The argument between McMurphy and Harding became very intense. Harding is defending the wretch, the big nurse, Miss Ratched. Harding claims that Miss Ratched is a "veritable angel of mercy" and states that she is unselfish, kind, and generous. McMurphy explains to Harding that she is basically running his life. "What she is is a ball-cutter," McMurphy stated which means Ratched is taking over peoples minds and controlling what they do. Harding begins to see what McMurphy is getting at, and realizes what she really is, a controlling dictator.
Not only did McMurphy open Harding's eyes, he also opened the eyes of other patients who heard the conversation. I can sense a rebellion coming later on in the novel, and it won't be pretty for the ratchet Miss Ratched.
By: Kiley Ploehn
Does McMurphy really open Harding's eyes? From what Harding says, he already understood what was going on in the ward, as did all the other men. Maybe what Harding actually did was try to maintain status quo until finally breaking down and basically telling McMurphy "Okay, this is the way the world works - deal with it". A lot of their argument deals with McMurphy's challenging of this worldview, not just Harding defending Nurse Ratched to him.
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