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The Tyranny Of Nurse Ratched By Randel Mcmurphy

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The concept of justice is dependent on a character’s view point on a situation. Randel McMurphy is the latest addition to the psychiatric ward, and is able to witness the extent in which the patients are being neglected with fresh eyes. In response to the injustices that McMurphy observes, he takes it upon himself to be the one to stand up to the authority of Nurse Ratched, as Kesey writes, ““Just what I said: any of you sharpies here willing to take my five bucks that says that I can get the best of that woman—before the week’s up—without her getting the best of me?”” (Pg. 66). While it is in McMurphy’s nature to gamble, he is also a man of justice. He has seen the effects of the tyranny of Nurse Ratched on the patients, and finds it necessary to see to what extent he can make a difference. …show more content…

This sense of justice causes McMurphy to put his own self-preservation at the bottom of his list of importance, as Kesey writes, “—light arcs across, stiffens him, bridges him up off the table till nothing is down but his wrists and ankles and out around that crimped black rubber hose a sound like hooeee! And he’s frosted over completely with sparks” (Pg. 245). McMurphy stood up for the wellbeing of George and his fellow patients, and ultimately paid the price of numerous electro-shock therapy sessions. McMurphy put his well-being behind that of those in the facility because he knew that without him, the patients would not have stood up for themselves. McMurphy’s influence through his search for justice prompted an overall positive change for the

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Heartless, cruel, and sadistic are all words people may use to characterize Nurse Ratched. She keeps dictatorial control over her patients, shatters patients' self worth, and is the symbol of evil and oppression in the novel. She treats patients with this authority so that they let her control them, and Kesey through the use of Ratched shows why it’s crucial to stand up and rebel against oppressive authority. Ratched would ruthlessly undermine her patients self worth to a degree where they would become compliant and submissive to her control. The best example of this is how she treats Billy Bibbit, a young, insecure, and vulnerable patient.

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Throughout the beginning of the novel it is evident that some characters over use their powers, one of these characters being Nurse Ratched. Nurse Ratched uses her position in the ward to take advantage of the patients and make sure that they adhere to everyone of her daunting commands. Nurse Ratched “tends to get real put out if something keeps her outfit from running like a smooth, accurate, precision-made machine” (Kesey 28) because she has been on the ward for so long that when something doesn 't go according to her plan, she starts to get mad and will often try to use her power to come down on the patient 's. Nurse Ratched is in control of the whole ward and when someone does something that isn 't in her manuscript she gets irritated. The ward will be run her way and only her way, “ under her rule the ward inside is almost completely adjusted to surroundings” (Kesey 28).

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1066 Words | 5 Pages

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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763 Words | 4 Pages

Logically, Nurse Ratched's regulatory ways promptly cause a battle between the two characters. Nurse Ratched moves in "precise, mechanical gestures" and she is stubborn about keeping a cordial order amongst the Acutes (4). Her mechanical ways and raise of group attitude contrast McMurphy's uniqueness, humor, and link to the Acutes. McMurphy takes it into his own hands to challenge against Nurse Ratched's system so she cannot emasculate him. He bets the men five dollars that he can break her down to where she has no more control in the combine.

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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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1011 Words | 5 Pages

This part is very significant because through the breaking of the window, McMurphy is trying to tell the other patients that even though Nurse Ratched has control and power over them that they can try and break that power. Basically what it is saying is yes Nurse Ratched does have power over them but if they know that some things can upset her then they can try and break her power which means her power would be overtaken by the patients. We also see that McMurphy does all these things to bother Ratched but this also exhausts himself too. His humanity is a good thing but it can make him very run down and become weak, letting Ratched get the power back. I think this is significant because it means just because someone has power over you doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion.

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Is precisely expressed through Nurse Ratched and McMurphy’s relationship and their effect on the patients in the ward. Nurse Ratched is the antagonist in the book, she is the authoritative figure to the men in the institution and she is determined to continue to abuse her power over the men and remain in control. She emasculates the men in different ways to rid any chance of rebellion, Harding, remarks, “we are victims of a matriarchy here” (Kesey, 16). A few ways she emasculates men are by using public humiliation and embarrassment against the patients to exposes their greatest insecurities, controlling the direction of the conversation and the questions asked throughout a therapy session, but by also manipulating the patients to turn on each other so they remain occupied rather than work together to rebel against her.

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615 Words | 3 Pages

The protagonist, Randle P McMurphy is a fiery, anti-authoritarian who was full of sarcasm and a mean left hook. Randle was physically described as red headed, with tattoos and physically fit. McMurphy was introduced into the story at admissions. He had been recently accused of statutory rape, although McMurphy claims that he the victim lied about her age and wanted him significantly. McMurphy’s strength exudes from him, possibly because he was a war hero shorty prior to his discharge from the Marine Corps due to insubordination.

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688 Words | 3 Pages

All of McMurphy violent behavior was for the men to better themselves. He prepared them for real world outside of the ward. He helped them not to get pushed around and to not be afraid to do what they want. Mcmurphy’s madness is made reasonable as it provided the patients with hope and helped them return to a sane lifestyle. By the end, McMurphy managed to release many of the patients to their normal senses, Even though it caused him to lose his freedom.

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1315 Words | 6 Pages

“We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don 't know.” -W. H. Auden Auden’s sentiment is one I’ve pondered on many occasions as a husband, parent, and teacher. If I came across this quote in my youth, it didn’t register and I know why: as a child growing to adolescence, my focus was on my own needs. In psyche theory, Abraham Maslow identified and defined this process in his “Hierarchy of Needs”. Children and adolescents are focused on the 4 tiers below the apex of his pyramid.

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1459 Words | 6 Pages

By weakening McMurphy’s power in the ward, she creates an environment where can continue to thrive in her power through the systems she has set in place. However, Nurse Ratched’s plan does not succeed and McMurphy is allowed to proceed with his fishing trip. He continues to undermine the nurse’s authority to the point where he physically assults her after she blames Billy’s death on him. His actions give Nurse Ratched an opportunity to give him the ultimate punishment, a

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1380 Words | 6 Pages

In the struggle between freedom and power, McMurphy’s sacrifice allows freedom to prevail. His leadership in a rising rebellion parallels many of the countercultures that arose during the 1960s. His rebellion fights against Nurse Ratched in the way that the countercultures fought against the government and society in the past to the present. The men in the asylum are unknowingly unhappy before the arrival of McMurphy. Through his antics, the men are saved from society in the form of Nurse Ratched’s regime.

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993 Words | 4 Pages

There is an obvious idea presented by Kesey that the Nurse is dominant over Billy, who has become very vulnerable. Nurse Ratched is shown as a character of strength by the way the writer has created her character. Nurse Ratched is also seen as a strong figure by the way the other characters talk about her, for example when Chief says “To beat her you don 't have to whip her two out of three or three out of five, but every time you meet. As soon as you let down your guard, as soon as you lose once, she 's won for good.” The writer has used this line to show us how both Chief and the other patient give her the strong and authoritative

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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

Another point to note was that McMurphy seems abnormal among the patients. Especially with his laugh, I kept thinking that he might be mentally ill and not fake it (Kesey). But if you just imagine his behavior outside of the asylum, then it seems normal. This phenomenon is well known in psychology. It says that person once convicted of mental illness have an uphill battle to prove that he is not.

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