The role of the hero in Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, is played by Randle P. McMurphy, a wrongly committed mental patient with a lust for life. The qualities that garner McMurphy respect and admiration from his fellow patients are also responsible for his tragic downfall. These qualities include his temper, which leads to his being deemed "disturbed," his stubbornness, which results in his receiving numerous painful disciplinary treatments, …showed first 75 words of 1013 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1013 total…strong and deeply anchored, that even though his mind is gone, his body continues the fight to stay alive. In Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, there is one character heroic enough to stand up against the tyranny of the Big Nurse. This character is Randle P. McMurphy. However, it is McMurphy’s own personality traits including his wild temper, his stubbornness and his free spirit which ultimately defeat him