One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Symbolism Essay

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All throughout the world, authors have used different forms of illusion and symbolism to irate a deeper and more thorough idea or theme. Many authors will use the bible and the theme of good and evil to help give the readers a more sympathetic character or reason of thinking. This use of symbolism is a great way to better understand ideas put forward in a novel, and in many cases helps these novels become a great read. Many novels chosen for a curriculum for students are chosen for the fact that they have many areas of literary topics or ideas and have a plethora of writable attributes such as symbolisms. In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, biblical illusion is used to support the idea of McMurphy as a Christ-like figure. First, the symbolism of McMurphy shown as a Christ-like figure is shown by the patient’s day out on the fishing trip. McMurphy chooses twelve men to go on the fishing trip with him, and this is quite important as Jesus had chosen the same number to become his twelve…show more content…
Kesey uses many symbolic references for the main character, McMurphy who is portrayed as Jesus Christ and to the other men on the ward who are shown as Christ's disciples. Kesey uses many symbolic references that lead the readers to believe that McMurphy symbolized Christ to the men in the hospital. Events from the fishing trip and the twelve disciples to the cross and the crown of thorns, then finally McMurphy's sacrifice of his own life to save the lives of the other men on the ward. Kesey shows McMurphy as a Christ-like person to give the readers a more sympathetic character and create a more developed and enjoyable read. If more novelists were to use this kind of portrayal of their characters and make their stories more enjoyable, then perhaps more people around the world would want to take the time to sit down and read a

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