Show how belief or faith is represented in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and discuss how this aspect might be interpreted or understood in different historical, cultural, or social contexts.
In this story McMurphy gets committed to the ward and as soon as he gets there he is happy as can be and full of energy. He explains to the patients that he is not afraid of what Nurse Ratched could do to him because he’s not really insane but just chose the hospital over the work farm. That shows the patients his self-confidence and belief that he will control his experience. McMurphy then meets Cheif Bromden, he has always been the outsider, he was a 280 pound, 6’7 Indian of mixed heritage whose identity has been broken down by the pressure of society.
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McMurphy sacrifices himself for the benefit of the group and while doing that, he loses his free will. He truly does become a Christ figure for the patients. Under the invisible but heavy pressure of the other patients expectations he makes the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that Nurse Ratched can’t use Billy’s death to undo everything they have gained. “Only at the last, after he’d smashed through that glass door, her face swinging around, with terror forever ruining aby other look she might ever try to use again, screaming when he grabbed for her and ripped her uniform all the way down the front.” (Page 318) He attacked Nurse Ratched and rips her uniform, he permanently breaks her power but also forfeits his own life. I think that Kesey is using this trait to show that McMurphy is not insane and that he is only a normal man who is just trying to help the patients and be free from the …show more content…
McMurphy is the glue to all of the men in the hopsital because he shows them that they have to be strong. McMurphy represents freedom and self-determination throughout this reading. Freedom; the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, he shows this characteristic by helping the patients in the ward find their way back from the fog and return back to the real world. He always laughs and jokes along with the patients to help cure their mental illnesses and his personality is very laid back and positive. McMurphy has a change of heart after he learns that most of the patients have voluntarily committed themselves and stay by choice. Self-determination; taking action in your life to get the things you want and need, McMurphy shows this act by deciding he must become their saviour and show them they can function outside the hospital. He makes his comeback statement by smashing the glass of the Nurse's station. Therefore, McMurphy slowly becomes a force that is driven not by this own will but by the needs of the forty other
He is big, loud, sexual, and confident, is an obvious foil for the quiet and intimidated Bromden and the sterile and mechanical Nurse Ratched. His loud, fee laughter stuns the other paitents, who have grown accustomed to repressed emotions. Throughout his introduction of the film, not a single voice rises to meet his. MacMurphy’s self-sacrifice on his behalf echoes himself on the cross to redeem humankind. He slowly gathers the patients around him as he increases his rebellion against Nurse Ratched.
McMurphy is a messianic figure in the novel- he saves the patients in the ward from leading orderly, boring lives under a repressive establishment. The
Nate Skupien Mrs. Decker English IV 9 Mar. 2023 Midterm Essay In the novel, One flew over the Cuckoo's nest, Kesey constructs a world with an underlying theme of individuality versus conformity and shows it in numerous ways. The literature describes a world in which the main character, a man named Chief Bromden, lives at a mental hospital with a myriad of different people with different conditions. One day a man named Randal McMurphy is admitted into the ward.
In the ward, most patients aren’t like McMurphy; he's loud, bold, and has no filter. Other Patients are scared of Nurse Ratched, while he refuses to obey
My goal in this paper is to thoroughly describe how McMurphy has changed the beliefs for the other men in the ward, and how he has helped them overcome their fears. To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into three sections. In the first section, I provide information
When she walked out into the real world she had no control over men, so this was her opportunity. McMurphy was not going to let this happen, so he fought back against it. McMurphy is slowly bringing down the reign of Nurse Ratched because he understands that she is similar to a totalitarian leader, and she had an enormous amount of power in her ward. Because McMurphy is a hard headed man, he cannot live with being controlled by anyone, which drives his actions of rallying the men against the Nurse. This is also seen when McMurphy breaks the glass window that protected Nurse Ratched from the patients on the ward.
R.P. McMurphy as a character is representative of the individualism and autonomy that the patients lack. From the moment he is introduced, he is depicted as a powerful, unrelenting force. His physiognomy evinces this claim with his well built, muscular body, corresponding directly to his headstrong attitude and independence,
This madness in Mcmurphy gives the men hope throughout the novel. The irrational behavior can be judge as reasonable in many cases. Mcmurphy is a big, loud and confident man. He’s different from many other patients in the ward. When he first entered the ward he was laughing and telling jokes.
In both cases, McMurphy's deception and disregard for the rules ultimately lead to his downfall, showing that even the most charismatic and rebellious individuals are not immune to the oppressive forces of
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.
Bromden’s unique narrative perspective positions him, and by extension the readers, to effectively observe McMurphy and get “to the heart” of his character. Due to Bromden being one of the patients, his narration allows Kesey to more deeply explore McMurphy’s impact on the patients through the inclusion of Bromden’s thoughts and hallucinations, most notably his perceptions of his increasing size throughout the novel and his hallucinations of “fog” (p7). Through Bromden’s development, readers can see the liberating effect McMurphy has on Bromden, and the similar effect on the other patients. McMurphy could be considered a symbol of unbridled masculinity, “barrel chested” (p19) and “crazy enough to be like he talks” (p19). McMurphy’s resistance towards Nurse
In the beginning of the novel, McMurphy came from wilderness and begins to gain followers by teaching the men that it is good to rebel against Ratched. In the middle of the novel, McMurphy chooses to rebel, takes the men on a fishing trip, and creates miracles by making Bromden break his twenty years of silence. At the end of the novel, McMurphy proves to be a Christ figure because he stands up for George and in return gets EST, gets betrayed by Billy, and receives a lobotomy. The idea that sometimes one must sacrifice himself for the greater good is still a relevant message in today’s society because it is important to stand up for other’s who cannot stand up for themselves. For example, Nelson Mandela peacefully protested in South Africa against apartheid and was jailed in doing so, but he did it for the sake of
When Mcmurphy is put into a mental hospital he ends
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
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.