How is McMurphy portrayed in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?

When we first meet McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the narrator, Chief Bromden, tells us that he is "no ordinary Admission" (Kesey 10). McMurphy, who counters figures of authority with brashness and swagger, is not the type of man who would "slide scared along the wall" or respond to directions with "a weak little yes" (Kesey 10-11). Rather, we find that he is a strong, capable individual with a gambling habit and a tendency to break the law (Kesey 11). Bromden describes McMurphy's arrival at the institution by noting the many ways that he is dissimilar to both the patients and staff, and he gives a description of McMurphy that signals a sort of awe. Consider, for example, the way in which Bromden characterizes McMurphy in the beginning of the novel:

The way he talks, his wink, his loud talk, his swagger all remind me of a car salesman or a stock auctioneer—or one of those pitchmen you see on a sideshow stage, out in front of his flapping banners, standing there in a striped shirt with yellow buttons, drawing the faces off the sawdust like a magnet (Kesey 12). 

In this excerpt, we see that McMurphy is a rather playful individual, as signaled by his tendency to wink at other characters, and his attitude has an air of performance. He draws attention wherever he goes, and he interrupts routines. His persona, as Bromden points out, is much like "a magnet" (Kesey 12). As such, we can safely assume that McMurphy has the ability to attract attention and to influence others. The description Bromden provides, notably, does not portray McMurphy as a trustworthy figure, but it does point to McMurphy as a figure of disruption and potential power.

Additionally, we see that McMurphy is an observant character within the novel, and a character for whom strength and masculinity play an important role. After the group meeting on the ward, McMurphy suggests that the practice of dissecting each patients' problems and tendencies (a practice guided by Nurse Ratched) is ultimately damaging and emasculating; moreover, he argues that Nurse Ratched intends for group therapy sessions to make the male patients feel weak. Harding, another patient on the ward, responds to McMurphy's observations:

“You are right,” Harding says, “about all of it.” He looks up at the other patients who are watching him. “No one’s ever dared come out and say it before, but there’s not a man among us that doesn’t think it, that doesn’t feel just as you do about her and the whole business—feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul” (Kesey 37). 

In Harding's response, we see that McMurphy has a bold, confrontational style--one which, importantly, the other patients seem to lack. Furthermore, we find in the exchange that McMurphy appears to have an inner, masculine strength that the other patients on the ward do not possess (and that they cannot possess, McMurphy's stance suggests, due to group therapy sessions which promote turning on one another and tearing one another down). In the passage, McMurphy is juxtaposed against Nurse Ratched, the head nurse on the ward, and we might see this as an early example of McMurphy's masculine, anti-authoritarian energy conflicting with Nurse Ratched's ordered, feminine energy.

When we examine McMurphy's character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it is wise to keep in mind that we see him through Bromden's eyes, and as a narrator, Bromden has the ability to shape our understanding and interpretation of McMurphy.

Source: Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York: Signet Books, 1962.