The Martyr

When McMurphy is moved to the disturbed floor he is like a martyr for his fellow patients, but then when McMurphy is actually killed, he truly is a martyr and it is he who inspires Bromden to change his life. As we discussed in class today, after the fight with McMurphy, Chief Bromden, and the “black boys,” Nurse Ratched moves McMurphy to the disturbed wing of the hospital. She thinks that by moving him out of her ward she will be able to regain some control and power over her patients. Contrary to her expectations, McMurphy’s absence actually creates more unrest among the patients because they imagine all sorts of heroic tales of McMurphy and his legacy grows while he is gone. This actually inspires the patients to resist the nurse and her instructions at times. Nurse Ratched even realizes it herself that she needs to bring McMurphy back into her ward because “she saw that McMurphy was growing bigger than ever while he was upstairs” (291). She eventually does bring him back because while he is not on her ward she recognizes that “A man out of sight can’t be made to look weak” (291). McMurphy acts like a martyr in this case, but then after he dies, he really does fit the definition of a martyr because he serves as a symbol for some cause that he tried to fight for during his life. The message in this case is resistance towards tyrannical authority and encouragement of his fellow patients to take control of their own lives. Chief Bromden decides to escape when Scanlon states, “[McMurphy] showed you how one time, if you think back. That very first week.” (323). Even though McMurphy has died, he lives on to inspire Bromden to break a window and then escape the insane asylum. I said in class that I did not think McMurphy accomplished much during his stay but I would like to change that viewpoint for obvious reasons. Upon further thought and additional reading, I realized that McMurphy actually was able to accomplish very much. He not only helped to expose the inhumanities of mental health treatment during the 1950s and 1960s, but he inspired several patients to release themselves from the mental health ward and try to face society. We can compare McMurphy’s effects as a martyr to those of John F Kennedy or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Like President Kennedy, McMurphy is remembered in a very positive light. Many readers, definitely me, tend to overlook some of his negative characteristics when he dies because we only reflect on all of his positive qualities. John F Kennedy was very similar because we remember him as a great president who was able to accomplish so much for our country, but in reality he never even served a full term. We view President Kennedy in a very nostalgic way because of his tragic assassination. It is merely human nature to stray away from thinking about some of his negative or bad qualities. Then, like Dr. King, McMurphy’s message becomes even stronger when he is jailed or given a lobotomy. After Dr. King was placed in jail on different occasions, protesters and civil rights activists were even more inspired to join his movement. Similarly, after McMurphy is given a lobotomy, many patients sign themselves out, move to a different ward, or even escape. The fact that we can compare McMurphy to President Kennedy and Dr. King shows just how far reaching and important the message was that he was trying to convey.