Sir William Schwenk Gilbert

Sir William Schwenk Gilbert stated in the first act of The Mikado Let the punishment fit the crime. In society punishments are given to make people suffer for their wrong doings. Is it fair that when man breaks rules but only in the name of righteousness that he be punished? In the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey, the author skillfully portrays man as one who suffers for breaking the rules, while trying to stand up for his beliefs and inspire others. One may suffer as a consequence of breaking the rules, but he will suffer unfairly if he were only breaking them to stand up for his beliefs. In One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Nurse Ratched constantly caused the inmates to endure unfair suffering when they broke the rules, even if they were breaking them to stand up for their beliefs. On the evening of the world series game, the inmates led by McMurphy held a vote so they could watch the game. The deciding vote was not submitted in time because the meeting was closed according to the Nurse. McMurphy rebelled against this unfair decision by skipping his chores and sitting there with his hands crossed behind his head and his feet stuck out in a chair, a smoking cigarette sticking out from under his hatbrim - watching the blank TV screen.(p. 127). The Nurse believed this showed unspeakable behavior concerning [his] house duties and she felt that her punishment of taking away a privilege (p. 171) had therapeutic v! alue (p. 171). What the Nurse was really doing was punishing this man for standing up for himself. McMurphy suffers as a result of his courage to take a stand against the Nurses unfair ruling. McMurphy rebels against the system by breaking Nurse Ratcheds rules and laying down his own. To me this sounds like a leader trying to make a difference not a man who deserves punishment. In like manner, the ...