SCENE 11

McMurphy has emerged victorious from the battle of the
toothpaste and the battle of the card room. Now begins the
battle of the World Series, which becomes the focus for the rest
of Part I. In this scene we see that the hospital is beginning to
wear McMurphy down, and the reason is not just the Nurse or
the staff, but the patients, too, for they lack McMurphy's
courage.

McMurphy has planned to watch the World Series even though
the games won't be shown during the ward's scheduled
television time. The Nurse, of course, says he can't watch the
Series, a refusal that doesn't surprise McMurphy one bit. What
does surprise him is the patients' complete agreement with her.
Rules must always be followed. During the group meeting,
only Cheswick, a would-be rebel happy at last to have an ally,
backs McMurphy up.

McMurphy is disgusted at the patients' cowardice. Billy Bibbit
attempts to explain it but can't. We learn that Nurse Ratched
has spoiled McMurphy's black-jack games by first stopping the
patients from playing for money, then by locking away the
cigarettes they'd been betting with instead. The routine that
McMurphy disrupted is reasserting itself.

Table of Contents