How Does Randle Mcmurphy Change

Though it may seem that Randle McMurphy is alway the suave, collected, swindling man that he came into the ward as, it is evident throughout the book that Mr. McMurphy gradually changes into a man who cares about the well being of others by the end of the book. McMurphy entered the ward as a “‘gambling fool’” who’ll “‘trim [the other patients of the ward] like little lambs’” (Kesey 12). He’s a tough arrogant man who has no remorse for robbing the patients of their money and eventually cigarettes. He challenges authority constantly and eventually starts a war with the head nurse, nurse Ratched. He does this by pretending to follow ward policy whilst judging it, outright not following ward policy, and constantly aggravating nurse Ratched with …show more content…
The iron rule of nurse Ratched has eventually worn him thin, but even the fishing trip he takes the men on is mainly motivated by his own self desires. It’s not until they arrive back to the hospital that McMurphy’s change is made clear. When the men have to undergo an invasive cleaning because they left the ward, George (a patient with OCD) is being forced by one of the nurses black boys to use soap. It’s during this debacle that McMurphy finally stands up for the men saying “‘I said that’s enough buddy’ He took a deep breath and and stepped across to the black boy, shoving him away from George. Everyone could hear the helpless, cornered despair in McMurphy’s voice” (Kesey 273-274). He’s finally taking a stand for the men and doing it at his own expense. He knows from the other patients that “‘if [he] continue[s] to demonstrate such hostile tendencies, you get lined up to go to the shock shop, perhaps even greater things’” (Kesey 69). He knows by showing aggressive tendencies he risks going under EST, and in standing up for George, even fighting for him, McMurphy isn't watching out for himself anymore. He’s defending men who need it and in doing so is a completely different man than at the beginning of the