Open the exact chapter you need.

Part One: Chapter 1

Chief Bromden, a half-Native American patient who has pretended to be deaf and mute for years, narrates his first encounter with the ward's new arrival, Randle McMurphy.

Part One: Chapter 2

Bromden reflects on his background and the history of his fog. The ward's daily routine is shown in more detail, including the role of the Black aides, who carry out Ratched's ord…

Part One: Chapter 3

McMurphy begins openly challenging Nurse Ratched's authority. He bets the other patients that he can get under her skin within a week.

Part One: Chapter 4

The tension between McMurphy and Ratched sharpens during a Group Meeting where McMurphy pushes to change the ward's TV schedule so the men can watch the World Series.

Part One: Chapter 5

McMurphy learns from other patients that Ratched has the power to extend their stays indefinitely, since most of them are voluntary commitments who have been too afraid to leave.

Part One: Chapter 6

McMurphy continues to push back against the ward's rigid routines, this time zeroing in on the Group Therapy sessions that Nurse Ratched runs.

Part One: Chapter 7

McMurphy makes a bet with the other patients that he can get under Ratched's skin without her being able to punish him for it.

Part One: Chapter 8

This chapter slows down to develop the backstories of several patients, particularly Harding. Through conversation with McMurphy, Harding explains why he and the others are in the…

Part One: Chapter 9

McMurphy keeps pressing, and this chapter shows the first real cracks in the other patients' passivity. He tries to get a vote to watch the World Series on the ward's television,…

Part One: Chapter 10

The fallout from the World Series standoff continues. McMurphy's refusal to accept defeat has changed something in the ward's atmosphere, and Ratched knows it.

Part One: Chapter 11

McMurphy starts to realize that the other patients are not simply locked up against their will — many of them are voluntary commitments who could leave if they chose.

Part One: Chapter 12

McMurphy continues to probe the ward's social structure and tests Ratched's authority in smaller, calculated ways. The group therapy sessions become a site of low-level resistance…

Part One: Chapter 13

The tension between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched moves toward a more direct confrontation. McMurphy organizes the patients around a request to watch the World Series on television,…

Part Two: Chapter 1

Part Two opens with McMurphy more subdued than before. He has learned that his release depends on Ratched's recommendation, not a fixed sentence, which means defying her openly co…

Part Two: Chapter 2

McMurphy remains cautious but cannot fully suppress his nature. A fight breaks out in the ward when two aides treat a patient roughly, and McMurphy steps in physically.

Part Two: Chapter 3

McMurphy starts to realize that the other patients are not actually being held against their will, that most of them are voluntary commitments who could leave if they chose.

Part Two: Chapter 4

The ward goes on a deep-sea fishing trip organized by McMurphy, who has snapped back into action after his brief retreat.

Part Three: Chapter 1

Part Three opens with the aftermath of the fishing trip and a shift in the ward's atmosphere. McMurphy's reputation among the patients is now solid, but Ratched has been watching…

Part Three: Chapter 2

McMurphy responds to the doubt Ratched has planted by doubling down on his persona. He gets into a physical confrontation when he smashes the glass of the nurses' station to retri…

Part Three: Chapter 3

Billy Bibbit's relationship with Candy becomes a focal point. McMurphy arranges for Candy to visit the ward at night for a secret party, and Billy, who has a severe stutter and cr…

Part Three: Chapter 4

The fishing trip continues, and the men begin to find their footing out on the water. McMurphy steps back from the role of constant guide and lets the patients handle things thems…

Part Three: Chapter 5

The trip ends and the men return to the ward. The mood on the way back is high, but the return to the institution starts to flatten it.

Part Four: Chapter 1

Part Four opens with the ward in a different state. The fishing trip's energy has mostly drained away, and Ratched has tightened her grip.

Part Four: Chapter 2

The morning after the party, Ratched finds Billy with Candy and immediately uses shame as a weapon. She threatens to tell his mother.

Part Four: Chapter 3

McMurphy is given a lobotomy and returned to the ward as a vegetable. Ratched presents him as proof that resistance leads to ruin.

Part Four: Chapter 4

The final chapter closes out the novel through Chief Bromden's eyes. McMurphy has been returned to the ward as a vegetable after a lobotomy, and the men who knew him are left to r…