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Cuckoo's Nest Characteristics

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In Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one of the main characters can be depicted as a messiah figure for the men of the psychiatric ward. A messiah figure would be someone who has leader like qualities and can be seen as a saviour to a cause or group of people. Randle McMurphy, the newest addition to the hospital, changes things the moment he steps foot inside the institution and profoundly demonstrates the characteristics of a saviour through his actions and what he says. Although he is crude and boisterous, he takes the men out on a fishing trip, alluding to an actual bible tale where Jesus takes his twelve disciples out onto the boat. McMurphy also exhibits attributes of a leader or perhaps an individual whom all the other men trust more and leads them all on a journey to become proud and confident again. In the end, even though McMurphy suffers a great deal, he is shown as a capital figure he is willing to sacrifice what he has in order to save the other men in the hospital. One of the main times the men decide to defy the nurse and ward rules is when they decide to plan a fishing trip. This is an absolute crucial part of McMurphy’s story because of the fact that it references directly to the bible, Matthew eight. In the story, Jesus goes out on a boat with his twelve disciples when they are hit by a storm. It is not very different …show more content…

In a way, McMurphy recruited his own “twelve disciples” and brought them on his fishing trip, boosting their confidence and fuelling their sense of self-worth. He led and taught the patients countless times how to laugh more and stand up for themselves as well as paying the ultimate sacrifice for his actions: giving up his life. However, it is evident in characters like the chief that McMurphy will not be forgotten because there is no doubt that he can be perceived as a humorous, dynamic messiah

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