Chapter 7 Quotes

"Keep in mind that Mr. McMurphy is committed. The length of time he spends in this hospital is entirely up to us" pg137

This quote shows that although the Big nurse had lost the battle against McMurphy and lost here temper, she still knows that she is the one in control. She is confident that she will win the final battle because she knows that she has the ultimate tool to use against McMurphy; she can keep him in the hospital for as long as it takes for him to become submissive to her oppressive rules. She knows that she has lost some respect in the eyes of the patients (they see she has human qualities, rather than just machine ones), but she still has the ability to use harsh punishments, in the form of medical "treatments".

"No, he isnt extroardinary. He is simply a man and no more, subject to all the fears ans all the cowardice and all the timidity that any other man is subject to." pg 136

This quote has similar significance as the one above. It shows that the big nurse is aware that McMurphy is different than than the other patients, and is more courageous, she believes that there is no lack of fear inside him. She believes that with time she can break his seemingly indomitable will, and make McMurphy like the other patients.

"The rest of the guys are watching too, Though they're trying to act like they aren't... but anyone can see they're all sneaking looks at the big nurse behind her glass there, just the same as I am." Pg 129

McMurphy finally won his bet got the Big Nurse to lose her temper. Now when the patients see here they don't look at her the same way. They see that she is not a machine but a a flawed human. The entire book, (and before) the Big Nurse has been trying to hide her human qualities and become as close to a machine as possible. She even reflects this by imposing a strict machine like schedule on the patients of the hospital. The Big Chiefs delusion that everyone in the hospital is a machine is perhaps insight into what the big nurse wants the hospital to epitomize.