One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a very enthralling book. It has many strengths and few weaknesses. Its major strengths are the unique viewpoint of the narrator; the vivid personality of the characters; the many scenes that are often humorous and highly dramatic at the same time; and the struggles and major changes that occur for most of the characters. The weaknesses of the book are its slowness of pace in part and the black and white comparison between the protagonist, McMurphy and the antagonist, Nurse Ratched.
             One strength and probably the most interesting aspect of the book is the point of view from which the story is told. In most books, the story is told from the point of view of the main character, a narrator, or an omnipresent point of view. Instead, we see this story through the eyes of Chief Bromden, nicknamed Chief Broom. Chief Broom is a paranoid schizophrenic who suffers from fear of technology, women, and blacks. These three fears are represented by the staff of the ward. Technology and women are both represented by Big Nurse also known as Nurse Ratched, who, in his mind, manipulates the ward through the use of machines and his fear of blacks is represented by the three black orderlies whom Chief Bromden refers to as the black boys. Chief BroomÕs distorted perspective provides a truly unique point of view as we see his delusions intertwine with reality in such a way that it is not always obvious what is reality and what is part of the ChiefÕs delusional system. Chief Broom is helped by McMurphy to grow and change so that, near the end of the book, he has a less distorted view of reality and sees through Nurse RatchedÕs manipulations.
             Another strength is McMurphyÕs character. McMurphy is a con man and a gambler, who fakes he is psychotic in order to leave the work camp for someplace easier like the mental hospital. McMurphy possesses a very strong personality that falls in direct contrast with the other pati
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