Mcmurphy In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

When McMurphy is first introduced in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest he is shown to be a charismatic, witty, and rebellious character who has only come to the Ward to avoid doing more work on the ranch and to con the patients there. However, his personality and courage soon acts as a beacon of hope for the other patients on the Ward who look up to him. After Cheswick’s death, McMurphy starts an all-out war against Nurse Ratched and her control of the Ward, first breaking the Nurse’s window, then taking the acutes on a fishing trip and finally by attacking Big Nurse. McMurphy unknowingly has become a symbol of hope for the patients on the Ward. After Cheswick’s death, he recognizes his responsibilities as the face of the rebellion against Big Nurse and decides to fight back. When Nurse Ratched decides to close up the other game

Although Nurse Ratched tries to discourage McMurphy by making up excuses about how the weather’s rougher than usual, he suggests that “the salt smell o’ the poundin’ sea, the crack o’ the bow against the waves” can be good for the men and that the sea is “where men are men and boats are boats.”(177) This dialogue demonstrates McMurphy’s persistence to help the rest of the patients regain their masculinity. During the fishing trip, McMurphy and the group encounter many problems including the gas attendant that tries to take advantage of them and the sailors who pester Candy. However, McMurphy teaches the patients that their illnesses can actually be a source of power for them and that they’re not as weak as the Nurse has made them to be. The trip is a progressive event for the patients because after the trip they seem more sane than insane and garner respect from the sailors that were initially bullying them. This is also the moment where Billy finds himself to have feelings for Candy and where McMurphy sets them up on a