Chapters 18 and 19 by Max Weiss

"But me, I know why. I heard him talk to the lifeguard. He's finally getting cagey, is all." (150) The Chief has yet again heard something he wouldn't have if he didn't fake deafness. At first glance you see the obvious, McMurphy has seemed to give up. But, finding out he is a committed patient actually just makes McMurphy realize he can get out, so there is no point to him fighting the system any longer. This is the Nurse winning a battle, making McMurphy realize she has all control, which is what the Nurse does with every patient. She doesn't even need to enforce any rules too harshly once she defeats the fight of every man that walks through the ward's door.

".. he was drowned." (151) When Cheswick drowns there is definitely a suspicion that he committed suicide. He was always behind McMurphy and it seemed to Cheswick that McMurphy had been leading him on. Cheswick's death is an awakening for McMurphy. This is when McMurphy first realizes his responsibility that he took on by leading the charge against the ward, in other words fighting back. He also realizes that he has effectively killed Cheswick and let down everyone else in the ward by giving up his power and letting the nurse win.

"His face has commenced to take on that same haggard, puzzled look of pressure that the face on the floor has." (155) McMurphy had recently come to terms with the responsibility he has in the ward. Now he sees these two men who are stuck between a rock and a hard place, take the epilepsy medicine and have your gums rot or don't take the medicine and have seizures and grind your teeth so much during the seizures that your teeth will probably fall out anyway. McMurphy notices this awful state these two men are in and really all the men are in (in their own way) and I feel it is the final push for him. This incident transforms him from a man trying to just have fun and do what he wants, to accepting responsibility and leading a ward full of insane people on a journey to sanity.