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

In the novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Kesey writes from the perspective of a patient Chief Bromden, a schizophrenic patient who is pretending to be deaf and "dumb" on a psychiatric ward in Oregon in the 1950s. The novel encapsulates the story of a new patient, R.P. McMurphy, who is introduced to the ward where patients experience much abuse until McMurphy is admitted and changes everything with his charismatic personality. McMurphy is in a constant struggle to feed confidence to the men on the ward in an effort to help them stand up for themselves. However he is very selfish and uses his charisma for personal gain as well as acts of justice. Using his charm, Murphy takes advantage not only of the evil bane of the ward Nurse Rachted,

One example of this is when he tries to throw a party for the patients, but Nurse Ratched shuts it down and punishes him by having him undergo electroshock therapy: “All he has to do is admit he was wrong, to indicate, demonstrate rational contact, and the treatment would be canceled this time”.(Kesey, 280-281) This is a turning point in the novel, as McMurphy realizes that he is not invincible and that the system has the power to control him. Another example is when McMurphy tries to lift the control panel in the Nurse's Station, hoping to escape with the other patients. However, he underestimates the strength of the orderlies and is caught, leading to his lobotomy and eventual death. “Don’t holler, Chief …” Air raid! “Take ’er easy. I’ll go first. My skull’s too thick for them to hurt me. And if they can’t hurt me they can’t hurt you.” (Kesey, 282) In both cases, McMurphy's deception and disregard for the rules ultimately lead to his downfall, showing that even the most charismatic and rebellious individuals are not immune to the oppressive forces of

McMurphy initially sees Nurse Ratched as an obstacle to his freedom and the freedom of the other patients. However, he quickly realizes that he can use her to his advantage. He begins to flirt with her and tries to seduce her, hoping to undermine her authority and gain power over the other patients. He also tries to provoke her into making mistakes, which he can then use to his advantage. For example, he encourages the other patients to rebel against her, knowing that she will respond with harsh punishments. “Man, you’re talkin’ like a fool. You mean to tell me that you’re gonna sit back and let some old blue-haired woman talk you into being a rabbit?”(Kesey,64-65) In this way, McMurphy uses Nurse Ratched as a tool to achieve his own goals, even though he initially saw her as his