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

Mcmurphy Hero's Journey

According to Joseph Campbell, the hero is someone “.who feels there's something lacking in the normal experiences available or permitted to the members of his society” (Campbell), which McMurphy, the protagonist of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, felt was quite common within society. The hero’s journey, defined by many steps, is separated into the departure, initiation, and return. In the novel by Ken Kesey, R.P. McMurphy is the hero due to his many experiences following the steps of a hero's journey…

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Mcmurphy Hero's Journey

McMurphy emerges as the hero of the story because, according to Campbell, he is giving his life to something greater than himself and is trying to fix something lacking in the normal experiences permitted to the members of this society. The other character, Chief Bromden, falls into the mentor archetype due to his overall personality and how he aided McMurphy in certain instances. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Randle McMurphy closely follows Joseph Campbell’s hero journey arc and challenges…

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OFOTCN Crit Essay

describes the conflicts and changes between the two opposing forces, the ward and staff (Nurse Ratched), which are a representation of that period’s society versus the individual characters, and how those conflicts shaped Chief Bromden. Chief Bromden, the narrator of this story, is the son of the chief of the Columbia Indians and a white woman. He suffers from schizophrenia, paranoia and hallucinations; has received multiple electroshock treatments within the institute; and has been in the hospital…

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Literary Analysis

draws the line between truth and lie, reality and fantasy. Everyone views the world through their unique lenses, but for some people, those lenses and views define their personality. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest introduces characters such as Chief Bromden and Nurse Ratched who experience completely different worlds from the patients and staff who live and function in the same ward as them. Due to their uniquely distorted ideas of the world, these characters influence their versions of reality rather…

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One Flew Over The Kuckoo's Nest Essay

A good writer knows how to carefully transmit his beliefs throughout his writing. The famous american novelist Ken Kesey knew how to do so. In his novel One Flew Over The Kuckoo’s Nest, he was able to criticize his own society with subtility and hand out an interesting message to his readers. His book got a lot of attention and avid filmmakers made a movie with it, few years after it was published. Sadly, it was said Ken Kesey did not agree with the screen adaptation. The movie One Flew Over The…

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Controversy

antagonist to battle the protagonist, which leads to an amusing story. Another example of offensive language is stereotypes, Chief Bromden, who is of Indigenous descent, assumes the workers on the ward think his internal organs are different because of previous ways he has been treated as a Native American (Kesey 81). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is narrated by Chief Bromden from the first-person point of view. This shows his perception of the ward and the racially motivated hate and assault he receives…

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One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Insanity Analysis

society for his unruly actions, and continuous struggle to conform to the behavioural, plus structural norms, around him. It is also seen in the character Billy Bibbit, whom is severely pressured, plus ridiculed, by others, and within the narrator, Chief Bromden, whose Indigenous heritage is unjustifiable disrespected by the mass majority, as he struggles to grasp reality.…

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Juxtaposition In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

reinforce this point. The entire story is told through the eyes of Chief who understands everything about the people in the hospital, yet he deceits everyone about being deaf and stupid, never speaking a word in the first half of the story. Chief continues by speaking about Nurse Ratched, who is a fraud that is in control of everything. Everything. Once the hero is introduced, McMurphy, the patients trust that he may “beat” Ratched. Chief begins to clarify that Ratched never loses and McMurphy is a lost…

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Racism in Film Essay

dependent” (50). Chief Bromden embodies almost all of these characteristics, and while he is not physically weak, he appears mentally weak. McMurphy attempts to teach him how to play basketball but struggles mightily because the Chief seems incapable of learning. This stereotypical portrayal is degrading towards Native Americans and makes them seem intellectually inferior as a whole. However, the audience sees a major transformation in Chief Bromden as the film goes on. While the Chief and McMurphy…

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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Mcmurphy Character Analysis

In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey the “hero”, Mr. Randle Patrick McMurphy, is thought to be a martyr by the narrator Chief Bromden. Despite his outward altruistic appearances, McMurphy acts entirely in a selfish manner throughout his life-ending tenure at the ward. This self-serving attitude is developed and exemplified by his gambling and dirty tricks, and the lives he causes to be lossed through his destructive schemes. Because of his past experience in playing cards and…

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