The Good and the Flawed
According to Aristotle, “a perfect tragedy should be […] that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or some depravity, but by some error or frailty” (Butcher 45). The novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, follows ‘Chief’ Bromden, the narrator, as he copes with life in a mental asylum in the 1950’s after the arrival of McMurphy, a stubborn and hot-headed new patient. Aristotle first defined the perfect protagonist of a tragedy in his book Poetics, published around 300 BC. His ideas of what characteristics constitute a tragic hero continue to be used to this day in analyzing the role individuals play in literature. Because McMurphy is fundamentally good yet also flawed, and because with his demise comes a significant message, he can be considered a tragic hero.
Despite McMurphy’s uncaring attitude and criminal past his actions throughout the book show that he is a good person deep down. For example, when George, a fellow patient, is being harassed by an aid McMurphy, “took a deep breath and stepped across to the [aid], shoving him away from George” (230). Ultimately this leads to McMurphy being sent to the disturbed ward where he undergoes electroshock therapy. This self-sacrificing action shows that he is a kindhearted person and values the wellbeing of those around him. In another instance McMurphy witnesses an aid gleefully steal all of Bromden’s old cherished gum. Instead of
Hospitals are meant to help some people heal physically and others mentally. In the novel One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey published in 1962, readers are introduced to a mental hospital that has goals that do not align with helping people. Within the hospital, characters with varied personalities and opinions are intermixed with three main characters playing specific roles with supporting characters close by. With the characters’ motivations, themes develop such as the emasculation of the men in the hospital by an oppressive nurse. Symbols, such as laughter and the “combine”, are also pertinent to themes as the readers watch the men transitioning from being oppressed to being able to stand up for themselves causing change in hospital policy.
McMurphy enters the novel in the same fashion a cowboy would enter a saloon in the wild west. Boastful, loud and rough in every way. Every patient is in awe of him, everyone immediately began to “ease up close to see what new sort this fellow is” (Kesey). In the eyes of Bromden, he’s labeled an idiot but also a saint for trying to alleviate what's all the bad things happening in the ward. McMurphy humanizes the patients, showing them that yes, they are in fact crazy, but “‘not any crazier than the average asshole on the street’” (Kesey). In contrast, the film paints McMurphy as an impulsive criminal who does what he pleases for personal gain. By
Throughout the novel, he is also shown to be caring for the other patients in the ward. He wishes them to stop being fearful, wanting them to take a stance for themselves and rebel against the ones oppressing them. This attitude dedicated to helping his fellow inmates is shown as early as the beginning, where McMurphy does his best to try and rile a laugh from the other patients who have had the laughs chased out of them years ago. One of the older patients, Harding, tries to explain how they are all rabbits in this world, how they must submit to the wolves for they have no power to stand up against them. However, McMurphy violently rejects this idea, telling him, “You’re no damned rabbit!” (58). McMurphy constantly tries to convince the other patients to stand up for themselves. This becomes most prominent near the end of the novel. After the suicide of a fellow inmate, McMurphy acts and attempts to strangle the nurse, knowing that by doing so will result in repercussions for him. As Bromden watches, he thinks, “We couldn’t stop him because we were the ones making him do it...it was our need that was making him push himself slowly up from sitting...it was us that had been making him go on for weeks” (274-275). Bromden realizes that the way McMurphy was acting was primarily for their sake, for the sake of all the other inmates who looked towards McMurphy as a sign of
His brazen and prideful demeanor challenges Ratched's authority from the start, sparking confusion and change among the patients. McMurphy's power lies in his unique ability to unite the patients and push them to defy Ratched's
“A success, they say, but I say he’s just another robot for the Combine and might be better off as a failure…”(17).
The producers of the film, Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz created the 1975 film and made some alterations
I understand the boss being worried about how a trail may affect the company’s image in the market. However, this problem should be handled in the manner the company’s code of conduct rules states. It sounds like the company has done a complete investigation in order to come up with these totals. I think the company should turn this over to the DA. Both parties knew what they was doing is a crime and should be handle accountable for their action. If they have sufficient evidence they can tie the kickback fraud to the purchasing agent I do not believe there will be a trial. He or she wills more than likely plea guilty to the charges. The con in this situation is it may bring some attention to the company. The pro is it should not damage
was also the one who enabled the patients to use the tub room for card games,
Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is a creation of the socio-cultural context of his time. Social and cultural values, attitudes and beliefs informed his invited reading of his text.
The novel starts with Bromden, the narrator also a patient of the institution, sweeping the halls while the nurse targets the "black men." Soon after McMurphy is brought in as a new admission, patient. Immediately everybody notices his presence because of how he carries himself when he gets their. When he first comes in he goes into the day room and introduces himself to everyone. He then brings a level of intimidation to all of the patients and lets them know that he is going to be "taking over." He first brings gambling into the hospital betting with cigarettes, and he soon becomes top dog at the hospital not letting anyone even come
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 is a gambling Irishman and convict, who grows tired of laboring at the Pendleton prison farm. To escape prison life, he feigns insanity and gets himself involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in Oregon. He tries to bring about a change at the hospital, for he does not like the fact that grown men act like "rabbits" and are scared of the Big Nurse. He tries as hard as he can to "get her goat", by not doing the duties he is given. He also ironically ends up serving as a
Why a remake of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is necessary Cinema Scope Magazine, 20/3-2018 R.P. Mcmurphy, the main character in the film One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, based on Ken Kesey’s book, is accused for having sex with a young woman under 15 years old. McMurphy believes that he can escape from prison by acting crazy, but his acting is realistic enough for the owners of the mental hospital to think that he actually is mentally ill. McMurphy seems to enjoy his new life at the mental hospital until the nurses start ”treating” him with electricity and the movie ends with that he has lost his motivation concerning escaping from the mental hospital. The film brings up a universal subject that reminds us of both history and development when it comes to mental illness. Because of its relevance and that the perspective on psycologial disorders have changed, I strongly think that a remake of the film is necessary.
We feel that One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest is filled with many psychological connotations. This movie is set in a mental hospital where McMurphy was admitted to be psychologically evaluated because of violent behavior. Upon his arrival McMurphy noticed that the patients were very robot-like in their actions. The hospital is extremely structured where the patient’s daily life was monotonous. We will discuss the various connotations by answering the following questions that have been asked.
The author of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Keasey, received his inspiration for the book while volunteering at a veteran's hospital. This is where he was first introduced to LSD. The moment he tried it, he became addicted, and began experimenting on himself with the drugs, observing the effects. The novel deals with the tyrannical rule of head Nurse Ratched in a mental hospital somewhere in Oregon. She runs all business and daily life in the asylum to her every whim and rules the ward by fear and manipulation. This has gone on for as long as the narrator, Chief Bromden, can remember. However a new patient, Randle McMurphy, enters the hospital and begins to wreak havoc upon the system