Chief Bromden In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's

Kesey’s references to Christ seem more blatant as McMurphy’s actions start to become similar to the actions of Christ. Chief Bromden, the narrator of Kesey’s novel, is enrolled in the hospital as deaf and dumb. In his whole tenure at the psychiatric ward, the chief did not say one word, and the nurses and patients did not think twice about the possibility of him ever speaking. At first, McMurphy tries to converse with the majestic Indian, but to no avail. One of the patients, Billy Bibbit, advises McMurphy with a stutter that Bromden is “de-de-deef and dumb” (Kesey, 24) and that attempting to speak with him is useless. However, McMurphy can see right through the chief’s act and is not “fooled for one minute” (Kesey, 24). McMurphy, who also has to fake his mental illness, realizes something that nobody ever would have thought; Bromden has been faking deaf and dumb the whole time. After various attempts and fails, McMurphy finally gains the trust of Chief Bromden, and manipulates him into finally …show more content…
Kesey creates this rebellion and these battles to exemplify how the only way to overcome the power of authority, is to fight back against it. McMurphy is seen as a hero because of his rebellious way of living in the ward, which is a true testament to his sacrifice and ambition. After McMurphy is finally defeated by the nurses, and dies, Nurse Ratched tries “to get her ward back into shape, but it (is) difficult with McMurphy’s presence still tromping down the halls and laughing out loud” (Kesey, 321). Even though he eventually dies, McMurphy is not forgotten amongst the fellow patients, and amongst the nurses who are forever wounded by his bravery. Kesey creates the Christ-figure character to show that mentally ill patients are in need of a savior, and he makes allusions to hell to show the serious problem in mental wards, which he experienced first hand in his personal