Cuckoo's Nest 2

At this point in the story, it isn't hard to tell that the rivalry between Big Nurse and McMurphy is really heating up. I believe that both sides are giving each other a run for the money, if you will, but that McMurphy is getting the best of Big Nurse. A huge argument to watch the World Series takes place during a majority of this section, and after the initial refusal by Big Nurse, McMurphy seems mad and threatens to, "bust out of [the ward]" (103). However, when we think McMurphy has 'lost', he comes back and gets the patients to pretend like they are watching the game even after Big Nurse has shut it off. Soon, "Cheswick goes and gets him a chair, and then Billy Bibbit goes, and then Scanlon and then Fredrickson and Sefelt, and then we all put down our mops and brooms and scouring rags and we all go pull us chairs up...and we're all sitting there lined up in front of that blanked-out TV set, watching the gray screen just like we could see the baseball game clear as day, and she's ranting and screaming behind us." This causes Big Nurse to kind of lose her cool, and it seems like McMurphy has gotten under her skin.

It seems that Bromden has started to sway towards McMurphy. This is because of a sort of adoration he has for McMurphy, and you can tell that Bromden likes him. He is still a reliable narrator though, as evidenced by his clear-cut memories of specific events and conversations. The fact that he is viewed as a mute and not being able to understand has worked to his advantage in terms of narration. The only bad thing about Bromden is the fog, which he seems to go under at certain times. Also, I am rooting for McMurphy. I do not like the Big Nurse and I hope McMurphy gets under her skin enough to change things around the ward.