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

With McMurphy’s continuous outburst or rebellion, Nurse Ratched sentenced him to receive Electroshock Therapy, the second worse punishment patients would receive for misbehaviour. Determined to put on a strong exterior “he insisted it wasn’t hurting him. He wouldn’t even take his capsules. But every time that loudspeaker called him to forgo breakfast and prepare to walk to Building One, the muscles in his jaw went taunt and his whole face drained of colour, looking thin and scared-” (Kesey 241). Enduring the excruciating experience of Electroshock therapy only heightened the image the other men upheld for McMurphy and contributed to his heroism. Through the fight with the black boys and his fight to stay strong through Electroshock Therapy, McMurphy’s determination was evident to the other patients of the ward.

Kesey has also given this novel great Symbolic value. As an opposer to the McCarthy scheme, he has used the mental hospital as a scale model of how society breaks free of society's conformity. McMurphy acts as the ‘liberator', or rebel of the ward's excessively strict conformity. He saves the patients from "the

Randle McMurphy, the protagonist, is introduced to break down the nurse’s oppressive ways. McMurphy, a con man who was sentenced to a work farm, was diagnosed as a psychopath and sent to the mental hospital, which he much preferred. Serving as a savior figure to the patients of the ward who have already been battered by the Big Nurse, McMurphy causes interference to the nurse’s control. He supports the men as they are ridiculed in meetings and supports their attempts to change policy. Although he does help other patients, he first looks out for himself. He cons the patients out of their money and then follows the nurse’s rules for awhile because of the threat of being kept on the

McMurphy can also be considered a tragic hero. Although he could almost always take control of a situation and never let the combine get the best of him, he could not always control his temper. It was the one think that could get him in trouble because Nurse Ratched could not punish him with electric shock therapy unless he had an outburst. The best thing that McMurphy could have had in the hospital was patience and a calm temper because the only weapon Nurse Ratched had was to try to frustrate him. Since she has ultimate power on the ward, she could do anything she wants and make any rules. For instance, when the patients wanted to watch the world series and they clearly had a majority, she didn’t let them because she wanted them to know that she has authority

McMurphy undermines Big Nurse's power over the other male patients by characterizing her as a "bitch" a "buzzard" and a "ball-cutter" (pages 51-52). He wins some major battles with her by asserting the right for the men to "watch" the ball game on TV (pages 111-114) and by organizing the deep sea fishing trip (Part3)

     Mcmurphy was the one who started making people laughing in the ward. When he first came into the ward he was cracking jokes and shaking everybody’s hand. (p.16)

McMurphy arrives to the hospital and immediately changes the vibe of the hospital. He is the first man to have the courage to stand up to the nurse and the first man to even notice the Nurse’s subtle but dangerous tactics. Harding has just been ripped to shreds by his peers in the meeting after the nurse started the “pecking party”. McMurphy is trying to get harding to see the nurse’s twisted ways by saying, “I’m just talking about that crummy meeting and what that nurse and those other bastards did to you. Did in spades”(58). McMurphy arrives on the ward and it does not take long for him to start preaching the message against the nurse’s evil practices. McMurphy is trying to help lead Harding into the light and show him the truth about what the nurse did to him in that meeting by starting a pecking party to attack him and lower his self-esteem. Jesus Christ once said, “I am the way, the truth, the light.” Jesus came to this earth to deliver a message of goodness and steer people clear of the evil happenings of the time. McMurphy has the same goal for his time at the ward, to help his fellow inmates resist the evil of the nurse and stand up for their well being. Along the journey of Christ’s time on this earth, each person he touched was changed and began to see the truth; similarly, McMurphy creates bonds and friendships that help each character grow into being

After leaving the hellish work farm where he serving his prison sentence, McMurphy arrives at the ward, which is exponentially more dull and drab in comparison. The impact of his arrival at the ward is seen instantly. The enthusiasm and energy he brings to the ward is so uncharacteristic, that even some of the Chronics, who are longstanding patients that have become “machines with flaws inside that can’t be repaired,” show some life (Kesey 10). In his typical westernized fashion, McMurphy arrives at the hospital with the aura of “a frontier

Thus, Kesey’s imagery, McMurphy’s charisma, and his attitude to help the patients at all costs strengthen McMurphy’s role as a savior. Just as Christ before him, he sacrifices himself for the betterment of mankind. The story of McMurphy shows how much of an impact an

Ken Kesey utilizes Jesus Christ as a constant symbol throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The protagonist of the story acts as a model and leader for other characters in the book, just as Christ was for his disciples. It is appropriate that such a leader would be closely associated with a powerful, and worshiped figure. Kesey's use of Christ associates the ideas or theories in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with the bible. McMurphy, however, may seem an unlikely Christ-figure due to his violent, sexual and seemingly immoral behavior. His behavior is merely an embodiment of the reforming movements that both Jesus and McMurphy share. Kesey's

Mcmurphy was the one who started making people laughing in the ward. When he first came into the ward he was cracking jokes and shaking everybody's hand. (p.16)

McMurphy learns that involuntarily committed patients cannot leave the hospital without staff approval. Therefore, he cannot leave at the end of his six months sentence, but when Nurse Ratched says he can and he begins to submit to her authority. However, by this time, he had become the leader for the other patients. Their sanity, their claim to manhood lies in the balance. Cheswick, dismayed by McMurphy’s surrender, commits suicide.

McMurphy, a gambler who is mistakenly diagnosed as a psychotic is brought into the Combine is considered a leader through the eyes of the patients by teaching them how to stand up for themselves against Nurse Ratched’s dictator like authority. McMurphy demonstrates his leadership when he first walks into the ward and asks all of the patients, “Who’s the bull goose loony here?... I’m thinking about taking over this whole show myself…so you better take me to your leader and we’ll get it straightened out who’s gonna be boss around here” (Kesey 22-23). It is easy to see that McMurphy is trying to be the leader of the ward and

When McMurphy finds out that he is one of two patients that are involuntarily committed to the hospital, it makes him realize that he alone is fighting for his freedom, and the others have been repressed by Ratched to the point of being afraid to rebel against her or simply leave. McMurphy fights until the end to free these men of their emasculation even if it

Time passes and McMurphy continues to rebel. As he does so, many of the other patients follow. They break the Nurse’s Station window a couple times, start a basketball team,and even go on a fishing trip. When they return from the trip, the staff says they need to be cleaned so they are sent for “special showers.” A fight breaks out and McMurphy and Chief are sent to the Disturbed ward. Up in the Disturbed ward, McMurphy is given many “treatments” of electroshock therapy. The only way to stop the therapy is to admit that he was wrong. He refuses to admit this and continues to get the electroshock. When Chief says he should just play along, McMurphy says, “‘When I get out of here the first woman that takes on ol’ Red McMurphy the ten-thousand-watt psychopath, she’s gonna light up like a pinball machine and pay off in silver dollars! No, I ain’t scared of their little battery-charger’” (Kesey, 250). Though he is going through torture, McMurphy continues to resist Nurse Ratched’s methods of conforming him. He is persistent in not giving in to the society. McMurphy continues to fight, even when everyone knows it’s a losing battle.