McMurphy experiences an ordeal when Cheswick possibly commits suicide; moreover, Randle realizes Nurse Ratched’s power has gone too far and that the other men truly look up to him. In another group discussion, Cheswick becomes defensive towards Nurse Ratched as he implores to have his own cigarettes. He looks for McMurphy’s support, but Randle does not stand up for Cheswick because McMurphy needs to control his behavior to prevent extending his commitment. The other men sympathize: “Not looking like they’re mad with him, or even disappointed, because they can understand as well as I can that the only way he’s going to get the Big Nurse to lift his commitment is by acting like she wants…” (174). McMurphy finally realizes that he is committed to the ward …show more content…
However, Chief questions if the protagonist is a traitor. McMurphy makes a rigged bet and Chief yells, “ ‘You’re always…winning things!’ ” (269). The men are uncertain if McMurphy is a selfish gambler or a helpful friend. He contrasts the protagonist, Chris McCandless, from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, because Chris has opposing feelings about money: “ ‘…He didn’t seem interested in the money so much as the fact that he was good at making it. It was like a game, and the money was a way of keeping score’ ” (120-121). Unlike Chris, McMurphy enjoys gambling and finds money valuable. Nonetheless, this occurrence with Chief is a turning point for McMurphy because he realizes that the men deeply rely on him and he cannot lose their trust. He is not a traitor and adopts a new attitude as he finishes the mission he started. He decides to follow his superego, defined by McLeod, and tries to help the whole ward. The superego includes moral standards and civilized behavior, and Randle suppresses the urges of his former lifestyle to face the reality of the whole ward fighting against Nurse Ratched. The men need him and he needs to help them defeat Nurse Ratched. His determination and