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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Christ Like Figure Analysis

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Christ has always been a symbol of caring, hope and freedom to many people and is often embedded into personalities and traits of characters of popular literature. These “Christ like figures” stand by the same principles as Christ by helping and caring for the other characters. In the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey, McMurphy emerges as a Christ like figure as he is seen as a savior in the eyes of the patients, he sacrifices himself to save the men on the ward and he teaches his friends the way to a better life. Upon McMurphy’s arrival on the ward, he is quickly seen as a leader to the patients and to many of them is a symbol of hope. However, as the story moves on, the patients begin to see McMurphy more as their
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Jesus and Cuckoo's Nest Parallels Jesus Christ led his apostles against a very oppressive government. In the movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, R.P. McMurphy leads an oppressed group of mental patients against an extremely oppressive medical staff. There are many parallels between R.P. and Jesus Christ. The main similarity is that, even in the face of adversity, both continued to fight for what was right. Additionally, both did not have a selfish personality.

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It’s common for some works of literature to improve upon their writing by sustained allusions to myths, the bible, or other literature references. In “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Ken Kesey makes use of frequent allusions from the bible. Because of this, McMurphy, the main character, is painted as a Christ-like figure.

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In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the prolific Christian imagery serves not only to align the protagonist, Randle McMurphy, with Jesus Christ, but to provide an overarching allegory: only God can rescue mankind from the inexorable, bleak future it will spawn. The novel suggests that the bleak, oppressive future is caused by the presence of societal constraints, since government is inherently flawed as are the humans that created and maintain it. The depraved future is fully realized through the careful, populist affectations of the Combine which bely its emasculating ways. Functioning as a modern-day version of Christ, McMurphy, persists in his contrarian, self-immolating efforts to deliver his peers--his disciples--from the evils

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To begin, similar to how Aquinas asserts that spiritual truths in the Scriptures are related through the use of figurative language, Kesey’s work utilizes figurative language to enrich and more effectively express its thematic content. For instance, consider when McMurphy, who provides much wisdom to both his fellow patients and the reader, dramatically imparts to the men the virtues of selflessness and sacrifice. Late in the novel, McMurphy is provided with a difficult ultimatum—he may apologize to Nurse Ratched, but lose the esteem of the men and, consequently, all of the progress he has made in building up their self-esteem, or he may suffer electroconvulsive therapy until he is willing to come to heel. McMurphy, of course, chooses martyrdom for the sake of the men. The importance of selflessness and sacrifice is effectively communicated to the reader by McMurphy’s decision, but this lesson gains more import as a result of McMurphy being developed as a symbol for Christ.

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462 Words | 2 Pages

Through Ken Kesey’s use of Christian imagery throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but especially in this final section, Kesey allows McMurphy’s altruistic ways to shine through, giving the men of the ward a sense of individuality. Foremost, Kesey utilize a biblical reference when Bromden describes McMurphy as “a giant come out of the sky to save us from the Combine” (234). Bromden’s description is a direct reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the book of Mark, it is described that “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26). In this way, Kesey compares McMurphy to Christ’s second coming.

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Although McMurphy may seem driven at times by his greed for money through his constant gambling, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, the author’s biblical allusions to the Easter story demonstrate the true altruistic nature of McMurphy. Specifically, the ongoing allusion begins when McMurphy is taken in to have electroshock therapy and he “climbs on the table without any help and spreads his arms out” (237). Here, Kesey’s biblical allusion to the crucifixion of Jesus reveals McMurphy’s selflessness. In the Easter story, Jesus willingly gave his life and was tortured and mocked all to free his people from their sins. McMurphy serves as a Jesus figure who is willing to put himself through the pain and suffering of electroshock therapy in order to save the other

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281 Words | 2 Pages

A role model lives on through those whom he or she inspires. In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, McMurphy recognizes his powerlessness and decides to build Chief’s physical and emotional strength so he can be the new symbol of hope for the ward. McMurphy instills his own character traits of courage, tenacity, and hopefulness in Chief to carry on his legacy after his treatment drains him of those qualities.

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How strong their beliefs are can be observed by how large their sacrifices are for their values. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, is a fictional novel about a man called Randle McMurphy who transfers from a prison work farm to an asylum after being thought of having psychopathic tendencies, and a tall Native American nicknamed, “Chief Bromden,” who becomes McMurphy’s friend in the ward. In the end of the novel, Chief Bromden kills Randel McMurphy after he is given a lobotomy. Chief Bromden’s sacrifice of Randel McMurphy’s life highlights his values in freedom and personal strength, as well as providing an image of an oppressive society that

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A Christ figure is an element of literature that draws an allusion between a character and Jesus. A Christ figure is often used in to demonstrate how one should act in society. The idea of a Christ figure is presented in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey through the character Randal McMurphy. The idea proven in this novel is that sometimes one must sacrifice himself for the greater good. In the beginning of the novel, like Christ, McMurphy came from wilderness and he begins to collect followers by rebelling against Ratched.

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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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778 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Ken Kesey’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the balance of power is challenged in the psychiatric ward. Out of the several leaders that appear in the novel, Nurse Ratched and McMurphy are the most prominent. During Nurse Ratched and McMurphy struggle for power, they share many of the same qualities. It is argued that: “McMurphy and Ratched are alike in intelligence, military service, distinctive (if opposite) clothing, and conventionally masculine qualities” (Evans). These small similarities; however, do not distract the characters from fighting for their individual beliefs.

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1047 Words | 5 Pages

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey reveals the insensitive treatment and dehumanization of the mentally ill. The origin of the book is a story of an individual in a mental hospital. Ken Kesey’s character observes the daily life in a psych ward and reveals

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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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993 Words | 4 Pages

The author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey, presents the ideas about venerability and strength by using his characters and the way they interact with each other to establish whether they are a submissive or a dominant, tamed or leading, venerable or strong. Kesey uses strong personalities to show the drastic difference between someone who is vulnerable and someone who is strong. Nurse Ratchet is a perfect example of how Kasey presents the idea of strength over the venerability of others (the patients). Keys also exhibited vulnerability throughout characters such as Chief Bromden and his extensive habit of hiding himself in all means possible from Nurse Ratchet. Another idea presented by Kesey is a character’s false thought on what

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673 Words | 3 Pages

Ken Kesey uses his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, to describe the lives of patients in a mental institution, and their struggle to overcome the oppressive authority under which they are living. Told from the point of view of a supposedly mute schizophrenic, the novel also shines a light on the many disorders present in the patients, as well as how their illnesses affect their lives during a time when little known about these disorders, and when patients living with these illnesses were seen as an extreme threat. Chief Bromden, the narrator of the novel, has many mental illnesses, but he learns to accept himself and embrace his differences. Through the heroism introduced through Randle McMurphy, Chief becomes confident in himself, and is ultimately able to escape from the toxic environment Nurse Ratched has created on the ward. Chief has many disorders including schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and, in addition to these illnesses, he pretends to be deaf and dumb.

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