McMurphy and Prot, both inspired the patients in their own ways. "But the rest are even scared to open up and laugh. You know, that's the first thing that got me about this place, that there wasn't anybody laughing. I haven't heard a real laugh since I came through that door, do you know that? Man, when you lose your laugh you lose your footing" (Kesey, 70). McMurphy realized that none of the patients stood up for themselves. They all bowed down to the Big Nurses dictatorship and took what she said as truth. This pushed him to show the patients how to stand up to the Big Nurse. In K-PAX, Prot had a discussion with Howie," Howie: You never gave me my third task. What's my third task? Prot: To stay here, and be prepared for anything" (Softley). When Prot tells Howie this, he is telling him that he is now aware of himself and can stand up for himself, but now he must teach the other patients how to stand up for himself and be self-aware again to cure themselves.
The main characters, Prot and McMurphy, were both looked up to as heroes. McMurphy was looked up to as a leader and hero by his fellow patients in the hospital because even though he has had multiple chances to escape, he has stayed to help make these patients learn how to speak and stand up for themselves. " What