A leader, as generally known, should be someone who possesses the ability to lead by example. In Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, R.P. McMurphy is a patient in an asylum crusading against the tyranny of the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. Both McMurphy and Nurse Ratched use their resources and attributes to the fullest, yet only one of these leaders can persuade the patients to take the position of the respective side. McMurphy’s genuine and unique personality assists him in swaying the patients. On the contrary, Ratched’s emotionless, business-like approach prevents her from being sentimentally affected. Although Ratched’s totalitarian methods eventually prevent McMurphy from being his free-thinking self, McMurphy proves
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When he arrives at the institution, he appears to be a genuine person by performing a simple action: laughing. Chief Bromden, a schizophrenic patient suffering from paranoia, claims he has not heard true laughter and joy in a long span of time, “Not like that fat Public Relation laugh. This sounds real. I realize all of a sudden it’s the first laugh I’ve heard in years.” (Kesey 12) McMurphy is able to convey his natural self during his initial day at the institution. Showing his persona, McMurphy treats the patients like real people, unlike Ratched, who handles the patients similarly to prisoners. In fact, he discloses that he feels, “You boys don’t look so crazy to me.” (19) In addition, through the eyes of the Chief, McMurphy shook his hand and seemingly transferred power to Bromden in a hallucination, “I remember the fingers were thick and strong closing over mine, and my hand commenced to feel peculiar and went to swelling up out there on the stick of my arm, like he was transmitting his own blood into it. It rang with blood and power.” (25) Though the Chief’s point-of-view can be proven unreliable, it shows the immediate effect he had on the majority of the …show more content…
The tyranny of the nurse is revealed through the strict rules and procedures of the ward, displaying Ratched’s abilities to lead the men. For example, everything that occurs in the ward appears to have been elaborately planned. “So after the nurse gets her staff, efficiency locks the ward like a watchman’s clock. Everything the guys think and say and do is all worked out months in advance, based on the little notes the nurse makes during the day.” (31) The precisely planned schedule is the principal way the nurse remains in authority, due to her attention to detail. With the exception of McMurphy, it is shown that each of the patients, in the initial sequences of the novel, act too cowardly to fight against the Nurse’s totalitarian methods. The nurse remains in power for the majority of the novel, but it is not until the conclusion through which she loses her dominance over the men. The strictly run ward shows the leading ability of the Nurse. Wwhen the men finally overcome her authoritarianism with the martyrdom of McMurphy, her power ceases to
When he arrives at the institution, he appears to be a genuine person by performing a simple action: laughing. Chief Bromden, a schizophrenic patient suffering from paranoia, claims he has not heard true laughter and joy in a long span of time, “Not like that fat Public Relation laugh. This sounds real. I realize all of a sudden it’s the first laugh I’ve heard in years.” (Kesey 12) McMurphy is able to convey his natural self during his initial day at the institution. Showing his persona, McMurphy treats the patients like real people, unlike Ratched, who handles the patients similarly to prisoners. In fact, he discloses that he feels, “You boys don’t look so crazy to me.” (19) In addition, through the eyes of the Chief, McMurphy shook his hand and seemingly transferred power to Bromden in a hallucination, “I remember the fingers were thick and strong closing over mine, and my hand commenced to feel peculiar and went to swelling up out there on the stick of my arm, like he was transmitting his own blood into it. It rang with blood and power.” (25) Though the Chief’s point-of-view can be proven unreliable, it shows the immediate effect he had on the majority of the …show more content…
The tyranny of the nurse is revealed through the strict rules and procedures of the ward, displaying Ratched’s abilities to lead the men. For example, everything that occurs in the ward appears to have been elaborately planned. “So after the nurse gets her staff, efficiency locks the ward like a watchman’s clock. Everything the guys think and say and do is all worked out months in advance, based on the little notes the nurse makes during the day.” (31) The precisely planned schedule is the principal way the nurse remains in authority, due to her attention to detail. With the exception of McMurphy, it is shown that each of the patients, in the initial sequences of the novel, act too cowardly to fight against the Nurse’s totalitarian methods. The nurse remains in power for the majority of the novel, but it is not until the conclusion through which she loses her dominance over the men. The strictly run ward shows the leading ability of the Nurse. Wwhen the men finally overcome her authoritarianism with the martyrdom of McMurphy, her power ceases to