The novella One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey tells the story of patients living in a mental institution. Of all the characters in the novel, the most enticing is Randle Patrick McMurphy. McMurphy is transferred to the institution from a work camp for misbehaving. Shortly after arriving at the institution, he begins causing problems in the ward. .
McMurphy is a charming and handsome man, with long red sideburns and a tangle of curls. He is used to having his way and is a natural leader. He tells the patients that he is used to being "top man" and quickly assumes that role within the ward. McMurphy is an addicted gambler and convict. Sentenced to a prison work camp, he grew tired of doing manual labor. To escape prison life, he pretends to be insane and gets committed to the hospital. He attempts to change the hospital. He does not like it when grown men act like "rabbits" and are scared of the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. He tries as hard as he can to annoy Nurse Ratched by not doing his assigned chores and disrupting others doing theirs. He even disrupts her group therapy sessions by bringing up questions and concerns that have no relevance to the ward. .
McMurphy is also an extremely sneaky individual. He learns that a patient committed involuntarily as he has been, cannot leave the hospital until the Nurse Ratched releases him. After learning this, he calms down and attempts to become a model patient. By this time, the patients have come to rely on his leadership. So much so, that Cheswick, one of his most ardent followers, drowns himself in despair due to McMurphy's new attitude. McMurphy reconsiders his new attitude after he learns that most of the patients are voluntarily committed. He decides he must become their savior and show them that they can function outside the ward. He makes his comeback statement by smashing the glass of the Nurse's station, which symbolizes Nurse Ratched's power.
