Due to the intricacy of the English language, many words, such as stationary and stationery, are commonly confused. At first glance, it is hard to decipher a difference between the two words, as a miniscule letter exchange is all that separates them. However, even though they share similar aspects in regards to spelling when analyzing their definitions it becomes apparent that they share no commonalities. Likewise, iconic protagonists, Winston Smith and Randle McMurphy, and antagonists, Big Brother and Nurse Ratched, have qualities that are both obviously comparable and, upon analysis contrastable. While the protagonists both rebel against the rules that they are expected to follow, receive harsh punishments for their actions and are subsequently broken in the end, they differ in the fact that McMurphy is not crazy yet fakes it in order to use to his advantage, while Smith was in fact crazy but not aware until the end. Continuing, the antagonists are both omnipotent forces that strike fear into the hearts of others, but Nurse Ratched is a palpable figure which rules the wards while Big Brother rules Oceania without ever being seen physically. Protagonists Winston Smith and Randle McMurphy, of 1984 and One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest respectively, both rebel against the major rules of their societies, even though they are able to comprehend that they are intended to be followed.
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From the commencement of both novels the two protagonists continually push boundaries which eventually leads into complete abandonment of them. In the grasp of a dystopia full of oppressive rulers, the directives are meant to be followed as the “logic of their position demanded it”. However, Smith rebels against the regime because they are “interested solely in power, pure power”. Smith eventually joins the Brotherhood, a rebellious organization, which is the ultimate act of treason in the eyes of the Party. Facing a similarly oppressive force McMurphy defies the uncompromisable governing force of his mental asylum. The lifestyle of the Combine is “based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak” and after accepting that McMurphy aggressively goes against the ward just as Smith goes against the party. In response to their intolerable actions, both protagonists are swiftly punished and thereafter subdued from the harshness of the measures taken out upon them. In the falsely named Ministry of Love, Smith is tortured and “beaten till he could hardly stand”. Every day spent in this building “pain flooded” Smith’s body and he was forced to face his “worst nightmare” routinely. McMurphy too is tortured, but by a more known method, electroshock therapy and eventually a lobotomy. This method “stiffens him up” and “bridges him up” and eventually leads to him becoming a vegetable just like many of the other chronic patients. The torture of McMurphy and Smith causes a common change in personalities of both characters. Afterwards, they are morphed into different people, as Smith “obeyed the Party” he once resented and saught to destroy and McMurphy came back from a lobotomy “blank” and void of his heated hatred of Nurse Ratched. The largest differences in the protagonists arises in regards to the states of their mental health. While both Smith and McMurphy are assumed insane, and treated as such, only Smith suffers from an actual mental disorder. Extreme paranoia surrounds
From the commencement of both novels the two protagonists continually push boundaries which eventually leads into complete abandonment of them. In the grasp of a dystopia full of oppressive rulers, the directives are meant to be followed as the “logic of their position demanded it”. However, Smith rebels against the regime because they are “interested solely in power, pure power”. Smith eventually joins the Brotherhood, a rebellious organization, which is the ultimate act of treason in the eyes of the Party. Facing a similarly oppressive force McMurphy defies the uncompromisable governing force of his mental asylum. The lifestyle of the Combine is “based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak” and after accepting that McMurphy aggressively goes against the ward just as Smith goes against the party. In response to their intolerable actions, both protagonists are swiftly punished and thereafter subdued from the harshness of the measures taken out upon them. In the falsely named Ministry of Love, Smith is tortured and “beaten till he could hardly stand”. Every day spent in this building “pain flooded” Smith’s body and he was forced to face his “worst nightmare” routinely. McMurphy too is tortured, but by a more known method, electroshock therapy and eventually a lobotomy. This method “stiffens him up” and “bridges him up” and eventually leads to him becoming a vegetable just like many of the other chronic patients. The torture of McMurphy and Smith causes a common change in personalities of both characters. Afterwards, they are morphed into different people, as Smith “obeyed the Party” he once resented and saught to destroy and McMurphy came back from a lobotomy “blank” and void of his heated hatred of Nurse Ratched. The largest differences in the protagonists arises in regards to the states of their mental health. While both Smith and McMurphy are assumed insane, and treated as such, only Smith suffers from an actual mental disorder. Extreme paranoia surrounds