When Christ Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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Many people alive today could fit the definition of being “Christ-like”. Young people today are taught to be a figure of Christ for others by doing charitable activities. Some of which may include volunteering at a local food pantry or working with children who have disabilities. It is seen as a sacrifice of their time to help the less fortunate, but could never live up to the ultimate sacrifice Christ gave us, which was his own life. However, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, a certain character sacrificed himself for the good of others. This character was Randle McMurphy. Knowing that his actions could get him stuck in the tortuous ward run by Nurse Ratched for life, he kept pushing to get others like Chief Bromden to break out of their shells. He wanted them to realize that they don’t have to suffer for life. In some parts of the book, his sacrifice was even physical. Take his shock treatment for example. The “treatment” was given to him for essentially standing up for what he believed. Jesus stood up for himself and preached the word of God, but he too suffered for his actions. Everyone is part of the body of Jesus, and many would argue that the human body is quite similar to that of a machine. Each part has its function and purpose, and this concept of machinery is a very popular motif in the novel. Machinery is constantly and consistently alluded to, and Nurse Ratched seems to be running it. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a novel which highlights a presence of Christ and also the machine that makes up any bodily entity, such as a mental ward.

The theme of being Christ for others is more and more apparent through the progression of the novel. At first, when McMurphy makes his first appearence at the ward, it’s difficult to see how he could be “Christ” in any way due to the fact he just causes a ruckus and seemingly has no goal aside from just getting on Nurse Ratched’s bad side. As the story unfolds, McMurphy starts to make sacrifices, like getting in a physical fight for the sake of Rub a Dub George, who refuses to use the ward’s soap despite the urging by the Black Boys, who work at the ward. This fight begins on page 228 of the novel. Although the Black Boys are personnel, they too are wrapped around the Nurse’s finger. McMurphy tells these boys to leave George alone, however when they don’t, he stands up for George not thinking of himself, which later on earns him a short stay in the Shock Shop. Another sacrifice is withstanding the shock treatments and constant belittling by the Nurse, until eventually, McMurphy makes his ultimate sacrifice. Similar to Jesus himself, McMurphy does lose his life. Maybe not literally at first, but once he is lobotomized per the Nurse’s order, he’s definitely not quite there anymore. The Nurse orders his lobotomization (page 267) after he finally battles her face to face, similar to Jesus refusing Satan in the desert. Jesus never used violence to battle evil, but the message is still clear. McMurphy bears some very canny resemblances to Jesus in his relationships as well, such as being friends with the prostitutes, Candy and Sandy. Jesus was good friends with Mary Magdalene, who was once a prostitute herself. McMurphy also asks for his crown of thorns before his shock therapy (page 237), and on their fishing trip, he leads his twelve friends into the sea to be “fishers of men”, as Ellis puts it (page 200). In the bible, Jesus has twelve disciples. One of his disciples is Peter, who he calls to be a fisher of men. Because of his pushing and his sacrifices, he helps the other patients in the ward to become better for their own benefit. The most striking example is Chief Bromden. In the beginning of the book, he doesn’t speak or really interact with anyone; but with McMurphy’s help, he gets back on his feet, becomes more confident, and starts speaking more and more. This is similar to how Jesus performed healing miracles on the poor and lame. McMurphy “heals” Chief’s deafness and dumbness by helping him to break free of the role he’s been put into. Eventually, Chief escapes the clutches of the ward. Harding, who was never very confident, leaves and goes back to life with his wife shortly after McMurphy’s point has been made. Like Jesus, McMurphy was used as an example of what happens when you question authority. The Nurse put him up for display, his suffering was shown to all of the ward as a symbol of what could happen to those who question her again. This theme shows the sacrifice of one for the ultimate salvation of others, and although a life is lost, many are saved in its place. In contrast, Jesus died for our sins to be forgiven, and his death meant our salvation.

All being part of the body of christ, the ultimate machine, is also detailed in depth through the plot of the novel. Chief bromden sees the ward as machinery, and the whole machine is being run by the “head”, Nurse Ratched. The Black Boys are her arms and legs, they do her bidding with just a single thought. The whole body that is the ward has its certain parts that are needed to keep going. The leader and the pawns are both present. Chief Bromden sees things how they really are in the ward, how Nurse Ratched is the ringleader and she can do whatever she pleases, no matter how much it affects people. He has hallucinations of the staff and the ward itself being a giant machine, which get into Truth and Unreality. It may be a hallucination, but his visions still hold a certain level of truth or reality. Chief hears the machine’s cogs and gears shifting constantly, but when there’s a glitch, it all stops momentarily. McMurphy is the glitch in the story. He sets a small fire to the nurse’s composure and when the head of a body loses control, even for a second, it can cause long term problems.

Machinery is significant due to the fact that it is a big part of Chief’s world, and so is the hidden truth in it. For instance, when he hallucinates the staff killing Blastic (page 80), Blastic has no human insides. Instead he has nothing but ash and wires. To Chief, the ward has done its work on Blastic’s body. The ward has corrupted him and made him inhuman. Again, this is an example of not every hallucination being completely in Chief’s head. The night Chief has this vision, Blastic dies. By the end of the book, the machinery isn’t seen or heard as much by Chief. This is partially due to the fact that the “machine” is falling apart, being that its “head” is losing control. Another reason Chief is seeing less and less of the Machine is that he is becoming himself again. He doesn’t need to live behind a wall of delusions to see what’s really happening anymore.

In the beginning of the book, Nurse Ratched has tamed everyone in the ward. Similarly to Genghis Khan, she uses force and rules with fear. She has created a uniform unit that ultimately falls apart by the end of the novel, showing that nothing can be perfect forever, and machines will always break.

Machinery and the Christ-like view of McMurphy go hand-in-hand through the novel. First of all, it’s apparent that in the end, McMurphy has, at the very least, put a few dents in the machine that is the ward, and he’s put the head of the machine, Nurse Ratched, back in her place to an extent. She’s bent up and no longer a perfect doll-like character. Instead, he flaws are made visible, which is enough to knock anyone back into shape. With McMurphy’s influence on Chief, Chief starts to not see or talk about the machines as much, symbolic of Chief not believing he is part of something that is fixed any longer. He can do whatever he wants and doesn’t have to be a cog in the body of the ward. Being a Christ-like figure and also a part of an enormous machine is something the hero, McMurphy, juggles and overcomes. A Christ is always needed in places where things have become too controlled by a greater power, whether it be a corrupted good or an ultimate evil. This is a key aspect of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Although the hero is killed in spirit and in this case physically as well, many others had better lives because of him. Out of the love Jesus had for all people including his friends, he died for all of us to live happy and successful lives. McMurphy sacrificed his life for his fellow inmates to do the same, and live better lives they certainly did. People today are overrun with standards put onto them by the bodily entity and machine that is society. At the end of the day, every single one of those people can be sure that they can live at ease, due to a few sacrifices made by other parties. Jesus being one, but also those who continue to make dents in the truly horrid parts of society today. The McMurphys of our worldly machine-like ward, if you will.

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