It takes an encounter with madness to appreciate the finer things in life and through successful characterization, Kesey brings this issue to the forefront. The struggle between man and those wishing to control him is not new because it is intrinsically human to desire freedom. When we are caged, we rebel, even if that rebellion comes with a high price. McMurphy emerges triumphant because he demonstrates to the other men that they can be free and they do not have to let the system crush them. Bromden is heroic as well, because he discovers himself after a long separation from who he actually is. He would have never taken the steps he did without McMurphy and his antics. They are modern-day heroes fighting the age-old war of man vs. authority. Works Cited

Fick, Thomas....

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Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. New York: Signet Books. 1962.

Ware, Elaine. "The Vanishing American: Identity Crisis in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest." MELUS. 1986. JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 01, 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/467185

Lupack, Barbara. Insanity as Redemption in Contemporary American Fiction. Gainsville: University…