One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Final Scene Essay

In the final scene of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chief Bromden is the main character. The only two characters in this scene are Bromden and McMurphy, and even though McMurphy would be considered the main character of the entire film, Bromden is the main character of this scene because he has the strongest desire. In fact, in this one scene, Bromden has many desires that to him, are life or death. Initially, after hearing rumours of McMurphy’s escape, when McMurphy returns to his bed, Bromden thinks that he has returned in order to escape with him. At this point, Bromden’s desire is simply to escape the ward. He then realizes that McMurphy has not returned to escape, but that he has actually been lobotomized. When he sees this, he smothers McMurphy to death, knowing that McMurphy would not want to live like this, or have the others see him in this state. At this point in the scene, Bromden’s desire is to protect McMurphy’s pride. Once he fulfills this, he returns to his initial desire, as well as what used to be McMurphy’s desire to escape. He achieves this by using McMurphy’s escape plan; lifting the impossibly heavy hydrotherapy console and throwing it through the window. In doing this, Bromden not only achieves his own desire, but also completes the goal that McMurphy was unable to complete. Throughout the movie, Chief Bromden’s status quo is that he is inactive and lacks opinions and feelings. All of the other patients at the hospital think he is â€Å"deaf and dumb†. McMurphy is the only one to later discover that Bromden is neither deaf, nor mute. Before the tension in the final scene takes place, Bromden seems too passive and nonchalant to escape on his own, and he definitely seems much too harmless to murder anyone. In this scene, Bromden is forced to change when he sees that McMurphy has been lobotomized. His respect for McMurphy, and despair that he has been lobotomized and is no longer the powerful leader he used to be initiates the change in Bromden. Wanting McMurphy to die with honour, and having others remember him the way he was, Bromden finds the power to smother McMurphy to death. After McMurphy is dead, Bromden still has the initial desire of escaping. Before, he had been waiting for McMurphy to escape with him, because McMurphy was more intrepid and gallant than Bromden, and would be able to lead him. Now that McMurphy is unable to escape with him, Bromden is forced to find the courage to escape on his own. In this scene, the stakes are very high for Bromden. If he does not escape, he will have to live miserably in the mental institution for the rest of his life. The stakes are raised when he discovers that McMurphy has been lobotomized. Now, he takes on the responsibility to do what he knew McMurphy would want him to do- not allow him to live and be seen as a lobotomized vegetable. If Bromden does not succeed in killing McMurphy, Bromden will feel like he has let down and humiliated McMurphy. Once Bromden has smothered McMurphy, the stakes are once again raised as now not only does he have to escape because he doesn’t want to live in the hospital for the rest of his life, but he also has to leave because he has just murdered McMurphy, even though he did so out of respect. If he does not escape right away, he most likely will get in trouble for the murder of McMurphy (and probably get lobotomized himself) , he will have to spend his life in the miserable existence of the institution, and he will not have fulfilled McMurphy’s and his own desire to escape. The main conflict that takes place in this scene is the fact that Bromden has such a strong desire to escape with McMurphy, but when McMurphy is no longer able to escape, it becomes much more difficult to Bromden. The audience fears that upon discovering that McMurphy has been lobotomized, he will not be assertive enough to escape on his own. Until it is confirmed that McMurphy has been lobotomized, the audi ence hopes that the two of them will successfully escape together, but when it becomes clear that this will not happen, the audience wonders how Bromden will deal with this. He resolves the conflict by finding the courage to escape on his own. Another conflict in this scene is the fact that McMurphy, who is the most outspoken and powerful patient in the ward has been lobotomized. The fact that he basically no longer has a mind of his own not only gets in the way of Bromden’s desire, but will also destroy any optimism and faith that any of the other patients have. This is also a conflict for Bromden because he knows that McMurphy would be miserable if the old him were to see the lobotomized him, and Bromden does not want McMurphy to be shamed. Bromden deals with this conflict by killing McMurphy, that way none of the other patients will see him in this state, and McMurphy will not have to live this way for any longer. The main twist in this scene comes when McMurphy returns. Bromden is relieved because he thinks that McMurphy has returned to escape with him, but instead he has been lobotomized and no longer has any desire to escape. This comes as a shock to both Bromden, because it is the opposite of what he has expected, and also to the audience, because seeing McMurphy in the state of being lobotomized completely contrasts the character of McMurphy that the audience has come to know. The technique of juxtaposition makes this twist extremely effective. McMurphy is a character who is always active, energetic, powerful, and lively. He prides himself on his non-alignment, so the audience knows that to McMurphy, receiving a lobotomy is the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. Another technique used to make this twist so powerful is the uncertainty of both Bromden and the audience. First, when the other patients talk about how McMurphy has escaped, both Bromden and the audience believe that this plausibly occurred. When McMurphy is seen returning, acting lifeless, by now we know how manipulative and calculating McMurphy is, so the audience is unsure of whether McMurphy has actually been lobotomized, or if he is just pretending to be obedient so he can return, and then escape. We do not know for sure that McMurphy has actually been lobotomized until Bromden discovers the scars on his head. This provides a real shock because up until now, both Bromden and the audience was pretty sure that McMurphy was just faking it and the two of them would end up escaping together. A secondary twist in this scene is when Bromden suffocates McMurphy. Although Bromden did this with the best intention for McMurphy, it is still surprising to the audience, because no one could’ve pictured Bromden killing anyone, especially McMurphy who he has so much respect for. As mentioned above, Bromden has many strong desires throughout this scene. His main desire is to escape the ward. His secondary desire is to make sure that McMurphy dies with honour and does not have to live being the opposite of the lively, outspoken person he once was. He fulfills both of these desires, and even though he is unable to escape with McMurphy, which was his original intention, he still is able to escape on his own, and free himself from the mental institution. McMurphy, on the other hand, does not have much desire in this scene. Throughout the film, McMurphy has more desire than any other character; he wants to be in charge, he doesn’t want to do work, he wants to help and lead the other patients in the ward, he is a hedonist, who wants to please himself, and ultimately, his main desire is to escape. Despite all of this, by the last scene, he has been lobotomized, and therefore all of his desire has been drained. He is now a vegetable, who is unable to and has no will to escape with Bromden. His lack of desire makes Bromden’s desire even stronger, because McMurphy was the most passionate patient of them all, but now he is basically brain dead. This ignites Bromden’s desire to put an end to McMurphy’s now meaningless life, and it further motivates his desire to escape the hospital, because he sees how it is able to drain even the most passionate and spirited person.