One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Essay Example

He manages to convince some patients, however, in the end, McMurphy’s attempts prove futile. Despite the unsuccessful attempt to escape, McMurphy’s actions produce alternate favorable outcomes. Therefore, discussed below, are the reasons why McMurphy chose not to escape, his gift to fellow patients, and, the influence both parties had on each other. Despite having a flawless escape plan, McMurphy chose not to go through with it for the following reasons. Firstly, McMurphy realized that he would leave some of his helpless friends behind if he followed through on the escape plan, for example, Billy who did not consider himself as being ready to leave the hospital.

McMurphy, therefore, feared that the progress made during his stay inside the mental institution would be destroyed by his departure. As a result, none of the patients would have the courage to take charge of their lives leading to self-recovery. Secondly, the drugs prescribed to the patients when mixed with alcohol made it physically impossible for patients to follow through with their escape plans. Therefore, McMurphy could not leave some of his new friends behind especially because of the incapacitated state in which they were in.

Thirdly, McMurphy understood that Nurse Ratched would inflict further harm on the patients left behind if his plans to escape materialized. He came to this conclusion, after thinking about Ratched’s behavior towards those who displeased or disagreed with her. He did not want to leave his friends vulnerable when questioned about his whereabouts. McMurphy symbolizes hope for the patients locked away under the harsh, inhumane treatment within the mental institution. Therefore, he bestows hope on his fellow patients who are in a state of hopelessness because of the inhumane treatment they undergo under the directives of Ratched.

Before McMurphy’s arrival, nobody dared to question Ratched because of the repercussions that would ensue. Therefore, McMurphy’s courage to challenge Ratched worked to strengthen other patients resolve. The patients realized Nurse Ratched’s ploys held no power over their ability to recover and return to the outside world. The fact that McMurphy did not abandon his fellow patients by following through on his escape plans reflected McMurphy’s genuine concern for his friends. This helped to reassure other patients that they are worthy of love and genuine affection and that people still care for them despite their mental afflictions.

The fact that, Nurse Ratched and her colleagues, including Chief Bromden, result to performing a lobotomy on McMurphy shows that they felt threatened by the impact he had on his fellow patients. McMurphy changed his fellow patients by making them realize that they had it in them to get better and return to normal. This occurred by taking up the role of the leader amongst his counterparts and rebelled against Nurse Ratched’s harsh treatment. This made other patients realize that they could take control over their lives.

In addition, this allowed the patients to understand that they all individually possessed the capacity to influence the direction of their recovery process. For example, Billy managed to speak without a stutter after a successful sexual encounter with Candy during the execution phase of the escape plan. Despite Billy’s achievement abruptly coming to an end after Nurse Ratched threatened to expose him to his