Societal Flaws

       Upon reading that McMurphy underwent a lobotomy, and eventually strangulation, I felt a bit of sadness and disappointment. Towards the end of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I envisioned McMurphy storming out the front doors of the institution with Bromden, Harding, Bibbit, and Scanlon in tow. My picture perfect ending would not lend to the meaning of the novel, nor solidify one of the implications I believe Kesey makes. Through the strangulation of McMurphy, a result of the lobotomy, I believe that Kesey reveals the injustices people face when they fight against societal norms. After he rebels against the strict regime of Nurse Ratched, McMurphy winds up in the Disturbed Ward for a lobotomy: MCMURPHY, RANDLE P. POST- OPERATIVE...LOBOTOMY"(321). Kesey creates an element of situational irony, as McMurphy receives a life-altering,and potentially life-ending procedure, for attempting to help the patients gain respect. Though Bromden ultimately causes McMurphy's death, the lobotomy motivates him to put McMurphy out of his misery. Therefore, I believe that Kesey strongly and effectively criticizes the government for approving such procedures, and members of society for advocating and performing them. Interestingly, Kesey's life ends up differently than McMurphy's, though I believe they possess many similarities. Both men looked to curb societal conformity, and did so in a bold manner.  McMurphy attacked Nurse Ratched and broke the rules of the ward, while Kesey and his Merry Pranksters openly used illegal drugs. Kesey ends up serving a couple of years in jail,eventually forced to settle down . McMurphy undergoes a procedure that disables him from functioning properly, and then dies. Both men's lives end at different extremes. These two extremes help to show that there is no winning against the powerful societal norms, whether they are right or wrong, just or unjust. If Kesey did not end the novel with McMurphy's death, he would fail to show the true reality of the brave people who fight the wrath of a disapproving society.