Mrs. Ratched for instance uses her power to get to the patients. They're afraid of her and what she can do to them. McMurphy is the second character to have similarities and differences. First he escapes from the ward and takes the group fishing without the doctor, but in the book McMurphy takes the doctor as a guardian. In the book Bromden is this large Indian who talks to himself, in the movie you don't get to see that aspect of his character. The movie doesn't tell what the character is thinking. One thing that is the same is the relationship between Bromden and McMurphy. McMurphy seemed to be a role model to Bromden in both versions. Another similarity would be his job. Bromden sweeps the floor on the ward. The second comparison would be with nurse Ratched. In the book she's this old wicked women who shows no weakness or attitude. In the movie she's middle aged and you can see her reactions. One thing they have in common is how she treats McMurphy. She keeps him contained and doesn't allow him to get out of hand. McMurphy is very different in the movie than he is in the book. For example, the way he escapes from the ward. In the movie he has Bromden lift him up and he jumps over the fence, but in the book he doesn't escape at all. Another thing is the fishing trip. In the movie the cops never show to arrest McMurphy for fighting with the sailors. The movie and the book have many differences and similarities. For example the differences of all the character's attitudes and what happens between them.
In writing One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey added an extra twist by including the "black boys."" If the "black boys- did not work in the hospital under Nurse Ratched's authority, they would be in a much lower social position. During the sixties, African Americans had very little respect and society did not accept them as individuals. Yet Kesey gave them some power, and they used it to do exactly what society did to them.