Kesey's Lobotomy And The Crucifixion Of The Apostles

Adding on to McMurphy’s similarities to Christ, Kesey forms connections between McMurphy’s lobotomy and the crucifixion of Jesus to draw the attention of the religious community. Kesey initially characterizes McMurphy as a man full of bravado and audacity. However, as the novel progresses, McMurphy develops into a leader for all of the patients at the ward. McMurphy’s ability to gather and enact his followers compares to Christ’s disciples and Apostles. He gathers his fellow patients up to rebel against Nurse Ratched’s needless rules: “‘Let me see again,’ McMurphy says. ‘How many of you birds will vote with me if I bring up that time switch again?’ About half the Acutes nod yes, a lot more than would really vote” (Kesey 106). In addition,

A total of twelve people participate in the fishing trip: McMurphy, nine other fellow patients, Dr. Spivey, and Candy, a prostitute invited by McMurphy. These twelve directly parallel with the twelve Apostles that set out to sea in the New Testament. Before their trip, Nurse Ratched, attempts to deter the men from going on the trip by instilling fear into them: “But he couldn’t talk anybody into it. The Big Nurse has the rest scared with her stories of how rough the sea’d been lately and how many boats’d sunk, and it didn’t look like we’d get that last crew member till a half-hour later” (Kesey 194). Many of the men then become weary about their upcoming trip. According to Ignatius Washima Him, in his article, “Matthew 14:22-36”, the Jews used to believe that “the sea was traditionally an abode of monsters that were capable of causing a storm and torrent on the sea at night” (18). Just as the Jews feared the sea for they believed the sea was composed of monsters and other creatures, the men going on the fishing trip are fearful to leave the ward and venture out to dangerous waters. In addition to the correlation between the twelve Apostles and the twelve fishing trip participants, McMurphy’s actions while at sea parallel Jesus’. As a source of support for the men, McMurphy helps the men develop a

It is common knowledge that various religious groups and activists impose their opinion and faith on the government. From this knowledge, Kesey believed it would be beneficial to gain the support of the Christian community at the time. In addition, the Christian audience encompassed much of the nation at the time, and had a large hand in governmental operations. He relates each of the main characters in his novel to characters in the Bible in the hopes that Christians would draw correlations between each. Next he strategically places significant events in the Bible, such as Jesus’ trip at sea, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ crucifixion as a way to connect to his Christian readers. He felt that this would be the most efficient way to get the message out to the people of America in addition to the fastest way to make a change in mental hospitals across the country. Because of this, the movement towards morally sound treatments for the mentally ill would come about quicker and