One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Presence of Christ in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

R.P. McMurphy is not an average mental patient stuck on a ward at an institution. In fact, McMurphy is one of the most unique patients the ward in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" has ever seen. While most of the men on the ward committed themselves, McMurphy opted to be placed in the institution in lieu of fulfilling his sentence to spend time on a work farm. McMurphy is a burly man, with remarkable confidence. The other men idolize him and fear him all from the very first moment that they spend in his presence. At the beginning of the book, McMurphy toys with Big Nurse and the other staff at the hospital. He figures he might as well have some fun with them, since he is under the mistaken impression that he has only "x" number of days until he is released. Soon, however, he comes to realize that he is at Big Nurse's mercy if he ever wants to be free again. Prior to this realization he was an inspiration, someone that others were in awe of and attempted to emulate. When McMurphy realizes that he is destroying his own chance to be free and continues down this path anyway, he effectively becomes the savior of the ward. Like Christ's decision to die for the sins of man, McMurphy gives himself up...

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