Similarities Between One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest And Macbeth

In both One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and Macbeth by Shakespeare, the protagonists are anything but static. Both Randle McMurphy and Macbeth go through trials and tribulations that reveal what their true mettles are as characters. Even though they both go through their own hardships, they also have opposite (not exactly opposing) influences that help shape their decisions and allow them to grow as characters. In spite of their similar upbringing, such influences manage to lead both characters down totally diverging paths. Chief of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Lady Macbeth of Macbeth act as character foils to quicken their protagonist’s development whether for better (McMurphy) or for worse (Macbeth). Although both characters

McMurphy, who originally acted out just to get a rise for himself, has seen how badly Chief (and the rest of the Ward) needed change. Regardless of Chief’s idolization of him, McMurphy sees how even the smallest acts of disobedience can draw Chief out of the fog he surrounds himself with. McMurphy begins his change of direction when he tries to pick up the control panel, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to lift it. Unlike when Lady Macbeth tore Macbeth down to get him to do what she wanted, McMurphy failed to show the Ward that sometimes, even just trying means you’ve already won. McMurphy continues his ward ‘scuffles’ with Nurse Ratched by staging the World Series protest to further prove that no matter the outcome and no matter how insignificant something may seem, it’s important not to just give up. McMurphy then goes full ‘samaritan’ when he discovers that Chief can hear and speak after all. By finally understanding how smart Chief can actually be, McMurphy makes it his mission to make him ‘get big’ again with small steps of selflessness, like arranging the ward fishing trip. Even after McMurphy finds out about the good-behavior-release-policy, he insists on throwing a party for the ward to show them what life could be like if they just stopped being afraid. When the party ends in a suicide that Nurse Ratched blames on McMurphy, he again refuses to back down

Macbeth’s downward spiral is anything but noble. The same way McMurphy realized the power of his influence and good it could do, Macbeth realized the influence of his power, as in he gets his first taste of royal power and now he can’t let anything get in between him and his crown. Lady Macbeth may have planted the seed of initial want in him, but Macbeth took her reasoning as an excuse to do whatever it took to hold power. All it took was a few choice words from Lady Macbeth that called his manhood into question and he was bringing her back bloody knives hoping for redemption. Lady Macbeth may have pushed him to kill, but Macbeth went farther than just petty murder. Even after Lady Macbeth realizes that maybe water won’t clear them of this deed after all and is overrun with guilt that she tries to tell Macbeth “You must leave this” (Shakespeare 3.2.35.).While he had qualms about performing his first regicide, Macbeth didn’t hesitate to then try to take out Banquo and his son Fleànce as well. While Lady Macbeth becomes crippled by the anxiety of her guilt, Macbeth grows ‘stronger’. He assumes his role as the fearsome male presence in society once more and even goes as far as to slaughter Macduff’s entire family. But, as long as his crown and his dignity is safe that’s okay right? At first, Lady Macduff was the monster. The woman once made claims like “How tender 'tis to love the babe that