Compare the “brotherly bonds” between McMurphy and Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Andy and Red in Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption both show how creative, independent characters are able to overcome oppressive environments. In each novel, a pair of characters who seem very dissimilar come to bond, which allows one character to ultimately triumph and escape. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the character McMurphy shows how it is possible to defy authority, reminding Chief Bromden of his own humanity. Similarly, the character of Andy in Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption provides an example to Red of how to resist the system. Both pairs bond, despite their different personalities, over the desire to remain human in a system that crushes them. However, the outcomes are very different. The rebel McMurphy is crushed and eventually lobotomized. Andy, in contrast, eventually "beats the system," not by active rebellion but by careful planning and patience.