One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Characters & Character Analysis

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Characters

Pete Bancini

A self-pitying patient who suffered brain damage at birth and says he's been dead for all of his fifty-five years. Constantly complaining of being tired, at times he is forcibly removed from group therapy session and put to bed. As the book unfolds, however, Bancini begins to escape the imprisonment of his fixation on the past and take a more active role in the ward.

Billy Bibbit

A weak mama's boy who is totally under Big Nurse's thumb. She has extra control over him because she has befriended his mother, who works for the hospital. Billy's most notable feature is his severe stutter, which he says he's had since he said his first word: "M-in-in-in-mamma." His mother still treats him as a child, even though he is over thirty years old, and he has problems dealing with women. He eventually begins to assert some limited independence, and loses his virginity with...
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