A hero is considered to be any man noted for courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who risks or sacrifices his life for others. In this novel Randall McMurphey is not crazy, nor may we conclude that he is the sanest of people, but as it appears he only acted as though he was mentally handicapped as an attempt to get out of the work farm he was placed in.
The Psychiatric ward is his view of a â€oefree ticket†out of working and throughout the story he will soon come to the realization that this so called â€oefree ticket†may have a hefty price tag to it, as people in this ward are actually suffering from other means then physical hardship. McMurphey not only becomes a mentor — as in being a main source for guidance, a leader — demonstrating a forceful stand for oneâ€TMs own thoughts, and a hero — representative of all traits that a classical heroin would own, but also a safe haven for those patients in the ward that are too apprehensive to defend themselves.
He then begins to help and understand the patients in a way only one who is truly devoted to understanding anotherâ€TMs mental state with the assumption that they are truly sane could do. He helps his fellow patients in the ward realize that they should stand up for themselves and what they believe in, not to give in to such obedient acts that they have been forced to obey by. While McMurphey finds out that the majority of the inmates are not crazy at all just misunderstood and mistreated by society, he brings along with them a teaching that shows that there is nothing to fear in life but fear itself.
As expressed throughout the narrative from Chief Bromdenâ€TMs point of view, from McMurphyâ€TMs grand entrance, the relationship he builds with the other patients, his stand against Miss Ratchet, and the rebellious attitude he persuades on his new friends, he truly denotes his role as a hero in not only the eyes of patients at the ward but also the many people who have read this novel and interpreted it for what it truly is — a tale of a heroin taking the stand against a high powering force.
Chief Bromden also becomes an Icon in the ward because he learns that he to can be a hero and be bold in front of higher authorities. He stands up for himself by letting everyone know that he wasnâ€TMt deaf at all, but fooling everyone so he could be the eyes and ears of the institution. McMurphey rescues Chief Bromden from silence. McMurphey also saves a man in his thirties named Billy Bibbit who is still being controlled by his mother. McMurphey finds a way to bring out his manhood and obtain some courage. When Randall McMurphey first arrives at the ward all of the patients could see that he was different.
He was a loud, obnoxious, boisterous man that was not at all obedient when it came to following the rules of the ward. One could tell that the patients enjoyed seeing him upset the staff and the Big nurse Ratched who made the patientâ€TMs lives in the ward completely miserable. They enjoyed this behavior from McMurphey because they knew that they could never act out in such a way because they were too weak and feared what the consequences may be. The patients admired him right from the beginning. They can see that McMurphey is fearless and has the strength and courage to defend him self.
Randallâ€TMs strength embodies a heroic devotion to the other acutes of the ward. The patients seem to really enjoy Mcmurpheys company. He tries loosening them up by playing card games with them, teaching them the ropes of gambling, just simply having fun, while bringing the patients hope and joy in the depressing ward, which the big nurse absolutely forbids. McMurphey take on a fondness of these patients because he can see that they are all being mistreated simply for being misunderstood. He sees that they are fine men that just need a little guidance.
They soon look to Mcmurphey as a friend and trustee. He instructs the men that there is still hope for them to realize that they are not crazy and should not be residing at the ward. Once he finds out that the majority of his friends are living at the ward voluntarily he is shocked and poignant because it is clear that society has been convincing these men that they are nuts and do not fit in with the rest of civilization. One can tell that it hurts McMurphey to witness that these men have wasted there lives living there, not having a clue as to what is going on in the real world.
Nurse Ratched has a lot to do with most of the men living in the psych ward voluntarily. She is a very vindictive person and McMurphey can see right through her. McMurphey did not understand his friends reasoningâ€TMs for continuing to live at the ward but did understand the enemy who portrayed evil, spite, and hatred. Nurse Ratched made the patients in the ward feel awful. She makes them feel like they will never amount to anything in the real world. She mentally abuses them and McMurphey is the only one who can stand up against her oppressive supreme power.
McMurpheyâ€TMs struggle for his friendâ€TMs free will is a disruption to the big nurseâ€TMs social order. Though she holds down her guard she yet is incapable of controlling what McMurphey is controllable of, such as his friends well being. McMurphey is a democratic hero Baurect 280. The inmates begin to see that the ward is making their lives more miserable then before they had admitted themselves. They begin to go along side McMurphey and rebel against the ward. They realize that the ward, the staff, and especially the big nurse have been putting a thrashing on them and they are just about sick of it.
The saddest part of this story is that Randall McMurphey not only becomes a hero, but a martyr, changing the lives of the inmates, and paying with his life for his individualism. He dies for his newfound friends. Although, there is a brighter side to this sad ending says R. L Sasoon. Sasoon writes, â€oethe uniqueness and value of Mcmurphey is his aliveness, his uninhibited responsiveness to things and to people which ultimately develops into responsibility for the other patients, such that he sacrifices himself so they, too, may choose to know the fullness of life, itâ€TMs joys and itâ€TMs pains†117.
Ken Kesey, the author of this amazing novel had actually worked in a mental institution. He began to feel as if the patients werenâ€TMt really crazy after all, just more individualized than society was willing to accept. Parts of the novel were written while he was under the influence of LSD and peyote, which explains why Kesey had so many metaphors and unexplainable interpretations written in the novel. I thought that his writing was extremely good and well thought out. Working at the institution must have inspired him to write the book.
One Flew Over the Cuckooâ€TMs Nest may have had more influence on society than society had on Kesey. Kesey was used to being looked down upon by society just like McMurphey and the other patients of the ward were. But that didnâ€TMt stop him from writing a masterpiece. Kesey was just as much of a hero as his characters were. He wrote the novel for people to understand that there is a hero in all of us, even loud, boisterous men with no regard for rules and regulations.
I feel that McMurphey can be perceived as a modern day American hero because weak people need guidance and there are those strong individuals who can assist them in finding their way although they themselves need a little guidance as well. Modern society standardizes men and straightjacketâ€TMs itâ€TMs misfits — it causes the illness, which it quarantines. The spiritual residue opposes the machine culture — but the West, as such, is doomed Fiedler. Randall McMurphey lost his life courageously.
He had several chances to save himself but chose to stay and fight for those who needed his assistance. The beautiful thing about this tragic ending is that McMurphey didnâ€TMt die for nothing — his followers eventually stood up for themselves and got discharged from the ward. The patients at the ward finally came to realize that they couldnâ€TMt continue living their lives in fear. The ex-inmates are good enough for society and are not as crazy as they perceived themselves to be. Because of the heroic McMurphey, his newly brave friends can live a life free of depression and misery.
