t to be a "bad person"because he gambles, smokes, drinks, has sex, and was put in jail for violence. The readersof this novel realize that McMurphy is really trying to help the other men and is willing tosacrifice pain, suffering and eventually a lobotomy and death for the benefit of the rest ofthe men. McMurphy is not the "bad person" that the outside world sees. Secondly Kesey intends to show the reader that a single person is significant andcan make a difference. A single person can inspire and motivate (McMurphy) and alsooppress and control people(Nurse Ratched). When McMurphy came onto the ward all ofthe Acutes worked against each other, never stood up for themselves and were terriblyfrightened of the Big Nurse. Nurse Ratched was strong enough to tare down themanhood of all of the men, put fear in them, and to totally control their lives. McMurphy,eventually with his own strength, single handily made the men realize that they aren't tooweak to take control over their lives and to stand up to Nurse Ratched. McMurphyinspired the men to the point were they took control back in their lives and eventuallyworked together, left the ward and or stood up to the no longer so powerful NurseRatched. McMurphy showed that it was not impossible to beat the seemingly invincibleBig Nurse. McMurphy helped change the lives of most of the men on the ward when itseemed they were in a situation were change was not possible.Kesey finally shows readers that even after a person is gone the strength and spiritof that person can live on and make a profound difference. McMurphy had so muchstrength and spirit and was so big in the eyes of the Acutes that even after he was dead hisspirit stayed with the men. Nurse Ratched thought that by giving McMurphy a lobotomyand by taking away a man who was like a god to the Acutes she would regain all of hercontrol and put fear back into the men. What she did not realize was all of McMurphy'sstrength, cou...
