphy is very outgoing, loud, rugged, manly, a leader and a rebel. From the first couple scenes of the book, there is a constant power struggle between the patient's new found savior McMurphy, and the evil Nurse Ratchet who rules their wing of the hospital with an iron fist. McMurphy fights to change the system to try to win back the patients' rights and in the process gain more privileges for the patients and himself. McMurphy also seems to get pleasure out of fighting the system. His motives seem simple, he wants to help out his fellow patients, his friends, and make their lives better. This is very similar to the real life rebellion against the "Tyranny of the Majority" which was occurring during this time period. McMurphy was successful in changing many of the rules and regulations that were imposed upon them by Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy was a very inspirational speaker and during the regularly occurring meetings between the patients and the doctors he would rally the patients to fight against Nurse Ratchet. Thus he was able to win back some of their rights. This type of action was also witnessed during Ken Kessleys time, and quite similarly, revolutionists also won many rights from the state that had once been taken from them during their life time. In the novel, McMurphy also uses his cunning wit and his skills as a con man to persuade the doctors into giving the patients more rights and activities. An example of this is when McMurphy is able to con Dr. Spivey to get a room where he and a bunch of other patients can go to play cards without the loud music coming over the intercom. This type of persuading the political leaders of the system was also seen and very helpful during the time this novel was published. In real life many fights against the system are lost. Even though McMurphy loses some of his fights, he keeps on fighting, trying to change the system. In this novel McMurphy uses many t...
