What does it mean to comment on a character's masculinity in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest?My english teacher recently assigned my class an essay...

This is a fairly challenging element.  Part of the reason
why it is challenging is because you have many ideas floating around that are
interestingly compelling in thought, but have difficulty being executed on their own. 
In the final analysis, the decision is going to have to be yours with some input from
your instructor as to how to progress with the paper.  Without actually seeing the
assignment, I think that part of what has to be done with it is to investigate how the
incident with the White men at the dam impacts the notion of masculinity that Chief
possesses.  Part of what might be effective is for you to comment on how this particular
scene fits into the masculine notion of construction of one's identity in the novel. 
Chief's primary purpose is to indicate that part of what defines one state of being in
the novel is being able to exercise autonomy in the construction of self.  Chief is
unable or unwilling to do this until he befriends McMurphy, and through this, he is able
to move through "the fog" that is both in the hospital.  Perhaps, linking the incident
at the dam with both "the fog" as well as his being able to clear it would help to
explore the notion of masculinity that is presented throughout the
novel.