"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the book "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. Specifically, the paper discusses the religious symbolism in the book, including the idea of the character, McMurphy as a Jesus figure. The paper concludes that it is easy to see many symbols in this novel, but that the Jesus symbols are difficult to ignore.

From the Paper:

"Several other symbols pointing to the religious nature of this book are the many characters on the ward who become McMurphy's followers or "disciples." The Chief is one, and he is the one who finally rescues McMurphy from his fate and escapes to spread the "message" around the world. He is a convincing disciple as McMurphy gradually brings him back to the real world to act as his messenger and ally. Critic Lupack continues, "M. Gilbert Porter, for instance, who discusses this aspect of the novel at length, notes that Chief displays rhyme on his way to reason; he has 'both the special vision that characterizes the seer and the power of description that characterizes the sayer'" (Lupack 73). By the end of the novel, the Chief is both, and he has found his own calling in addition. Another important disciple is Billy Bibbit, who McMurphy cures of his stuttering. However, Bibbit cracks under Ratched's psychological manipulation and "rats" on McMurphy for bringing the prostitutes into the ward. That seals McMurphy's fate and makes Bibbit a Judas who betrays his master. He then commits suicide, and Ratched blames McMurphy, when she is the one that really drove Bibbit to suicide when she threatened to tell his mother what he was doing with the girl."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baugh, Lloyd. Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film. Franklin, WI: Sheed and Ward, 1997.
• Bowman, David. "Still Crazy after All These Years: Forty Years Later, Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest Keeps Fighting the Powers That Be." Book Mar.-Apr. 2002: 34+.
• Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. New York: Signet, 1963.
• Lupack, Barbara Tepa. Insanity as Redemption in Contemporary American Fiction: Inmates Running the Asylum. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1995.
• Valentine, Virginia. "Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Explicator 41.1 (1982): 58-59.

More papers on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest":

• Film Review # 142255 : "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Conversation"
• Film Review # 117808 : "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
• Book Review # 111324 : "A Review of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
• Analytical Essay # 970 : "Imagery and Metaphor in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

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