One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Freedom

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest In the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” written by Ken Kesey the main character of the novel, McMurphy deliberately sacrificed his own ultimate freedom in order to highlight his noble character. His ultimate sacrifice of freedom highlights McMurphy’s value set on the well being and pure freedom of others. The others in this case being patients within the ward. Within the novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” protagonist McMurphy often creates an upstir within the ward. Throughout the novel a reader may also notice a shift in this character. This too helps portray McMurphy's values. McMurphy walks into the ward clearly an acute ( a tad bit more sane than the rest, capable of self control). Despite this
McMurphy often creates an upstir due to a lack of self control over his mouth… which often runs wild. For example McMurphy takes the boys of the ward out for a fishing trip upon getting back to the ward Nurse Ratched was very unhappy. In an act to strike back against the boys, Nurse Ratched orders to have George covered in salve. George has a fit over this. In order to distract from George’s issue, McMurphy begins to run his mouth, throwing dirty slang words at the “black boys” in order to get one of them to throw a punch at McMurphy to create a fight; thus distracting the “black boys” from George. Any time a patient in the ward creates an upstir a clear pattern is presented. The patient who has created the upstir receives treatment. In this case the bureaucracy uses treatments and medicine as a way to take away power from patients, limit their freedom, and to control them. A man as smart as McMurphy had to of taken notice of this. However McMurphy still created the upstir knowing what consequences may come and what he may be sacrificing. Therefore, here McMurphy was sacrificing himself in order to allow for George to be set free. Another example of this is when McMurphy wishes to make Billy Bibbit a man, by sneaking over Candy (a prostitute) so Billy may lose his virginity. Thus a sense of manhood which would be freeing. However Billy was caught with Candy in his bed thus resulting in Nurse ratched trying to take away this sense of freedom Billy had just found by threatening to tell his mother. Thus leading to Billy’s suicide. McMurphy was deeply upset about the entire situation thus leading to his ultimate act of providing freedom for those in the ward despite risking his own freedom. McMurphy not only smashes the glass, but he also attacks Nurse Ratched. These actions lead to McMurphy receiving a lobotomy