What happens to McMurphy after the lobotomy?

• A. He survives and returns to the ward
• B. He is given a lobotomy and becomes a vegetable
• C. He escapes the hospital
• D. He dies immediately

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is how the institution responds to a patient who resists its control. In the story, McMurphy's defiance leads the staff to choose a lobotomy as a way to subdue him. The result of that procedure is a dramatic loss of vitality and agency—the character is left in a passive, diminished state often described as becoming a “vegetable.” This outcome is used to critique how such medical practices can strip a person of personality and autonomy, revealing the brutal side of institutional power.

He doesn’t die right away, nor does he simply return to normal life or escape the hospital at once. The lobotomy leaves him functioning in a severely reduced way, and later events in the narrative reveal the deeper consequences of that loss.