Chief Bromden, Essay Example

Broom Bromden is a major character of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a story exploring individuality and rebellion against authority and compliance. The film is considered one of the greatest American films of all time (Dirks 2009).  The movie, adopted from a novel, uses several symbolic components and characters to demonstrate anti-establishment undertones and status-quo hospital worker mentality. Randall McMurphy is also a major character of the film that befriends the Chief and is the film’s catalyst for the unfolding story.

Bromden is referred to in the movie as ‘Chief’ due to his ethnic background. A tall statured man of around seven feet, the chief plays deaf and dumb until later in the movie. His persona outwardly looks strong, dominating and menacing. As his character is first introduced in the movie, it is quickly shown his paranoid, bullied and medicated state of mind.  His main concern is his fear of the ‘combine’ which he believes is a ‘harvesting machine’ designed to dominate society and create a world of compliancy and complacency.

The Chief is left alone by the other patients as they believe him to be deaf and dumb.  Having lived his life believing himself to be small and not worthy of recognition, he remains silent and appears to be in his own personal haze. He has learned to blend into the air and prefers to be invisible. As McMurphy enters the mental hospital and begins to create havoc, the Chief begins to realize it is time to emerge from his fog and begin to deal with reality. He starts to realize he is ready to break free of his dependence on the hospital as a means of hiding from authority and control; the ‘combine.’

The Chief does not speak until he is shackled waiting on electroshock treatments with Randall McMurphy. Up until this point the Chief has appeared to be overly medicated and hallucinating. His character simply exists without substance or reason. Watching McMurphy and spark and charisma, the Chief begins to awaken and is ready to take steps towards consciousness. Once he begins to communicate verbally his weakness and apprehension slowly begins to dissolve and his inner strength can be recognized, although he has difficulty accepting the change until the end of the movie.

Throughout the film McMurphy upsets the authoritative balance of the hospital; continuing challenging the staff to break out of the mold of oppression and change the way things are done. McMurphy represents strength and freedom to the Chief while the primary dominating figure, Nurse Ratched, represents dominance and conformity. As the Chief watches the events unfold between McMurphy and Ratched he slowly begins to deal with his inability to recognize his own inner strength.

In Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, verse 36 “He Who Feels Punctured” is an excellent metaphoric description of the character of the Chief.  The verse illustrates the fact that in order to be down, one must have once been up and that perseverance is the key to sustaining throughout hardships. “He who feels belittled must have been consequential” (Tzu, 5 & 6). His character demonstrates the insight to keep his profile low, not allowing his strength to be seen.

The Chief fears the “combine” which in reality represents his life in the mental hospital. His fear keeps him on the edge and he appears to be trying to become invisible; perhaps hoping to escape the control he fears.  As Lao Tzu states in the verse that a man with insight will know to “keep under is to endure” (10) and therefore “unseen, they survive” (13). This is how the Chief survives. Once he comes out of his façade of being invisible and weak, his strength becomes evident to him and he knows the right moment to break free and survive.

In verse 15 “Long Ago the Land Was Ruled with a Wisdom” is also indicative of the characteristic persona the Chief portrays. The verse “how can a man’s life keep its course if he will not let it flow?” (14, 15) is symbolic of the Chief and the stagnancy he has entered which hinders his personal growth. Moving beyond the oppression he feels and learning “those who flow as life flows know they need no other force” (16, 17). The Chief has lived in the stagnancy but as he breaks free from his personal ‘combine’ he become aware of the wisdom he has had always had; clouded by his own mental stigma.

“Monkey. A Journey to the West” a classic Chinese story written by Wu Chen-en and translated by David Kherdian is considered a famous quest story of myths and legends of journeys. The story has similar themes woven similar to the Tao Te Ching chapters. Both involve personal obstacles and barriers. In “Monkey” the main character, the Monkey has inner strengths which propel him to take risks for what he wants to achieve. He has human characteristics and human drives. He was born from “a magic stone of immortial dimensions and properties” (Kherdian, 1).  He symbolizes the ‘mind’ with wit, courage, perseverance and strength (Kulik, Gu, and Patt, 2009). However, he is unruly and must be tamed and controlled.

The theme of inner strength brings the Chief, the Monkey and the Tao Te Ching together. Each entity faces oppression and control by others. Each carries an inner strength strong enough to prevail and overcome the obstacles. The Chief was shackled by his deaf and dumb act along with the control of the mental hospital and his own self inflicted inhibitions. The Monkey had a spell casted upon him by the Buddha in an attempt to control his mind (Kulik, et. al, 2009). The characters of Chief and the Monkey deal with their oppressions differently although it is the main premises of an inner strength which carries them through obstacles and challenges.

In the end of the movie, Nurse Ratched has won the battle and McMurphy is sent to surgery for a lobotomy, rending him harmless, mindless and destined to live the rest of his life a vegetable in the mental hospital.  This is the epiphany the Chief needs to break free from his repression and self proclaimed oppression. The Chief is the “one that flies over the cuckoo’s nest” (Dirk, 2009); the mental hospital symbolized as a cuckoo’s nest.  He frees McMurphy by a mercy killing, setting him free from the bondage. He then smashes a window and escapes the mental institution.

The character of the Chief with the works of the Tao Te Ching and Monkey are similar in the concept of inner strength and perseverance. The mind is a powerful tool which guides and motivates, and it can also keep hidden the characteristics necessary for living a life to the fullest degree. The meaning of life has been a topic of much inspection and debate. These three works of art run a similar theme of life and what is within each person. It takes trial and error to learn, develop and practice our hidden strengths. The film details the events leading to the awakening for the Chief which are echoed in the Tao Te Ching verses 15 and 36. The story of Monkey further supports the obstacles people face in life and how to overcome them. Bravery, insight, and the ability to learn signify inner strength and determination.

Works Cited

Dirk, Tim. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).” Film Site Top 100.  2009.  Retrieved November 2, 2009 from http://www.filmsite.org/onef.html

Kherdian, David. Monkey: A Journey to the West.  Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1992.

Kulik, Julie, Gu, Kaija, and Patt, David.  “Journey to the West: The Monkey King (the story).” Cornell University. 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/curriculum/monkey/journey

Tuz, Lao. “He Who Feels Punctured.” Tao Te Ching, 25^th ed. Vintage Books: New York, 1997.