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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Mcmurphys Transformation

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In Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel ‘One flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ the main character and narrator, Chief Bromden, is noticeably stuck inside his own head as he acts deaf and dumb to escape the pressures of being a part of something. As the novel moves on, for someone who’s perception of living is to stay transparent and withdrawn totally inside himself the Chief takes a transformation from his delusional mind and gains strength physically and mentally, creating a journey towards freedom and finally, breaking free from the ward and from himself. Kesey uses the transformation to unravel a number of ideas about the importance of freedom and explores how the pressures of society can lead individuals to conform within themselves. The theories Chief believes …show more content…

Through the story he transforms into a man who finally realises his own physical and mental power and uses it to prove his worth to himself and society. During the ending scene where the Chief noticeably breaks free from the Big Nurse and her machinery, Kesey is proving the importance of freedom and the possibility for people to overcome what defeats them. McMurphy is a pivotal character within the novel, as his journey through destruction as he receives a number of electro shock therapies makes patients aware that lives can be changed and deteriorate no matter how big you appear to be or where you sit in society. There are clear signs of change in the Chief’s perceptions on McMurphy’s power also as he sees past his tough appearances and understands how much the EST is effecting his mind and body, he watches McMurphy go from a religious image upon the EST table to watching him lose his pattern of memory and fall under the rest of acutes who because of his influence begin to understand their

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