From the eternal conflict between God and Satan, to the struggles of Winston Smith against Big Brother in 1984, by George Orwell, the battle between good and evil, morally just and unjust, oppressed and oppressor has been a central theme throughout much of mythology and literature. The novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, examines this theme by detailing the war between Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of a psychiatric ward, and recently admitted Randall Patrick McMurphy, a rough and tumbling redheaded gambler, conman, and backroom boxer. McMurphy constantly challenges the authority of Nurse Ratched and the ward, and defiantly rallies the other men to oppose her authority. Exhausted from McMurphy’s behaviour, Nurse Ratched plays
…show more content…
I lay there on top of the body for what seemed days. Until the thrashing stopped”(323). A much darker interpretation of this scene, however, reveals the patients discarding a symbol they no longer require. McMurphy was the epitome of dissent, insurrection, and rebellion against the systems of oppression. The patients, requiring a means to escape the psychological manipulation of Nurse Ratched and the ward, stand behind McMurphy and cheer him on in his endeavors. Yet, when the war is over, when those that can help themselves have done so, the catatonic McMurphy is abandoned. McMurphy sacrifices himself for his “friends” and they repay him with destruction, as he was never seen as a person, but rather a symbol of defiance exploited by the patients to achieve freedom. Not once after his death did any patient pay recognition to or thank McMurphy for his courageous actions against the jurisdiction of Nurse Ratched. Bromden almost shows his gratitude for McMurphy’s endeavors when he grabs “his cap and trie[s] it on”(323) looking to take it on his journeys outside of the ward as a symbol of McMurphy’s sacrifice. The cap, however, appropriately, does not fit Bromden’s head, thus he leaves it
I lay there on top of the body for what seemed days. Until the thrashing stopped”(323). A much darker interpretation of this scene, however, reveals the patients discarding a symbol they no longer require. McMurphy was the epitome of dissent, insurrection, and rebellion against the systems of oppression. The patients, requiring a means to escape the psychological manipulation of Nurse Ratched and the ward, stand behind McMurphy and cheer him on in his endeavors. Yet, when the war is over, when those that can help themselves have done so, the catatonic McMurphy is abandoned. McMurphy sacrifices himself for his “friends” and they repay him with destruction, as he was never seen as a person, but rather a symbol of defiance exploited by the patients to achieve freedom. Not once after his death did any patient pay recognition to or thank McMurphy for his courageous actions against the jurisdiction of Nurse Ratched. Bromden almost shows his gratitude for McMurphy’s endeavors when he grabs “his cap and trie[s] it on”(323) looking to take it on his journeys outside of the ward as a symbol of McMurphy’s sacrifice. The cap, however, appropriately, does not fit Bromden’s head, thus he leaves it