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It is quite funny that this is represented on his boxer shorts and that they were given to him by a younger conquest! The white whale is in reference to Moby Dick- the whale sought by Captain Ahab in the novel by Melville 'Moby Dick.' The whale bit off his leg, was elusive, powerful and rare... qualities also held by Mc M. It was the one thing Ahab wanted, but could never get. It consumed him. Nurse Ratched could be said to be our parallel to Ahab, but in a cruel twist she catches her 'whale.' Mc M is a symbol of freedom and self serving purpose. His representation of having 'red eyes' is to do with the passion he potentially brings to the ward, as the powerful, hunted and rare object of obsession, but it could also be related to his inherent anger and rage.

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Mc M enters the ward laughing and his greatest gift to the men is laughter. It is described on page 11 as 'free and loud... bigger and bigger.' For Mc M it is representative of his freedom, as well as his rebellion against the enforced silence of the ward. His joy and rebellion slowly trickles to the ward as they too start to use their voices again. It is not until the fishing trip on page 214 that the full impact of the redemptive qualities of laughter are felt when the men are feeling the 'bigger and bigger' pull of full enjoyment. Mc M- for all of his brash anger and hubris, brings the men to understand the power of their voices and the strength they have in laughter and fun.

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This is associated with the electro shock table, and later with the lobotomy room, and is described by Bromden on pg 114 when he talks about the shape of the table ' shaped like a cross, with shadows of a thousand murdered men printed on it.' The cross, as a typical christian symbol is used to define and represent the sacrifice of Jesus on Golgotha. The men recognising that this treatment table is in the shape of the cross, links us to the sacrifice they are making- perhaps a sacrifice of their sanity, for the sake of social propriety, or to fit the system. This is much like Jesus- who was sacrificed to appease the people and to maintain the power of the ruling classes at the time, the result of this sacrifice was ultimately love thought. Mc M is the same. On page 244 he gives himself up, fully knowing what could happen but he 'climbs on the table without any help and spreads his arms out to fit the shadow.' He goes on to say, 'Anointest my head with conductant. Do I get a crown?' He knows that his courage is the ultimate act of defiance that the men need to see in order to be set free. His love is somewhat perverse, but it gives the men in the ward the courage to defy the 'system' and make choices that mean they can pursue a greater meaning in their life- hence why he is sacrificed at the end of the text as the symbolic Jesus.

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Perhaps we should also consider the less heroic aspect of this character and look at the fact that the 'system' wins. Mc M is left as a shell. Bromden sets him free, which 'one ups' the 'system' but he is fundamentally changed to fit a system that he rebelled against and as such he fails. Perhaps Kesey is also trying to show us that no matter our intentions, we are but a cog in a machine. We can rebel, but rebellion is futile if not followed with a change in the system. Ratched's game will go on, with or without him there, and so nothing changes.

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"mcmurphy shook him off like a bull shaking off a monkey, but he was right back' (275)

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Mc M is represented by a number of symbolic elements in this text, all of which differentiate him from the setting of the 'combine,' as they are symbols which define him as an outsider, a rebel and a man who acts for a cause.
You could consider:
-The playing cards
-The white whale with the red eyes on his boxer shorts.
-The cross motif
-Laughter.

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-he protects his friend George in the shower by physically attacking a black boy to prevent him from being hosed because he was afraid.
- he could be seen as a hero when he set up the boat trip for the men as a way of seeing life outside the ward, and also when he snuck the girls, cards, cigarettes and alcohol into the ward. Although the girls incident ended with Billy Bibbit''s death, it gave the rest of the men a taste of the real world. This encouraged many of them to leave the ward after McMurphy died, because they realised that the ward was confining them
- McMurphy encourages the inmates to vote for watching the television and for the boat trip, showing them their freedom of choice.

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What is he designed to teach us? --> Insanity

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What is he designed to teach us? --> Insanity

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Makes us question the line between sanity and madness
- is McMurphy insane? Is Bromden?

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http://www.somersetacademy.com/ourpages/auto/2015/9/29/56608819/cuckoos%20nest.pdf
:D

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How is he depicted by Bromden's narrative?

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How is he depicted by Bromden's narrative?

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- rebel- doesn't conform to rules
-sees him as a change in the hospital environment