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Eduardo Davila Mr. Mouzon IB English 20 November 2012 One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Thesis Essay Many authors catch the attention of many readers very quickly but very few are able to keep their interest throughout the rest of their novels. In many cases, authors tend to use their (1) profound knowledge of literary elements and techniques in order to (2) enthrall readers and not have an (3) insipid storyline. Nevertheless, writers must employ (4) diverse elements in order to (5) enhance their stories until the (6) upshot of the book. Through an exhaustive analysis of various literary elements in the book, entitled One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kessey we can conclude that the novel is (7)replete with a lot of Christian symbolism and biblical analogies. Early on in the story, when the story is just beginning, Ellis is introduced to readers and this is when the shock shop is first introduced as well, which is a symbol for the cross of Jesus. Ellis is described as a chronic that used to be an acute but because of being overloaded with shocks in the shock shop he is nailed on the wall like a stuffed trophy. nailed against the wall in the same condition they lifted him off the table for the last time, in the same shape, arms out, palms cupped( Kessey 16) This is an (8)implication that he looks like he is crucified, just like Christ, or at least this is how Chief Bromden sees him. This foreshadows the crucifixion of McMurphy later on in the story. Then when Harding is explaining what happens in the shock

Davila 2 shop to McMurphy, McMurphy says Didnt the public raise Cain about it? (Kessey 190) Most people would (9)bypass this sentence as if it had no meaning to it, but the word Cain was not capitalized for no reason. This is an allusion to Cain, who is the eldest son of Adam and Eve in the bible. Cain was known to be very (10) caustic and had much (11) disdain for his brother and because of that he had no (12) apathy after he killed his own brother Abel (Genesis 4.1-15) This (13) ghastly murder was (14) premeditated and made Cain (15) infamous and so McMurphy used his name to describe what he thought the publics reaction would be like. Then later on in the story when McMurphy and Chief Bromden are about to be shocked Chief Bromden sees two men in front of them and one is saying Its my cross, thank you Lord, its all I got, thank you Lord(Kessey 282) and the other is saying Guts ball, guts ball. (Kessey 282). This shows us how people who are shocked symbolize martyrs because they are being punished when the combine thinks they are acting up whether this they truly are or not. When the first of the men speaks, he is saying that he is being shocked for a reason to stand up for his beliefs. When the second man speaks he says guts balls because he is referring to the fact that he has to have courage and do anything to defend his beliefs even if it means being killed. In addition, when McMurphy is going to be shocked for the first time he says, Anointest my head with conductant. Do I get a crown of thorns? (Kessey 283) Here McMurphy is comparing himself to Jesus Christ because he feels like he is being crucified because the table is in the shape of a cross and because he is willingly taking the punishment just as Jesus Christ did with his punishment. Additionally, right before the treatment a tall bony old guy says to McMurphy and Chief Bromden I was my hands of the whole deal (Kessey 276) The old guy represents Pontius Pilate when he says the same thing to Jesus before sentencing him to his death. After the treatment, Chief Bromden states, They gave McMurphy three more times that week (Kessey 289) and

Davila 3 then after when Chief left Disturbed he says that everyone was asking him questions. One of the questions was Was it true, that theyd been hitting him every day with EST.. (Kessey 291) This is another example of symbolism because just as Jesus returned after three days, McMurphy returned after receiving three more treatments so he resurrected just like Christ after his crucifixion. The shock therapy and the shock shop were not the only symbols in the story; in fact, another symbol was the fishing trip. McMurphy took twelve men onto the trip with him just as Christ had twelve disciples and the trip began with Ellis pulling his hands off the nails in the wall.. (Kessey 234) and telling Billy Bibbit to be a fisher of men (Kessey 234) just as Christ told Peter. Then as the trip ended McMurphy says to the men that they are not the same men that he met when he got to the ward. This implies that he is beginning to guide and lead them in becoming like him just as Christ led and guided his twelve disciples. This fishing trip can also clearly show us comparisons between McMurphy and Jesus in their abilities to heal. McMurphy may not have physically healed anybody but he does heal Chiefs deafness and dumbness by encouraging him to talk and giving him the security he needed to be able to talk again after so long. McMurphy prompted Chief Bromden to speak when Chief says Thank you (Kessey 217) just as Jesus, made blind men see and mute men speak. Chief Bromden was not the only one who was influenced by McMurphy. Billy Bibbit was also greatly changed by McMurphy. He was greatly empowered and his self-confidence greatly (16) augmented. Billy was one of the first people to start following McMurphy and quickly became one of his disciples. Billy even (17) venerated McMurphy because of his, as Billy viewed, (18) exemplary characteristics. Unfortunately, his loyalty was not permanent and this leads us to a third major example of symbolism in this story. Just as Judas betrayed Christ by

Davila 4 handing him in to the Romans, Billy did the same with McMurphy be blaming him for his actions. And M-M-McMurphy! He did They teased me, called me things! (Kessey 315) Additionally just as Judas took his own life, Billy Bibbit committed suicide as well. He opened the doctors desk and found some instruments and cut his throat. The poor miserable, misunderstood boy killed himself. (Kessey 317-318) This eventually led up to McMurphy receiving a lobotomy and the nurse lost her power. She couldnt rule with her old power anymore (Kessey 321) This showed that the way people lived on the ward was now going to change forever, just as Christs death changed the world forever as well. Ken Kessey wrote and (19) exemplary novel and was able to enthrall readers. Not only did he immediately catch our attention, he was able to make it so that we could not resist reading on continuously after just reading the first page. Ken Kessey achieved this by using numerous literary techniques and elements. Through a (20) scrutinizing every word of his novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, we are able to conclude that he employed a vast amount of Christian symbolism and biblical references.

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