Examples Of Mcmurphy In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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McMurphy as an Anti-hero
Many movies feature standard heroes, but anti-heroes are much more complex. Anti-heroes are heroes that lack traditional qualities of a hero. They quite typically are in a place where they lack control, and are unable to commit themselves to ideals. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, directed by Miloš Forman, based on the novel by Ken Kesey, starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Will Sampson, the character R.P. McMurphy fits the literature archetype of an anti-hero. The film follows McMurphy as he fakes insanity so he can finish serving his prison sentence in a mental ward. McMurphy serves as a disruption to the orderliness that Nurse Ratched, who supervises the ward, has used her position of power to enforce. Throughout the film, the audience watches the power struggle between authoritarian Ratched and non-conformist McMurphy. McMurphy plans his escape with another patient whom he calls Chief, who is in a …show more content…
His lack of control is shown in his power struggle with "consistent, bureaucratic authoritarian" ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).") Nurse Ratched. The power struggle between McMurphy and Ratched first becomes clear McMurphy wants to watch the World Series. He is attempting to disrupt the order that she has established in the ward by changing the schedule that is followed every day so he can watch the World Series. Ratched lets patients vote to see if they want to change the schedule to watch it, but she refuses to let McMurphy win. However, he finds his own way to win - he pretends the game is playing and encourages everyone else to watch with him, even though it is not. This power struggle continues until Ratched ultimately wins when she lobotomizes McMurphy, taking complete control of him (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). The lack of control that McMurphy has in the ward ends up leaving him completely helpless, which is one quality of an
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