The Showdown: Mac VS Big Nurse

Ken Kesey's development of characters in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is simply incredible. He has mastered the art of description, creating vivid pictures in my mind with his elegant words. As the plot begins to unravel, we witness the emergence of two powerful characters: Big Nurse and McMurphy. When Big Nurse is introduced into the story, one could tell that she will be a stern, relentless force. "She [Big Nurse] knows what they been saying, and I can see she's furious clean out of control. She's going to tear the black bastards limb from limb, she's so furious. She's swelling up, swells till her back's spitting out the white uniform and she's let her arms section out long enough to wrap around the three of them five, six times," (Kesey 11). Big Nurse Ratched has complete control over the entire ward, as she intimidates not only the patients, but some of the doctors as well. Her reign over the ward is supreme.
However, the admittance of McMurphy into the ward disrupts her power. "His face and neck and arms are the color of oxblood leather from working long in the fields. He's got a primer-black motorcycle cap stuck in his hair and a leather jacket over one arm, and he's got on boots gray and dusty and heavy enough to kick a man half in two," (17). McMurphy is a free spirit whose mind is as daft as they come. As he recognizes that Nurse Ratched has a relentless hold on the ward, he makes it his mission to "rustle her feathers". In doing so, the atmosphere in the ward, and especially the attitudes of the patients begins to change. They begin to laugh, and see the happier side of life.
Big Nurse has the last say as a lobotomy is performed on McMurphy, essentially ending his life. However, in the ultimate battle, McMurphy's exuberant personality allowed for the patients to see through the 'fog'. No longer did Nurse Ratched have unyielding power as she once did.