Humor and madness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Humor and madness - Essay Example Seriously, what are the odds of someone who faked insanity to escape his punishment suddenly taking on messianic attributes en route to â€Å"liberating† a group of mentally ill patients? In a fictional setting of course its viable. This happenstance borders on the fantastic, and it is highly remote that people could just walk into asylums on the pretext of chicanery and â€Å"heal† the insane with the power of laughter. The novel shows us the great divide between humor and madness as a form of symbolism in connoting sanity vis-à  -vis insanity. In the dour, oppressive wards of the asylum people are so rooted in madness that they have completely forgotten how it is to legitimately feel happiness and appreciate humor. And then comes McMurphy, whose witty, cheery approach enlivens up a ward which hadn’t heard true laughter in years. The novel highlights the fact that those embroiled in madness no longer have the capability to experience real joy. Thus, humor serves as a virtual shield for the protagonist, lest he fall into the same trap that the patients have found themselves in. He utilizes humor so that it would serve as insulation from the madness around him, but in the process he inspires the rest of the occupants of the ward. The relationship between humor and madness go hand in hand as the story unfolds, with humor standing as a unique symbol for free-thinking, fully functional human bei ngs and the absence thereof showing a descent into the recesses of madness. Once Mcmurphy has gradually empowered the patients with his own brand of rebellious humor, the reader would get a distinct notion that the patients had actually improved and that they were slowly entering the realm of reason again. This was clearly manifested in the scene where Harding, Scanlon, Sefelt and Doctor Spivey all could truly laugh at the end of their bending-the-rules fishing expedition. It is quite obvious that a reasonable understanding of the