Over The Cuckoo's Nest And Fahrenheit 451 Comparison Essay

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Fahrenheit 451 share two main characters that are seemingly lost in the unknown. Both Chief Bromden and Guy Montag are protagonist in the respective novels. These two characters both have a false sense of reality; however, this is the only reality they know. Bromden and Montag have little sense of what the world they live in has to offer. However things start to change for both of these men when they start to receive guidance from their counterparts, Randle McMurphy and Clarisse McClellan. Both of these characters become the catalyst for the freedom and liberation that Bromden and Montag come to find. Throughout the Cuckoo’s Nest Chief Bromden is stuck in the “fog” living in his past memories. Bromden …show more content…

Fire has become less a means of human survival and more of a form of entertainment. This world of shallow hedonistic people strives to be the same and the word “intelligence” is considered a dirty word. This society maintains a focus on a certain equality, where people born unequal made equal. Funerals for the dead are eliminated due to the sadness they bring and death is forgotten about quickly, with bodies being incinerated without a proper ceremony. Fire is idolized by this society and is considered the means to cleanliness. Chief Beatty said, “Fire is bright, and fire is clean” (Bradbury). Montag’s sense of nature is confined by a fascination of …show more content…

Although Bromden is physically strong, he is made to believe he is weak by the way he is treated inside the ward. This antagonizing provokes Bromden to hide in his fog; therefore, making him weak. Just like Bromden, Montag is oblivious to the world that lies outside his understanding. Montag’s pleasures lie in burning the book and homes where they are found. Through the help of McMurphy and Clarisse, both Bromden and Montag come to realize true freedom. McMurphy’s resistance against Nurse Ratched begins to awaken Bromden’s own ability to resist the grip of the nurse. Bromden slowly starts to see that he is an individual that possesses his own free will; in turn the fog begins to fade. Through Clarisse’s love of nature she begins to open Montag up to a world outside conformity. She see’s that Montag is not like everyone else and that he has the potential to become a free thinking individual. Clarisse is able to force Montag to confront his deeper issues with reality eventually making him realize his own potential. Montag feels this deep connection to Clarisse and feels there is some underlying reason they have

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