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... convinces Chief that he was actually getting bigger. By creating parallels between Mc Murphy and Jesus, Kesey transforms Mc Murphy from a simple man trying to help others, to a righteous man who helps people as much as he can. Like Jesus, Mc Murphy is not altogether an eager messiah, as is Jesus case in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mc Murphy doubts his ability to keep helping people while at the same time, sacrificing himself.
While saving the ward from the evil ways of Nurse Rather, Mc Murphy begins to doubt himself and his power to defy the nurse. When Mc Murphy meets the life guard from disturbed, he finds out that his time on the ward does not have a specific end, Youre sentenced in a jail, and you got a date ahead of you when you know youre gonna be turned loose. (147) After Mc Murphy realizes the implications of this statement, Chief Bromden notices that, Mc Murphy doesnt stand up for us [the patients] any longer. (150) Just as Mc Murphy has doubts about sacrificing himself, so does Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where he prays to God to relieve him of his duties as a savior, And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, Oh my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. (Mathew 26: 39) By drawing another comparison to Jesus, Kesey illustrates the role Mc Murphy plays as a Christ figure and savior to the patients on Nurse Ratcheds ward. Although not wholeheartedly willing to be the groups savior, Mc Murphy abandons his policy of laying low when he sees that most of the patients were at the Hospital voluntarily because they felt they could not handle the real world. When Mcmurphy sees how desperate the situation is for most of the ward, he begins to empower the patients again. For instance, Mc Murphy helped Rub-a-dub George, who had a thing about sanitation (193) to not only join the fishing trip, but to captain the boat as well.
George, an old fisherman, was afraid that the boat was awful dirty. By convincing George otherwise, Mc Murphy empowered him and gave him a chance to regain some of his past life. The religious parallels deepen, when Mc Murphy takes twelve of us [patients] towards the ocean, (203) Just as Jesus had twelve disciples, Mc Murphy had twelve followers. This fishing trip was a turning point for many on the boat for instance, Harding who was made second in command (207) and Select who stopped worrying about a seizure, (209) and instead, upon seeing the fish had his eyes pop and got so excited. (209) Another one of the twelve, Billy Bibbit, is a man of thirty who is still treated like a child. Mc Murphy helps Billy with his loneliness by introducing him to Candy and then helping him cash in his Cherries. (245) While Mc Murphy aids and empowers Billy, the favor will not be returned later on. Unfortunately for Mc Murphy, there is a Judas figure among his twelve disciples.
Judas, the Biblical figure and one of Jesus disciples gave Jesus to the Romans for crucifixion; and in doing so made him a martyr. Billy Bibbit, who Mc Murphy helped out throughout the novel with getting a girlfriend and overcoming his shyness, eventually gives Mc Murphy up. After throwing a party, Mc Murphy and all the acutes are shocked to find that they are caught. When the nurse catches Billy, he immediately blames Mc Murphy for being in a closed room with the prostitute that he felt he was in love with. When asked who forced him to do it, Billy responds: And M-M-Mc Murphy! He did. (264) Billy gives up Mc Murphy just as Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus. (Mathew 26: 47 - 50) The results of both Billy's and Judas actions were the same.
When the nurse takes charge, Mc Murphy is dealt with. A few days later after the party, Mc Murphy returns on a gurney, his chart saying: Mc Murphy, Randall P. Post Operative. And below this was written in ink, Lobotomy. (269) While Mc Murphy was not dead, he was what was known on the ward as a vegetable. He could no longer truly function as a person.
In effect, R. P. Mc Murphy died because Billy Bibbit gave him up even though he had helped him. In the final chapter of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Mc Murphy dies because of his actions as a savior, by doing this, Kesey completes the religious imagery in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest and in doing so shows the reader that a major facet in Mc Murphys life was helping others, a trait shared with Jesus. In the novels closing, Chiefs empowerment parallels that of Peters again.
After Chief ends Mc Murphys pain by, mashing the pillow into the face, (270) and suffocating him, he escapes into the real world by catching a ride with a guy, a Mexican guy, going north, (272) Chiefs escape from the ward mimics Peters departure from the sepulchre: Then arose Peter and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. (Luke 24: 12) Kesey imitates the departure of Peter after Jesus death, by having Chief Bromden run away from the ward. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest is full of religious imagery. By specifically comparing one character, R. P. Mc Murphy, to Jesus and the other patients to the people who Jesus was a savior to, Kesey turns this story from a mere novel into an epic much like the story of Jesus life in the New Testament. By turning One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest into an epic, Kesey elevates the novels importance, making the novel a commentary on society.
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest illustrates the dangers of letting people lose control of their lives and giving up their rights as a human beings, creating a need for a savior or Christ figure. Kesey clearly illustrates that it is quite important to defend ones self and to keep control of ones life, eliminating the need for a savior and martyr like Mc Murphy. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Religion In One Flew Over The Nest
