Examples Of Heroism In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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One of the most heavily battled disputes in literature is whether Randle Patrick McMurphy, protagonist of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey, is a valiant man who displays heroic traits, or if his personality predominantly reflects anti-heroism. Kesey shows indications of both aspects throughout the novel, although essentially denotes that R.P McMurphy is an anti-hero, with an amalgamation of key reasons. A traditional anti-hero, or anti-heroine, is somebody who lacks foreseeable heroic qualities like principle, bravery, and integrity, but much rather makes, and goes through with, decisions constructed on self-protection instead of doing it for the right reasons. They are noticeably contradictory to an archetypical hero, and a genuine …show more content…

This is degrading for the mental hospital, especially Nurse Ratched’s psychiatric ward, which he performs intentionally just to aggravate her. Eventually, his attitude transforms as the battle amongst himself and Nurse Ratched turn out to be their battle for the souls of the patients. Achilles of Homer’s The Iliad is an exceedingly justifiable and comparable character to that of R.P McMurphy, as they both portray the qualities of an anti-hero, chiefly acting the way they do for their own cause in the beginning of their tales. Achilles enters the scene just the way that McMurphy does, mind set on mending something that isn’t broken and disregarding the rules. Both of them want to demonstrate that they are the alpha males and they live by their own guidelines, with Achilles this is his battle between him Agamemnon for Chryseis, and with McMurphy it is the battle with Nurse Ratched for the lives of the inmates. Once both Achilles and McMurphy discover that they cannot escape from their current positions without backing off of the authority and leaving the rest of the minority to suffer, they stand down. Achilles eventually realises that the Trojan army do need his help and he dies nobly, fighting for his cause. McMurphy comes to the same realisation, that his people need him, and he also …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald, is another personality who can be undoubtedly likened to Randle Patrick McMurphy as an anti-hero. Both Gatsby and McMurphy sacrifice their dreams. Gatsby forgoes his reverie and self-made treasure; and McMurphy forsakes his sovereignty from the ward. The two of the characters observe the merciless truths of their tainted societies, and both gamble their lives so as to outcome optimistic, constructive change. Gatsby and McMurphy’s detriments function as the required catalysts for their conforming supporters to find the freedom that their associations had formerly curbed. Consecutively, the admirers grasp the potential to withstand the changed that their rescuers’ sacrifices