McMurphy continues to bedraggle Ratched and her staff, while entertaining the patients with stories of his experiences. Chief observes McMurphy as an “enormous thing,” and feels small by comparison, even though Chief is 6’7” tall. He says that McMurphy likes to paint pictures and writes with a perfect hand. He recognizes McMurphy as a man in control of his own life.
During the night, Chief awakens and notices that all the fog is cleared. He unties himself and looks out the window, where he observes a dog sniffing gopher holes by the light of the moon. The mongrel rolls playfully in the grass, shaking moisture off it “like silver scales.”
A flock of geese flies in front of the moon, changing their V formation temporarily into “a black cross opening and closing.” The dog follows the trail of the geese toward a road and an oncoming car. Chief watches as the dog and the car make “for the same spot of pavement,” but doesn’t find out what happens because a nurse and an aide put him back to bed.
