One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Gender Quotes

One of the things that makes Nurse Ratched so powerful in this movie is the way she never loses her cool around the mental patients. This cool demeanor always makes her look more like an adult than them. But over time, it becomes clear that this tactic is horrible for the men's self-esteem because it makes Ratched seem like their scolding mother.

The more McMurphy gains influence in the mental hospital, the more he teaches the other patients to think like him. In other words, he teaches them to think of Nurse Ratched as just another woman, and they joke about her doing whatever McMurphy wants—if he shows her his penis. It's a crass moment, yes, but the fact that minor character Sefelt says this shows us just how far McMurphy's influence extends.

Charlie Cheswick gets fed up and decides that he doesn't want Nurse Ratched treating him like a child anymore. But he doesn't realize that Nurse Ratched has the power to send him off for shock therapy if he gets out of line. And that's exactly what happens.