Critical Response on “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” Essay

There have been many an(prenominal) struggles in history among authority and those who oppose it. The most patent and most common example is revolutions against g everyplacenments. We live in a order of magnitude where stability and assimilation are non just recomm destructioned, however likewise enforced. We have the right for civil disobedience, so long as it is non-violent and inside reason. In the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, R.P McMurphy, a brawling, swordplay man enters a mental asylum in Oregon, and begins to wage war on behalf of his fellow inmates. However he finds himself at odds with obligate Ratched, a unforgiving, manipulative and methodical woman who runs the harbor like a precision-made machine. The book follows McMurphys actions that constantly clash with the view as, and what she represents authority. By the end of the book, in that location are many examples of struggles against the higher proponent, and it is in my opinion that the rumor w hen authority and individuals come into conflict, authority always wins out is incorrect, because individuals do not have to win the physical conflict to win the competitiveness of brains.From twenty-four hours one, the commentator finds that McMurphy is out to cause trouble. Gambling is illegal in the ward, but McMurphy declares that he was sent to the institution to bring the inpatients some fun an pleasure around the gaming table(p. 16). He starts interrupting daily meetings, which the keep back treats with untold importance. And whe neer he is reprimanded for something, he laughs. The laughing is the most important part of his self-defence, as it is the only legal way he brush aside fight put up against authority. It is a symbol of defiance, and a sign of McMurphys freedom. It shows that, no press what the institution does to him, he still has his mental independence.As the reader progresses further on in the story, McMurphy makes a bet that he can use up the nanny-go ats goat. When he finds he has no ward-clothes (p. 79), he runs around in a towel, threatening to drop it at times, while the distressed check tries, in vain, to make him get dressed. Then, the same morning, he takes bets on his the true some throwing butter at the clock (p. 85). McMurphy wants to overtake the World Series, and takes a vote from all the saner patients. While all of them vote to watch it, the Nurse shuts theidea down, even when McMurphy gets the majority. When airing on television (p. 114), he lettuce work and proceeds to turn on the television, sit down, and watch the game.When the equipoise of the men decide to stop work and join him, and the Nurse turns the power off, they continue to watch, just to show that her power and authority has nothing over them. This is an example of individuals fighting against authority. They might not be successful in the real world (having to wear clothes, not being able to watch the baseball game), but inside theyre freer than theyve ever been before. Being downtrodden and strict by the Nurse forced them to become lessThings begin to catch bigger and more(prenominal) than important as the story progresses. McMurphy take a leaks that his release is pendent on his good behavior, and tones down his obnoxious acts. However, he still finds that Nurse Ratched is going to keep him in the hospital for as long as she wants. He tries to be subdued, and in doing so, an separate rebellious inmate called Cheswick, who had tried very hard to be like McMurphy, kills himself, because he thinks that McMurphy has been defeated (p. 136).Nurse Ratched sees the change over in McMurphy, and to gain total control of the ward, she demands penance for the sedition during the World Series. McMurphy smiles and nods, but destroys the glass that separates the nurses room from the ward, to show his true feelings (p. 155). He excuses himself, saying that the window was so spick an span that he completely forgot it was there. T his shows how he is standing up to authority, and while he doesnt change anything in the real world, it shows the inmates and himself that inside they are free.Part III describes McMurphys fishing expedition. He takes the men on an excursion on a fishing boat, much against the Nurses wishes, but by tricking the bear on to come along, he succeeds. While there is not much about Nurse Ratched in that part, Chief Bromden, the narrator of the story, notices that the Combine is working on the outside too with commuters and houses and children (p. 186). He had been in the ward for about 20 years, and a lot had probably passed since he was younger. However, this glimpse into society makes them realize that they (as patients) arent as monotonous as this, and they can be more free than they are al correct.Within a week of the trip, Nurse Ratched is ready with her new plan. She tries to show McMurphy as a con man, stealing and wining property from all the patients. But she is shocked to dis cover that all the patients were happy to stand that money, as they enjoyed themselves, and werent using it for anything else anyway. after a few more instances of insurgence (McMurphy and Bromdens fight with the staff p. 215 continuous interruptions to ward procedures p. 229), the concluding insurrection came McMurphys troupe.McMurphy organizes for two of his friends to come to the ward for a party that would also serve as his breakout. After a great night, everyone travel asleep, and in the morning, the day-staff came before anyone can wake up in time. After searching for Billy Bibbit, and finding him unashamed of his actions the previous night, the Nurse gives him a guilt trip, threatening to tell his mother, and then locking him in the wards doctors room. Billy commits suicide, and the Nurse tries to blame it on McMurphys lack of respect for authority.Realising that any chances of surviving are ruined, and that his battle with authority is now at its final stage, McMurphy sa crifices himself (and consequently his mental-independence) by attacking Nurse Ratched, exposing her as a vulnerable woman, and destroying any whizz of authority and control she had left over the patients. This is the final action between two desperate factions the authority and the autonomy. The showdown ends with McMurphy being captured, but because the other patients see the nurse as a woman, and not as the controlling Nurse, she can never have the same control over them as she had previously had.McMurphy is lobotomized, but before the ward can see him in his vegetable-like state, Chief Bromden smothers him with a pillow, and then breaks down a wall to freedom. The patients never get to see McMurphy as a vegetable, so their last recollection of him alive is his attack on the Nurse. McMurphy is remembered as a symbol of resistance, and as a hero against the authority that had cowed the patients for so long.I believe that McMurphy shows the reader that while the authority may be able to make you conform, you can still remain free inside, which is more important than anything else on earth. Because it is against studyregulations to take away freedom, and as long as you have your saneness and your mental independence, nothing can beat you.