Chief Bromden is a half Indian narrator in Ken Kessey's 1959 novel,One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, which is set in a mental institute in Oregon (first published in 1962). Bromden has been in the asylum since the end of WWII and pretends to be a deaf-mute.
In the book Bromden recounts the story of the book's anti-hero, Randall Patrick McMurphy, who has been transfered from prison, after being convicted of battery, to the asylum. McMurphy rebels against the system and against one person in particular, Nurse Ratched. After a series of incidents and escapades which results in McMurphy assaulting Ratched after her bullying causes a patient to commit suicide, McMurphy is dragged off by orderlies. He then reappears as a vegetable, having been forced to undergo a lobotomy.
Bromden realises that if the other patients see McMurphy in this state that Ratched will have defeated him and succeeded in demoralizing the other patients who were only beginning to assert themselves as men because of McMurphy's influence.
Bromden takes the heavy decision to suffocate McMurphy with a pillow as he sleeps and thereby spare him the indignity of serving for the rest of his life as an example of what happens to those who buck the system.
Bromden then escapes the asylum by smashing a window and returns to his tribe's lands along the Columbia River
Chief Bromden has been in the ward for over ten years.
It happens the same night Bromden has the nightmare; McMurphy tells Bromden one of the aides is coming for him, and in response Bromden jumps in fright, implying that he really heard McMurphy and that he really isn't deaf.
The Combine threatens Chief Bromden to keep him in line and prevent him from rebelling against their oppressive system. They use intimidation and the fear of being sent to the Disturbed ward to control him. Additionally, they want to maintain their power and ensure that Chief Bromden does not disrupt their authority.
McMurphy helps Chief Bromden by inspiring him to rediscover his voice and stand up against the oppressive hospital staff. McMurphy's rebellious actions empower Chief Bromden to reclaim his sense of self and find the courage to assert his own identity. Through their friendship, Bromden gains confidence and begins to challenge the dehumanizing conditions of the mental institution.
Chief Bromden is afraid of the pool because he associates it with traumatic memories of seeing his Native American father drowned by the government in a pool. This experience left him with a deep fear and sense of powerlessness.
The story in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is told from the perspective of Chief Bromden, a patient at the mental hospital where the novel is set. Chief Bromden provides a unique and insightful point of view on the events and characters in the story.
As in the nursery rhyme: One flew east and one flew west and one flew over the cuckoo's nest. The cuckoo's nest can mean a lunatic asylum in the case of this book/film, where the inmates are cuckoo. The story relates how the new arrival, McMurphy, is appalled to see the way the inmates are kept down by Nurse Rachet and is determined to do something about it. So he flies east and Nurse Rachet flies west. And boom boom the feathers fly. The chief (Bromden) is released from his chemical chains with disastrous results. Bromden narrates the events as he saw them as a silent witness, how McMurphy and the Nurse fought for control and what happened afterwards. The chief is the one who flies over the nest.
"Though Ratched tries to give McMurphy a fate worse than death by having him lobotomized, Bromden dignifies McMurphy by killing him, assuring that McMurphy will always be a symbol of resistance instead of a lingering cautionary tale for future patients on Ratched's ward." -Sparknotes
Given that the novel takes place in the late 1950s and the Chief fought during WW2 and after attending college, he is probably in his late 30s or early 40s.
Nothing ever happened to the Chief Elder. She just wasn't really mentioned or seen after the ceromony.
Chief Financial Officers Act happened in 1990.
Commander in Chief - video game - happened in 2008.