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

Victory is always good. This is an instinct that most people have, and in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Kesey debunks the commonly held belief that winning is good with Randle McMurphy, a character who achieves a pyrrhic victory against Nurse Ratched in the novel. Since McMurphy’s entry into the mental ward, he challenges the authority of the Big Nurse and in doing so unintentionally alters the lives of the ward patients. Because McMurphy seems to empower the patients to rebel against the Nurse, readers think that McMurphy is the central hero in the novel. However, McMurphy only serves a catalyst for bringing about inner change in the characters; it is up to the characters themselves to be ready to accept the change. Out of all the ward patients, it is only Bromden who accepts the change and really
Working Thesis: There is no central heroic figure in the novel. McMurphy is a catalyst for bringing about inner change in the

characters, but it’s up to that character to be ready to accept that change. Bromden is the only one who achieves that tests the Nurse’s power. Still, the final check on Nurse’s power came at a cost of McMurphy’s death which suggests that the whole attempt to challenge the Nurse was a pyrrhic victory. Kesey sets this up in order to suggest that achieving the American Dream is eventually possible, but leaves the reader to question whether the journey to the American Dream is worth the result.
It is of foremost importance to highlight that the relationship between McMurphy and the ward patients is not “McMurphy affects patients” but “patients are affected by McMurphy”. If the first relationship where McMurphy influences the patients were to be true, McMurphy should be actively trying to bring about a change in the ward. Yet, for McMurphy, challenging the Nurse is no different from his frequent card games. He gives the patients a fleeting feeling of hope when the panel seems to lift slightly suggesting to the patients that they might be able to break the window of the ward and escape. In reality, what McMurphy was doing was keeping the patients interested in his game. In card games, he let the other patients win for a while to keep the in the game then won all their cigarettes. Just like that, in his “fight” against the Nurse he was doing just enough to keep them interested but he did not try to bring any real change to the ward. The whole thing was a bet to him.
Even though McMurphy might have regarded the whole challenge against the ward authority as a bet or a game, the patients were impacted by what McMurphy was doing. Initially, nobody took McMurphy seriously when he said he will challenge the Nurse, but the moment he devotes his everything into trying to lift the panel, that marks a turning point for the patients. In their eyes, McMurphy was starting a rebellion that none of them had the courage to incite for a long time. Even though many of the ward patients had the option to leave, they remained voluntary in the ward because they thought that if they could not even stand up against the oppressive authority of the ward, they were not suited to be a normal member of the outside world. Hence, what might have been a game to McMurphy was a turning point in the lives of the ward patients. In fact, after McMurphy attempts to lift the panel, more ward patients actively challenge Nurse as shown in their collective request to change the ward schedule to watch the World Series.
Still, nobody except for Chief Bromden was able to empower themselves to truly test Nurse Ratched’s overshadowing authority.

Unlike other patients in the ward, Bromden had an advantage. His feigned deafness and muteness gave him the “power of insanity”. Patients like Billy Bibbit goes real close to achieving the inner change after spending a night with Candy. When he is questioned by the Nurse on his actions he speaks clearly without any stutters which insinuates that he has restored his confidence. However, Nurse, aware of Billy’s weakness, mentions his mother and makes Billy feel ashamed. In that moment, Billy returns to his old self and starts stuttering again, never reaching the full inner change. Because Bromden has faked that he is deaf and mute, the Nurse does not know anything that will make Bromden feel weak and unsure of himself and that is the reason why Bromden was the only one capable of lifting the panel, which symbolizes liberating oneself from Nurse’s authority and restoring power to be “normal” in the outside world

again.
By lifting the panel, Bromden achieved the American Dream, which in this case came when the Nurse’s authority was broken. However, this all came at the cost of McMurphy’s death. Kesey creates this bittersweet ending in order to convey his idea that pursuing American Dream is not worth the sacrifices that one will make along on the journey. Aware that many people are blinded by the fantasy of the American Dream, Kesey warns them against reckless pursuit of the American Dream.
In “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Kesey establishes a unique relationship between McMurphy and the patients that eventually leads to a single patient achieving the American Dream in spite of the death of another patient. Compared to other Fitzgerald, Kesey seems to have a more positive outlook on the American Dream as he depicts American Dream as something that is eventually achievable compared to Fitzgerald who views it as quixotic. However, Kesey still condemns the American Dream to a certain degree as shown in his extreme example of the death of a character who subconsciously pursued the American Dream. Kesey cautions the readers to take the journey towards the American Dream at their own caution and makes them questions the worth of chasing the dream.