How Is Chief Bromden A Hero

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Teddy Lear Mrs. Wasserman Honors English 11 20 February 2024 The Hero and the Rebel Over the course of the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the hero’s journey is apparent, however for much of the novel it seems to be in R.P. McMurphy’s journey, but in fact the hero’s journey is best represented by Chief Bromden. In an interview with Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell states “Even in popular novels, the main character is a hero or heroine who has found or done something beyond the normal range of achievement and experience. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” This quote exemplifies Chief Bromden’s actions at the end of the novel, showcasing him as the true best fit for the hero archetype in the novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken …show more content…
As stated in the article Ken Kesey’s Indian Narrator: A Sweeping Stereotype, by Peter Beidler, “The murder of the father is in this case highly complex, for Chief Bromden suffocates the recently lobotomized McMurphy in a murder that is at the same time an expression of his love for McMurphy, a demonstration of his revenge against Big Nurse, and an assertion of his independence from both.” This part of the novel solidifies Chief Bromden as the hero, as he, as thought of as Bromden just as the sidekick. This is also stated by Cengage Learning Gale in A Study Guide for Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, when they say “It is not until the very end of the novel.that it becomes clear that Bromden has surpassed his teacher in the capacity to survive in American society.” Bromden then realizes he has done all he needed to do and must leave, so he returns to society, and to his free space. The archetype that McMurphy best represents in the overall story is the rebel archetype, however, he also shows pieces of the mentor archetype as he helps guide Bromden through his hero’s
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