the novel. Chief Bromden uses silence very effectively to his advantage. Everyone thinks that he is deaf and dumb, however, their perception proves to be erroneous, as we learn at the novel’s end. Chief Bromden is a very large man who falsely thinks of himself as being rather diminutive. For him, Chief Bromden’s silence is extremely potent. He is able to hear everything that went on in the meetings where the doctors and nurses discuss the future of the patients. The doctors and nurses don’t think that Chief Bromden can hear what they are saying. They don’t hesitate to say anything in front of him. “They don’t bother not talking out loud about their hate secrets when I’m nearby because they think I’m deaf and dumb”(10). This is very beneficial because chief Bromden knows what takes place in the ward, and knows what it takes to survive.Silence, however, is not the sole manifestation of control that Bromden utilizes. After Chief Bromden gains all the information that he needs he has no way to act upon it unless he demonstrates the utility of speech. He can protect himself without this ability, but he can’t prevail without it. For Bromden, speech is just as much a key to success as silence is. Thus the combination proves to be the most potent. McMurphy’s realization that Chief Bromden is not really deaf and dumb marks a significant turning point in the novel. It is the first time that anyone hears Chief Bromden speak since he entered the ward fifteen years earlier. The Chief starts talking to McMurphy and his fog disappears. After the Chief begins talking he relishes conveying tales of his childhood and other experiences to McMurphy. As a child he was treated as though he was invisible, enabling him to perfect his skill of listening and not responding; therefore, his pretending to be a deaf mute is rather facile.Ever since Bromden’s revelation that he i...
