Essay Example on Stand Up to Power The definition of a Leader

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Stand Up to Power The definition of a leader is the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence said by General Montgomery The story One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey introduces a leader that fits Montgomery s definition in a bold and valiant way Taking place in an Oregon psychiatric hospital the narrator Chief Bromden takes the reader along his view of the ward The ward is split into two groups of men the Chronics cannot be cured and Acutes can be cured Bromden pretends to be deaf which allows for many secrets and stories to be shared in front of him However Bromden suffers from hallucinations which often leads to confusing and misleading events Bromden calls the ward a combine a strict but well working machine run by Nurse Ratched and her obedient employees the Black Boys The nurse has all of the patients under her control and will send anyone who tries to defy her to the electroshock room on the Disturbed ward However everything is turned upside down when Randle McMurphy arrives A loud obnoxious gambler is an instant threat to the combine McMurphy rebels against the Nurse upon his first day An all out war between the Nurse and McMurphy disrupts the combine for many months

The struggle to regain power by the Nurse and the urge to not be conformed and controlled by McMurphy surges on After many incidents and small victories the nurse decides to have McMurphy lobotomized McMurphy enlightened the patients with laughter and filled the ward with life The patients did not always stand behind McMurphy s choices but in the end they rallied behind him in his last efforts to ignite the rebellion Bromden grows the most out of having known McMurphy he regains his strength and becomes a man Bromden ends up killing McMurphy after his lobotomy the patients agree his death would be better than for him to live out his days in the hospital as a chronic and to forever be an example of the Nurse s power Instead they end his life and remember him as the leader and hero that he was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey shines light on a ward of mentally ill patients who despite their restraining circumstances rebelliously overcome the traumatizing and powerful hold Nurse Ratched and society had on them They do this with the leadership of Randle McMurphy who teaches them and inspires them to stand up for themselves First McMurphy proves to the patients that he will fight for them and for what is right He inspires and promotes sticking up for oneself and he never fails to have their backs in times of need

For example Nurse Ratched has the patients lined up to be sprayed down and cleaned from their previous rebellious fishing trip George a patient in the hospital with a phobia of cleaning himself begs not to be sprayed As George is begging in pure agony and the Black Boy gets ready to spray him McMurphy powers into action and sticks up for George Washington McMurphy said He took a deep breath and stepped across to the black boy shoving him away from George Kesney 230 Soon after this action is took McMurphy and Washington get into a ruthless fight that ends with McMurphy getting put onto the disturbed ward This exemplifies McMurphy sticking up for George against the Black Boys and essentially Nurse Ratched This heroic act shows the patients that McMurphy has only good intentions for them They look at his example and soon find it in their own hearts to stick up for themselves McMurphy s heroic action to stand up for his friend ignites this fire in the rest of the ward and soon they all learn to stand up against the evils of Nurse Ratched In the end McMurphy dies giving all of the patients a lasting memory of a hero and a leader It truly shows how much Bromden has grown as a character in the book when he decides McMurphy would rather be dead then to be an example of the Nurse after she had him lobotomized McMurphy was alive but he would no longer be the lively manly man that he was

He could no longer stand up for the patients Bromden decides to end his life because he knows McMurphy would rather die a hero and a leader McMurphy is gone but he lives on in the hearts of the patients as a reminder to stand up for themselves The patients have beat the Nurse despite all of the obstacles and difficulties they faced They have become men in knowing McMurphy and they have learned to stand up for themselves The patients rise with McMurphy against the Nurse after his heroic act to stand up for George They rally together against the Nurse and although McMurphy dies his legacy lives on with the patients The characters have a new perspective of life thanks to McMurphy They no longer conform to society's idea of life for them and they stood up to Nurse Ratched and the power hold she had on them They are stronger and better for having known McMurphy and he will forever be their leader and hero

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