Cuckoo's Nest Blog #2

At the end of Part 1, I believe that McMurphy is definitely getting the best of the rivalry in the ward at this point. Since McMurphy arrived at the facility, he has been trying to get the best of the Big Nurse and I think that he is finally beginning to be successful in this quest. At the end of Part 1, McMurphy wants to watch the World Series, even though it does not match up with the patients' TV schedule. Before this, McMurphy had not had much help from the other patients in his attempt to overthrow the nurse, but this is the very first time that he had strong support in his actions. All of the acutes and Chief voted in support of watching the World Series, but the Nurse would still not let them watch the program. Since the other patients are beginning to agree with McMurphy and show how they feel, this is definitely a leg up for him. He has a much better chance of succeeding in his actions if he has the majority of the ward on his side. Even when the Big Nurse rejects their request, the men still sit in front of a blank TV when they were supposed to be working to rebel against the Nurse. Kesey writes, "And we're all sitting there lined up in front of that blanked-out TV set, watching the gray screen just like we could see the baseball game clear as day, and she's ranting and screaming behind us." They are clearly defying what she wants them to do, which shows that McMurphy is getting the best of the rivalry.
At this point in the story, I think that the Chief wants to go along with the other acutes in the ward, but he cannot. He doesn't want to give himself up and for everyone to find out that he isn't deaf, probably in fear of what the Big Nurse would do to punish him. He shows that he is leaning towards the side of McMurphy when he raises his hand in the vote for watching the World Series. Even if this was an unconscious action, something was driving him to raise that hand and rebel against the Big Nurse like the other acutes.
At this point in the story, I am definitely rooting for McMurphy. He is finally gaining support in his quest to get the best of the Big Nurse and he seems to be gaining momentum. He still seems like an underdog because of how the reader views the Big Nurse: cruel and powerful. The Nurse's actions have forced me to root against her and I believe she is the obvious villain.