I was looking for religious allusions in the chapters we read over the weekend. One jumped out to me in particular. As the technicians are readying McMurphy to undergo shock therapy, he says: "Anointest my head with conductant. Do I get a crown of thorns?" (244).
In Christianity, a crown woven of thorns was placed on Jesus's head before his crucifixion. Using this imagery further cements McMurphy as a sort of controversial Christ figure. Jesus's crucifixion is seen by Christians as the ultimate symbol of his sacrifice for man. In a similar way, entering the feared "Disturbed" ward seems to be McMurphy's last sacrifice for the ward.
Did you guys catch any other religious allusions or want to elaborate on this one?
Yeah, while reading i thought this religious allusion stood out most to me as well. McMurphy was being "anointed" with the machinery used for shock therapy was because he had stood up for George in the shower and I thought that his metaphorical "suffering" (as a result of the shock therapy) very much resembled and mirrored Jesus Christ's ultimate sacrifice for all Christians because he had done the same for the men on the ward. However, through out the majority of the last couple chapters we have read, there is much controversy over McMurphy. The patients begin to become more skeptical of McMurphy's philanthropy and i thought that this inclusion of the "crowing" of McMurphy was also controversial and conflicted with the fact that the patients were begging to see McMurphy more as a conman than an ally.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the electro-shock therapy table shaped like a cross too? That would be interesting to see the reference between the whole Christ-figure aspect of McMurphy and the imagery of Jesus's death.
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