One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is part of a select club of books that give both fantastic reads and excellent film adaptations. The film is enjoyable even though it has edited the book, both for brevity and artistic reasons. One such change from book to book involves the character of Dr. Spivey. When transformed from book to film, Dr. Spivey remains a minor character who only appears briefly in both, but plays a more crucial role in the film as the film focuses on McMurphy; here, Dr. Spivey's actions have a direct impact on McMurphy's development. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Kesey's book is told from the point of view of Bromden, a crazy Native American who pretends to be mute. Bromden's first-person narrative works well in the book as it provides a candid account of the events at the asylum. However, Bromden's account includes frequent hallucinations that make for interesting reading in the book, but would have been difficult to depict in the film. The written word is entirely appropriate as we enter Bromden's schizophrenic mind, but the medium of film cannot easily convey such inner thoughts, even if the audience were able to "hear" these thoughts. Perhaps this is why the film uses third-person perspective and Bromden is dropped as narrator. We know nothing of his inner thoughts and can only see what he and the other characters do. This transition from book to film was also necessary since you cannot have a mute character as narrator without having the advantage of seeing into the character's mind. Bromden had to abandon his role as narrator for the move to succeed. At the same time, the film promotes McMurphy as the protagonist. This is not surprising since the role of McMurphy went to Jack Nicholson, who was already a Hollywood star, with the potential to make this film a blockbuster. Forman, the director of the film, chose to focus on McMurphy's character and made him very appealing to the audience. While in the book the reader may not have liked some of McMurphy's actions (notably when he scams the parish out of money by having the chief lift the control console), viewers of the film fully supports McMurphy, encouraging him in his rebellion against Nurse Ratched and the authorities. With star power like that of Jack Nicholson, it's only natural that a director would want McMurphy to be the focus of the film and sideline Bromden for most of the film. The difference in McMurphy's role (between the book and the film) is so stark that it impacts the role of minor characters such as Dr. Spivey. In both the book and the film, Dr. Spivey is tasked with diagnosing whether McMurphy is truly insane or simply trying to get out of work. However, when performing this task, the doctor in the film is very different from the doctor in the book. The doctor is a somewhat weak character in the book, but strong in the film. Additionally, his role in the film (compared to the book) has a greater impact on McMurphy because McMurphy is the focus of the film. In the book, the doctor seems amused and delighted by McMurphy when he first meets him during the first interview. Bromden says: "He smiled a little as he flipped through the file, just as tickled as the rest of us by this new man's bold way of speaking, but, just like the rest of us,.