One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Fear

The saying “be the bigger man” can be applied to many scenarios. It often refers to being the person who takes charge or to being the person who ends an argument. But why do people associate size with taking charge? This is a question that arises in Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The story is told from the perspective of patient in a mental ward, nicknamed Chief by patients and nurses, who has been in an asylum for fifteen years of his life. When Chief is describing his or other people’s size, he is portraying their confidence and their power within the ward. That is why at first, he sees himself as small, McMurphy as huge, and Nurse Ratched as the "Big Nurse”; ultimately, as he himself regains his self-confidence, he
During one of the Group Meetings before McMurphy arrives, Nurse Ratched is using her tricks to make the patients admit how they feel and say what they had done. She says, “‘Am I to take it that there’s not a man among you that has committed some act that he has never admitted?’ She reached for the log book. ‘Must we go over past history?’”(45). After using the tactic of fear, all of the patients start talking about everything they had done. At this point in the book, Nurse Ratched holds all the power within the ward. She can make the patients do almost anything she wants them to do. Chief has always seen Nurse Ratched the same; he sees her as a scary, powerful nurse who has control over his life. The first mentioning of Nurse Ratched is at the very beginning of the book. Chief hears her coming and thinks, “I know it’s the Big Nurse”(4). It is not the context of the quotation or what happens in the quotation that matters. It is what Chief calls the Nurse. Because she is the one in charge of the entire ward and holds the most power, at that moment, she is known as the “Big Nurse.” Not only does she literally have the word “Big” in her name, but it is capitalized, which adds onto her repeated motif of size. Unfortunately for her, Chief is able to change his perception of her “almighty”
The way his brain visualizes size is through the amount of power and confidence that person has. This corresponds with why he sees McMurphy as a giant, Nurse Ratched as this huge, terrifying, and “Big” character, and he sees himself as insignificant and small. However, as the book comes to a close, he comes to terms with how big he really is because he gains confidence with help from McMurphy. Sometimes, all it takes for someone to realize their full potential is time and friends. Whether that is a break from school to hang out with family or waiting for that one person who can be the bigger man to come and change your