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

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Randall McMurphy, the protagonist of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has an unlikely destination at a mental hospital in Oregon. There, he fights against the system that has been imposed on his recently made friends in the hospital, such as Billy Bibbit and Chief Bromden, who he helps overcome the unfair system imposed on them. With his imminent battle for power against the institution, McMurphy is an archetypal Christ-like hero, although some of his actions aren’t Christ-like. The duel between him and Nurse Ratched ends in the ultimate de-throning of Ratched and McMurphy achieving what he wants to do-- even if he wasn’t there to witness it. The willingness of McMurphy to sacrifice his own strength for his peers demonstrates his caring capabilities. McMurphy’s struggle for his peers’ individuality and sexuality regardless of Nurse Ratched’s oppressive force, which symbolizes modern society, determines his altruistic …show more content…

The determination he had for his “fellas” to be freed of Ratched’s dictatorship channeled his inner battle with a female “Pontius Pilate”. His crucifixion was the lobotomy at the end. Other symbols include taking the men fishing (“twelve of us patients headed towards the ocean," (203), since he wants to strengthen their confidence in him and being with Candy constantly throughout the story. Being with a prostitute may seem like it’s not Christ-like, but Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ followers, was a prostitute as well, and witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection. In conclusion, McMurphy also died with a “crown of thorns”, or the lobotomy, and left behind change that he desired, and had an impact on many that he didn’t live to see. In Page 266, Ratched even accuses him of “trying to be God”. Billy even “betrays” him when he blames McMurphy for throwing a party, channeling Judas. Also, Jesus came down from heaven, willing to risk it all, like McMurphy did by being in the mental

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629 Words | 3 Pages

In Ken Kensey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it conveys messages all throughout the novel. The messages conveyed towards the reader regards oppression, role models, and living a self-determined life. Although McMurphy is cast as a savior of sorts, ultimately Bromden saves himself. McMurphy’s role and Bromden’s thoughts and actions throughout the novel, especially at the end.

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163 Words | 1 Pages

During McMurphy’s stay at the ward, he has created a name and reputation for himself as the tough guy. Despite the fact that the nurses perceived simply as a troublemaker and a disturbance to their daily routine, the other patients look up to him as their lifesaver. It is evident that this is the case when they begin to adopt his habits during the road trip. Kesey writes that they act “like he did” to articulate the way that others perceive him as superior and want to be like him.

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1235 Words | 5 Pages

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest follows the power struggle between Nurse Ratched, a head nurse in a psychiatric ward, and Randle Patrick McMurphy, a felon pretending insanity to escape prison. Ironically, though Nurse Ratched holds position as caretaker, she actually does the complete opposite and inflicts pain on the patient's. When McMurphy then goes on to realizes that he is at Nurse Ratched’s mercy. He begins to submit to her because he wants to leave. However, when he finds out that she is the one who causes Billy Bibbit to commit suicide.

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

In response, McMurphy strangles her, however, she sends him away and he received a lobotomy. While McMurphy is on a different ward, the men stand up for themselves and some even find the courage to sign out of the hospital. McMurphy’s lobotomy is equivalent to Jesus’s crucifixion because afterwards McMurphy is presented as a martyr. This shows that McMurphy choose to rebel, which proves that he chose to sacrifice

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529 Words | 3 Pages

In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the main character, Randle Patrick McMurphy, is a perfect example of a tragic hero. Throughout the novel McMurphy sets himself up to be the tragic hero by resenting Nurse Ratched’s power and defending the other patients. He can be classified as a contemporary tragic hero, but he also includes elements of Aristotle’s tragic hero. McMurphy’s rebellious nature and ultimate demise are what truly makes him as a tragic hero.

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1026 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, life described as either pain or laughter. McMurphy teaches that life's sorrows are redeemed through laughter, which is depicted as the ultimate rebellion. Applying archetypal theory to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest portrays McMurphy as the saviour from the dictatorial force of authority and society by sacrificing his welfare to free the controlled minds of the patients. McMurphy’s journey of redeeming freedom by sacrificing himself echoes Christ’s sacrifice.

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1389 Words | 6 Pages

Moral Lense Literary Analysis of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The 1950s, the context of which One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a novel by Ken Kesey, was written, was called the Era of Conformity. During this time, the American social atmosphere was quiet conformed, in that everyone was expected to follow the same, fixed format of behavior in society, and the ones who stand out of being not the same would likely be “beaten down” by the social norms. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey argues that it is immoral for society to simply push its beliefs onto the people who are deemed different, as it is unfair and could lead to destructive results. First of all, it is unjust for people who are deemed unalike from others in society to be forced into the preset way of conduct because human tend to have dissimilar nature.

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1144 Words | 5 Pages

Weather in literature is often used to symbolize the mood or mental state in which a character experiences. For example, rain is commonly associated with sadness. As it is commonly identified, fog is a cloudy element of weather that affects one’s ability to see clearly, however, it is also used in literature to represent a character’s lack of clarity. Throughout One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the motif of fog is used to represent the mental instability and confusion Bromden experiences under Nurse Ratched’s ward. As the story progresses and Bromden gains confidence, the fog diminishes and he is able to overcome the Big Nurse.

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1669 Words | 7 Pages

In the novel, McMurphy attacks the nurse brutally and attempts to kill her, “doctors and supervisors and nurses prying those heavy red fingers out of the white flesh of her throat as if they were her neck bones, jerking him backward” (Kesey 319). Also, the narrator shows mercy towards McMurphy by smothering him in his sleep, “and scissor the kicking legs with mine while I mashed the pillow into the face. I lay there on top of the body for what seemed days. Until the thrashing stopped” (323).

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1619 Words | 7 Pages

The nature of man, beyond the black-and-white differences, are clearly portrayed between the characters in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as Ken Kesey continuously alludes to the bible. McMurphy is portrayed as a Christ-like figure throughout the novel. The ward symbolizes the broken world filled with sin and death. In the beginning, when McMurphy enters the ward, he is baptized with a shower. “16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.

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901 Words | 4 Pages

When she walked out into the real world she had no control over men, so this was her opportunity. McMurphy was not going to let this happen, so he fought back against it. McMurphy is slowly bringing down the reign of Nurse Ratched because he understands that she is similar to a totalitarian leader, and she had an enormous amount of power in her ward. Because McMurphy is a hard headed man, he cannot live with being controlled by anyone, which drives his actions of rallying the men against the Nurse. This is also seen when McMurphy breaks the glass window that protected Nurse Ratched from the patients on the ward.

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755 Words | 4 Pages

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, considers the qualities in which society determines sanity. The label of insanity is given when someone is different from the perceived norm. Conversely, a person is perceived as sane when their behavior is consistent with the beliefs of the majority. Although the characters of this novel are patients of a mental institution, they all show qualities of sanity. The book is narrated by Chief Brodmen, an observant chronic psychiatric patient, who many believe to be deaf and dumb.

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1050 Words | 5 Pages

In addition, Ken Kesey uses the electroshock therapy table to serve as an example of the consequences that would occur if an individual were to rebel against the power of Nurse Ratched. It is associated with crucifixions similar to that of Jesus Christ in the Roman time period with “clasps on his wrists, ankles, clamping him into the shadow [and a] crown of silver thorns over the graphite at his temples” (283). Kesey references the crucifixion of Christ to characterize McMurphy as a Christ figure. He is being sacrificed in exchange for the patient’s freedom. In the hospital, Ellis, an acute, is an example of the consequences of not abiding by the hospital’s regulations that serve as a reminder for the rest of the ward members to conform to the rules inflicted by Ratched.

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1288 Words | 6 Pages

His rebellious and free mind makes the patients open their eyes and see how the have been suppressed. His appearance is a breath of fresh air and a look into the outside world for the patients. This clearly weakens Nurse Ratched’s powers, and she sees him as a large threat. One way or another, McMurphy tends to instigate changes of scenery. He manages to move everyone away from her music and watchful eye into the old tube room.

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1010 Words | 5 Pages

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest The film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, prompts very important aspect of the human condition. In the movie, the protagonist, Mac McMurphy, is deemed dangerous, so the mental institute tries to suppress him (Kesey). The film highlights various aspects of human conditions like psychology, sociology and philosophy. The mental institute tries to suppress the mentally challenged people rather than to try to communicate with them.

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