Many novels have been written on the subject of power and its attainment. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is the story of a man driven to insanity and unspeakable violence in his quest for it. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, concerns a young man trying to find himself and obtain some control over his life. Power comes in many forms, whether it is a simple journey for the purpose of self-enlightenment or a bloody crusade. People generally like to feel as though they have control even when they do not. Some will even try to control others, the less fortunate for instance, when controlling their own lives becomes difficult. To control one's life is to have a say in one's destiny. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey the three main characters all try to have some degree of control. Nurse Ratched has true control over the ward and loves it that way. She delights in nothing less than total suppression of her opponents. Her perfect world is challenged by a newcomer, Patrick Randle McMurphy. He likes to be in control as well and loves the attention it gets him. The narrator, Chief Bromden, has never had any control over anything in his life until he comes to the ward. By making himself see the world in one way and by having the world see him as something he is not, the Chief gains some control, and is content. All the characters pursue power with different motives and methods. In the novel, the characters Chief Bromden, Nurse Ratched, and Patrick McMurphy all pursue power in different ways.
             Chief Bromden empowers himself with illusion and with the death of McMurphy. The chief is a giant who is six and a half feet tall, but he thinks of himself as small because he is powerless. Nurse Ratched initially controls him just as she controls the rest of the ward. Chief Bromden often speaks about a fog that the staff sends out to cover the ward. The fog that chief Bromden sees is just the way that he escapes...