Cheswick's drowning in the swimming pool

Cheswick's drowning in the swimming pool turns a brief reconciliation with Randle Patrick McMurphy into an abrupt death. Cheswick understands why McMurphy has held back from challenging the cigarette restrictions, yet voices his regret that nothing was done; moments later, he is trapped beneath the pool's drain grate and cannot be saved.

Background and Reconciliation

After returning from the Disturbed Ward, Cheswick tells McMurphy that he understands why McMurphy did not make a major protest over the cigarettes. He recognizes that McMurphy's commitment makes open defiance a risk, and admits that, had he considered this earlier, he would not have put McMurphy on the spot. The exchange eases the blame Cheswick had placed on him over the dispute. The reconciliation does not erase Cheswick's disappointment. As the patients are taken to the Hospital swimming pool, he adds that he still wishes something might have been done. He then dives into the water. The account gives no further explanation of his decision to dive or of what he expects to happen; its force comes from the speed with which his expressed regret is followed by the accident.

The Drowning

Cheswick gets his fingers caught in the grate covering the pool's drain at the bottom. The big lifeguard, McMurphy, and two of the black boys try to pry him loose, but cannot free him by hand. They obtain a screwdriver and undo the grate; when Cheswick is brought up, his chubby pink and blue fingers are still clutching it. By then he has drowned.

Consequences and Significance

The sequence shifts from understanding to irreversible loss: Cheswick has just told McMurphy that he understands his choice, while also naming what he wishes had happened, and then dies in the pool. The detail of his fingers remaining clenched around the grate fixes the accident in a physical image rather than offering a consoling resolution. The rescue effort is immediate, involving the lifeguard, McMurphy, and the aides, but their combined efforts cannot undo the delay required to get a screwdriver and remove the grate.