Does McMurphy believe that things will change if Nurse Ratched leaves?

Does McMurphy believe that things will change if Nurse Ratched leaves?

• A. Yes, he believes removing her will change everything.
• B. No, he realizes the system behind everything and that removing Ratched won't change.
• C. Only temporarily; some staff will take her place.
• D. He hopes but doubts.

Answer: (B)

McMurphy comes to see the ward as a machine of power, not just a place held together by one person. Nurse Ratched is the most visible operator, but the real control lies in the system—the rules, the doctors, the orderlies, and the patients who comply with them. Because the hospital runs on that broader structure, removing Ratched wouldn’t dismantle the machinery; others would fill the role, and the same oppressive dynamics would keep going. That’s why the strongest reading is that he realizes the system behind everything, so real change would require addressing the whole setup, not just one figure. The idea that things would instantly be different, or that only a temporary shift would occur, doesn’t fit his growing sense that the power runs deeper than any single person.

McMurphy comes to see the ward as a machine of power, not just a place held together by one person. Nurse Ratched is the most visible operator, but the real control lies in the system—the rules, the doctors, the orderlies, and the patients who comply with them. Because the hospital runs on that broader structure, removing Ratched wouldn’t dismantle the machinery; others would fill the role, and the same oppressive dynamics would keep going. That’s why the strongest reading is that he realizes the system behind everything, so real change would require addressing the whole setup, not just one figure. The idea that things would instantly be different, or that only a temporary shift would occur, doesn’t fit his growing sense that the power runs deeper than any single person.