Ramandeep Lobana,
ENG 4UO-A
Wednesday July 16th, 2014
A Comparison of the Fatherly Figures in William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 and Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
A father figure is a man to whom a person looks up to and whom he treats like a father. Fathers who have an involved relationship with children are more likely to have an impact on their social and emotional development (Rosenberg). In the play, Henry IV ,Part 1 by William Shakespeare, there are two main plots that converge in a melodramatic action at the end. One of the plots is between Hal and his relationship with his father whereas the second plot is about Hotspur and other noblemen that form a rebellion against King Henry. In the other play, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Dale Wasserman, McMurphy, the protagonist, rebels against the authority of Nurse Ratched, the antagonist, to change the way the patients are treated. Through genuine love and leading Hal and the patients, both McMurphy and Falstaff act as father figures. However, McMurphy protects his patients whereas Falstaff’s cowardly behaviour restrains him from helping Hal.
To start off, McMurphy and Falstaff give Hal and the patients advice that guides them and helps them cope with their difficulties. Firstly, McMurphy tries to educate the patients to give them a better understanding of Nurse Ratched's real personality. For example, when the patients tell McMurphy how caring Nurse Ratched is, McMurphy furiously tells them that "She's sharp as a knife and twice as hard" (Wasserman 26). McMurphy's harsh attitude towards Nurse Ratched changes many patients perspectives. He wants them to realize that Nurse Ratched creates conflict among themselves to control them. He also wants to give the patients an understanding of what Ratched is doing instead of them arguing with each other at the group therapy also known