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The one who flew over the cuckoo's nest book analysis
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Laughter Can Redeem Life’s Miseries In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Randall P. McMurphy is perceived as a Christ figure. Kesey uses other the fishing trip, other characters’ actions and feeling, McMurphy’s ability to heal people, his experiences, and even his death to further develop McMurphy. McMurphy organizes a fishing trip for the patients where he takes twelve patients and teaches them the ways of life. Jesus has twelve disciples and several of them are fishermen as he declares he would make them “fishers of men”. During the trip McMurphy tests their strengths and gives them a sense of power. Chief Bromden, the narrator, describes a sense of change within the patients after the trip, as he says they “weren’t the same …show more content…
bunch of weak-knees from a nuthouse anymore.” (pg. 215). The fishing trip is an important symbol in this novel, much like how fish are a significant Christian symbol. The trip is also the beginning of McMurphy starting to guide the patients, just as Jesus lead his disciples. McMurphy is further shown to be a Christ-like figure through the actions and feelings of the other patients.
From the start McMurphy starts to change the atmosphere of the ward as after first glance, Bromden describes McMurphy as “free and loud and it comes out of his wide grinning mouth and spreads in rings bigger and bigger till it’s lapping against the walls all over the ward…This sounds real. I realize it’s the first laugh I’ve heard in years.” (pg. …show more content…
16). Kesey shows that the universe he creates is differentiated by pain and laughter, similar to how the Bible and Christian faith teaches that life is either sin and salvation and that humans are all capable of both. During the fishing trip and throughout the novel, McMurphy teaches his disciples that through laughter life’s miseries can be redeemed. Similarities exist between McMurphy’s and Jesus’s healing powers.
Jesus heals a deaf and mute man. McMurphy is the first one to prompt Bromden to not only speak, but laugh, after years of never speaking. McMurphy gives McMurphy a piece of gum and begins to sing, which Bromden laughs at and he thanks McMurphy for the gum. Ultimately, McMurphy is the one who heals Bromden of his ‘deafness’ and ‘dumbness’. McMurphy also attempts to aid and empower Bibbit; however, unlike Bromden, Bibbit does not show his gratitude and even betrays McMurphy when they are caught having the party. Bibbit ends up killing himself, just as Judas had when he gave Jesus up to the Romans for the crucifixion. When McMurphy and Bromden are given the electroshock treatment after they defend George. Bromden is nervous and afraid as he awaits the treatment. McMurphy, on the other hand, is optimistic despite their grave situation. As McMurphy gets prepared for the treatment he alludes to Jesus Christ when he says, “’Do I get a crown of thorns?’”. Also, like Christ, McMurphy accepts his sacrifice with willingness, obligation, and sanguinity. Although McMurphy is not as polite as Christ would have been, he accepts his treatment somewhat graciously and definitely
courageously. The ending of the novel parallels Christ to McMurphy well. McMurphy throws a party for the men as kind of like a Last Supper, which leads to the suicide of Bibbit. Instead of escaping and letting his efforts go to waste, McMurphy commits one last violent act, ripping the dress of Nurse Ratched, leaving her exposed and vulnerable (out of character with being a Christ figure). This is also the last sacrifice McMurphy does before he is brutally lobotomized by Nurse Ratched. McMurphy as a person dies with the lobotomy, but his body is murdered when Bromden puts him out of his misery by suffocating him. A major part of McMurphy’s life was dedicated to helping those around him, much like how Christ devoted his life in the goodness of others. However, the similarities of Christ and McMurphy should not be taken too far, as the martyrdoms have different meanings. Christ died to redeem the sins of the people, whereas McMurphy sacrificed himself for the sins that society had put against the patients.
The author Ken Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado and went to Stanford University. He volunteered to be used for an experiment in the hospital because he would get paid. In the book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Kesey brings up the past memories to show how Bromden is trying to be more confident by using those thoughts to make him be himself. He uses Bromden’s hallucinations, Nurse Ratched’s authority, and symbolism to reveal how he’s weak, but he builds up more courage after each memory.
When Mcmurphy comes into the ward his laughing was making people uneasy. This showed how far away the patients were from reality. The chief says (22) “I see he is making every body over their uneasy, with all his kidding and joking.” Then right after he starts connecting to the patients and the Acutes actually show some sign of a smile (23) “The Acutes are grinning now not so uneasy any more glad that something out of the ordinary is happening.” Only after 8 pages there is progress already seen in the patients with laughter.
Randle McMurphy is in a constant battle within himself, he is portrayed as a sociopath. He does not base his actions off of whether they will affect those around him, instead does as he pleases. His actions are based off of what is best for himself. McMurphy was first introduced as a savior to the ward, He soon uses the patients for his own benefit, the patients look up to him as one of their new proclaimed leader. McMurphy inspires hope into them and make them want to stand up for themselves. This give
The development of McMurphy as a Christ figure deepends, when he leads the patients on a fishing trip. McMurphy takes the "twelve of us [patients] towards the ocean," (page 203) just like Jesus' 12 disciples, to test and strengthen their faith in him and empower them. Fish have also been an important religious Christian symbol, as the fishing trip is an important symbol of the novel. When the trip is over, the Chief describes the sense of change that most of the patients had and even claims that they "weren't the same bunch of weak-knees from a nuthouse anymore." (Page 215). This really shows the way McMurphy is starting to guide and lead the patients, just as Jesus lead his disciples.
McMurphy’s first day on the ward, just seconds after entering the room and getting a good look at all the patients, he lets out a rumbling laugh that practically shakes the walls. Bromden, the narrator of the story, tells us that it’s the first laugh he’s heard in years (Kesey, 12). Bromden also tells us that McMurphy’s laugh is much different than the fake laugh of the Public Relation guy- McMurphy’s laugh is real and genuine. McMurphy caught Bromden’s attention right away and captured it even more with his big, loud laugh. This is the first occurrence of laughter that the reader encounters and already we can see it’s healing powers.
I hated Nurse Ratched before and I sure do now. Her sneaky little schemes to turn the patients on each other make’s me furious. I’m glad McMurphy broke down the window; it’ll remind the patients that her power is limited and changeable. Although, she made McMurphy stronger than ever, even with the countless electroshock treatments. Proving his desire to remain strong in the face of tyranny. “And he'd swell up, aware that every one of those faces on Disturbed had turned toward him and was waiting, and he'd tell the nurse he regretted that he had but one life to give for his country and she could kiss his rosy red ass before he'd give up the goddam ship. Yeh!” (Kesey, 187) I agree to some extent, that without her there wouldn’t be a book, she makes the book exciting even if her methods are all but pure. Her character stands as a symbol of the oppression woman received during that time and in a way, the society in which these characters live are flipped. While on the outside woman have no rights, in the ward they are the all mighty, all knowing, powerful, controllable force. So yah, we need Nurse Ratched but I still hate her. During the course of the short novel she destroyed three men, two of which died and the other was lobotomised. “What worries me, Billy," she said - I could hear the change in her voice - "is how your mother is going to take this.” (Kesey, 231) I can’t say I enjoyed Nurse Ratched being strangled by McMurphy, but I do think she deserved it. Although, it was the end to the battle since the Nurse had won the war. By infuriating McMurphy to that point and her ability to remain calm throughout it all, she proved that McMurphy’s action didn’t faze her. She proved that rebelling is feeblish and by lobot...
Ken Kesey utilizes Jesus Christ as a constant symbol throughout One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The protagonist of the story acts as a model and leader for other characters in the book, just as Christ was for his disciples. It is appropriate that such a leader would be closely associated with a powerful, and worshiped figure. Kesey's use of Christ associates the ideas or theories in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with the bible. McMurphy, however, may seem an unlikely Christ-figure due to his violent, sexual and seemingly immoral behavior. His behavior is merely an embodiment of the reforming movements that both Jesus and McMurphy share. Kesey's character, McMurphy, is portrayed as Christ-like throughout the novel to communicate the idea that McMurphy represents the same reforming leadership as Jesus did in the bible.
Chief Bromden hallucinates the fog machine and Air Raids. They represent his mental clarity, it comes when he is less stable and recedes when he's more coherent. That is the first noticeable change by Bromden because of the receding hallucinations when McMurphy enters the ward; McMurphy usurps his power to change through charisma.
Ken Kesey presents his masterpiece, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, with popular culture symbolism of the 1960s. This strategy helps paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind. Music and cartoons of the times are often referred to in the novel. These help to exaggerate the characters and the state of the mental institution.
Randle Patrick McMurphy, the main character in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, is the perfect example of a hero. He is committed to a mental institution after faking insanity to get out of a work camp. From the beginning of his presence on the ward, things start to change. He brings in laughter, gambling, profanity and he begins to get the other patients to open up. All of this, however, clashes with the head nurse, Nurse Ratched, who is trying to press conformity and obeying authority. It is then a battle between McMurphy and the nurse, McMurphy trying to set the patients free and the nurse trying to make them “normal”.
The choice that a novelist makes in deciding the point of view for a novel is hardly a minor one. Few authors make the decision to use first person narration by secondary character as Ken Kesey does in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. By choosing Bromden as narrator instead of the central character of Randle Patrick McMurphy, Kesey gives us narration that is objective, that is to say from the outside of the central character, and also narration that is subjective and understandably unreliable. The paranoia and dementia that fill Bromden's narration set a tone for the struggle for liberation that is the theme of the story. It is also this choice of narrator that leads the reader to wonder at the conclusion whether the story was actually that of McMurphy or Bromden. Kesey's choice of narrative technique makes One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest a successful novel.
McMurphy is an individual who is challenging and rebelling against the system's rules and practices. He eventually teaches this practice of rebellion to the other patients who begin to realize that their lives are being controlled unfairly by the mental institution. When McMurphy first arrives at the institution, all of the other patients are afraid to express their thoughts to the Big Nurse. They are afraid to exercise their thoughts freely, and they believe that the Big Nurse will punish them if they question her authority. One patient, Harding, says, "All of us in here are rabbits of varying ages and degrees...We need a good strong wolf like the nurse to teach us our place" (Kesey 62).
Author Ken Kesey effectively reflects on the social climate of the 1960s in his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. By creating a fictitious mental institution, he creates an accurate and eye-opening mirror image of repressive modern day society. While it’s both a microcosm and exaggeration of modern day society, Kesey stresses society’s obsession with conformity, while demonstrating that those individuals who reject societal pressure and conformity are simply deemed insane. However, Kesey infuses the power of the individual in his portrayal of the charismatic outlaw Randall McMurphy, and proves that it only takes one to defeat the restrictions of a repressive society. McMurphy’s evident superiority among the other patients in the hospital immediately established his power and authority over the other patients.
Throughout the sixties , America- involved in the Cold War at this time- suffered from extreme fear of communism. This caused numerous severe changes in society ranging from corrupt political oppression, to the twisted treatment of the minority. Published in 1962, Ken Kesey ’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest , manages to capture these changes in the variety of ways. Kesey’s novel incorporates some of the main issues that affected the United States during the early and mid 60s. The government had no limits and was cruel to those who did not fit into society, including the mentally ill. The wrongful treatment of the people caused an eruption of rebellion and protest- thus the Beatnik era was born. The novel, written during this movement, sheds light on Kesey’s personal opinion on this chaotic period in US history . The treatment of mentally ill patients, the oppressive government, and uprising in the 1960s inspired Kesey while writing his novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Even though McMurphy's own sacrifice of life is the price of his victory, he still attempts to push the ward patients to hold thier own personal opinions and fight for what is ethically right. For instinace, McMurphy states, "But I tried though,' he says. 'Goddammit, I sure as hell id that much, now didn't I?" McMurphy strains to bring the 'fellas' courage and determination in a place full of inadequacy and "perfection." McMurphy obtains a lot of courage in maintaining his own sort of personal integrity, and trying to keep the guys' intergrity and optimistic hope up.