Braddy Reads One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Man, some books... I don't think I've felt this conflicted about a story I've read since Lolita.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is without a doubt worthy of the influence it's had on people over the years. It's a compelling tale with memorable characters, a primal, universal conflict, and a resolution that couldn't have come about any other way. It's a story that had to come together the way it did, and it would not have worked any other way.

It's too bad the main character is such an unlikable cuss.

Most of the issues I have with Cuckoo's Nest center around Randall McMurphy. He's brash, boisterous, and rowdy. He's sneaky, conniving, and contemptible. He's got some charm to him, certainly,  and the story felt like it screeched to a halt every time he wasn't the center of attention. Yet I could never bring myself to genuinely like him, because he asked for most of the poor treatment he received.

Sure, I get that McMurphy is meant to illustrate the value of freedom in the face of oppression. I get that he's making a stand against an unjust and corrupt system. I get that he restores autonomy and confidence to a whole group of disenfranchised inmates. HOWEVER, he remains, start to finish, an angry gambler, a misogynist, and a violent criminal.

I've got other grievances - mainly centering around the depictions of the mental health profession - but most of them I can brush off as elements necessary in constructing the delicate tyrrany against which our protagonist fights. Cuckoo's Nest testifies of the importance of personal freedom, and it makes the point that freedom is something worth dying for. It's a good message, and a good story - but did it have to be told this way?

Maybe, for some, it did. For me, though? R. P. McMurphy just isn't my hero.