' Hard Rock As A Prison Hero?

Stephen King’s novella and movie “Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption” accompanies an immaculate middle-aged man and his journey to live life to the fullest –with his calm nature and lucrative knowledge he attempts to become an adrenaline seeker while also trying to escape from the harsh reality. This was Andy’s way of releasing pressure just like how a pressure cooker as stated in the book needs to relieve itself before it explodes. His hardships in life have created so much tension that Andy would go to such drastic lengths in finding a way to escape his mundane, nine to five job as a banker. In addition, the stress that Andy built up would most likely be from his journey towards the position of vice-president and all the responsibilities that come with it. The breaking point was when he discovered that his wife Linda was having an affair with Glenn Quentin, a pro golf player, sending him to find a way to be liberated from this tragedy. After being found guilty by the court, Andy will be sent to the Shawshank prison where his true talents will emerge. Although the prison allows many things to pass under their nose, the incessant berating and threat the guards pose on the prisoners will eventually wear them out like how rocks turn into sand due to erosion; moreover, rocks were formed due to pressure from the Earth creating layers of dirt on top of each other until the bits and pieces of Earth form hard rock. Andy is the only one who can supply this change, throughout

From “Inside Rikers”, written by Jennifer Wynn, Wynn shares the lives from the “world’s largest penal colony” the inmates from Rikers Island. She really humanizes criminals by giving them faces and names because she does what most American are unwilling to do because they are afraid, that is forgiving people and giving them second chances. She really does see the good in the hearts of some staunch criminals. At the same time, she is a clear sighted humanist on how hard it is to leave the criminal lifestyle. Drawing all the difficulties and complications that our society has placed in the way of the newly released inmate. Not to mention the persuasions of the criminal lifestyle itself. The first chapter is Welcome to the Rock, where Wynn introduces the narratives of Angel, Kenny, Charlie, Alfonso, and Benjamin. Chapter two is titled, From the Belly of the Beast to New York Streets where both Frank and Mike are introduced here. In Chapter Three, the Captain and Harry tell the stories of Keepers Of The Kept, Convicted At Birth with Rico, Napoleon, Hilton, and James in Chapter 4.

Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane by Etheridge Knight

The movie the Shawshank Redemption, based on the book by Steven King, I believe is one of the best movies ever made. The portrayal of prison life in the movie is the best I have seen and a star-studded cast including Morgan Freeman supports the characters and brings to life the everyday struggles of life behind bars. In this paper I will relate topics from class to the movie and discuss information we have learned through out the semester.

In the United States, there are millions of people that are in jail cells for crimes they have committed. One of the goals of prison is to provide justice for the victim’s crimes but in our prison system, this is not the case. These people face harsh punishments that only cause worse actions in the future. The theme of justice and punishment is explored by Truman Capote in the book In Cold Blood. The two criminals, Dick and Perry, are challenged by society on if they should be imprisoned or if they should be free. In Capote’s work, the use of syntax, diction, and a variety of details portray the current system of punishment as cruel and ineffective in providing justice.

The Hard Rock was very strong. Hard Rock was standing every treatment he had, no matter how badly the treatment was; thus, his body was full of scars and welts. His treatment by officers and doctors were inhumane. For instances, he has cut his brain and shot electricity while he was operated by doctors to make him submissive. In addition, there was testing if Hard Rock had changed his attitude and submitted to officers, yet he has not changed. Diversity of extreme punishments on Hard Rock could not only change the behavior; it could also ruin the

At first, he has a difficult time making friends thanks to his reputation of being “a snob and a coldfish” (King 27). He is very different from the other prisoners, partly because he knows he is not guilty and thus wears this confidence on his sleeve. It is the memory of his former freedom which provokes this seemingly arrogant attitude that both helps and hinders him. Nevertheless, this behavior serves as the very thing that first attracts the narrator, Red, to Andy. Not a man to be easily impressed nor persuaded, it comes as quite a shock to the reader that these two polar opposites form a bond. Red is able to see past what the other inmates label as “snobbishness” and instead takes comfort in Andy’s nonchalant approach to life and the tone of confidence that consumes him. Red views Andy as a much needed breath of fresh air to his musty routine within the Shank. However, it seems that their budding friendship is initially a greater asset to Red than it is to Andy. Although it may help Andy begin to find his place, he is primarily concerned with his own well-being, which is sustained only by his memories and not by the companionship of a stranger. An addition to this list of survival tools is Andy’s ability to keep his mind on the outside rather than focusing on the finality of prison life. His capacity to do so separates him from his peers, in that he becomes one of the few “long timers” able to avoid the characteristic walk, that in a

The Shawshank Redemption movie is about a man named Andy Dufresne who was falsely accused of murder and was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. Being in jail, Andy faced many problems of being abused, but he also gained a strong friendship with a man named Red. Many of the things that the prisoners had to face showed a sociological perspective on how life was in jail and how it affected the prisoners. In Shawshank prison, the functionalism theory, the conflict perspective, and the control theory shows the life and adjustments a prisoner has to make in order to survive going into a new world.

Prisoners like Brooks were trained to like routine for so long, that they became used to the way they were treated. Andy became subject to extortion when the administrator used him to do their tax returns ; “By April of 1951, Andy was doing the tax returns for half the screws at Shawshank , and by 1952, he was doing almost all of them” (51) This quotation shows that lack of empathy , and morals used by the administration at Shawshank. Shawshank as a prison was highly corrupt and the prisoners suffered from mental abuse by use of extortion and punishment.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place seems quite an appropriate title for this HBO documentary whose executive producer and star is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Young men with serious criminal charges and significant prison sentences are provided a second chance by participating in the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department’s Boot Camp Program in place of serving their entire prison sentence. Dwayne Johnson greets 38 cadets starting the program, lectures them on their opportunity and asserts that he wants the world to see the importance of the program. Lastly, he cautions them bluntly, not to “… f**k this up.” For most people it would appear that participating in this 16 week program would be easier compared to the alternative of

In Robert Perkinson’s book, Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, a remarkable amount of a decade’s worth of in-depth research is given regarding Texas and it’s astounding past regarding racism, prisons, and penitentiaries. Perkinson’s finding lead to how the only way to escape what could be the continuation of tragedy in this nation is to examine the history of this nation’s most severe prison state, Texas.

Life Without Parole, by Victor Hassine, is a novel telling the true story of Hassine’s life behind bars. The daily struggle of trying to maintain your sanity, and avoid being harmed or even killed by inmates that are in the same facility you are in that are murderers. Life in prison has to be not only physically demanding, but also mentally demanding. Especially if you will never see daylight again, just even the thought of being in prison the rest of your life must kill you on the inside. In 2008, Victor Hassine committed suicide while incarcerated. He was handed down a life sentence without the possibility of parole after being convicted of homicide. In my opinion, I believe that prison makes you a way different person than you were on the outside, because it makes you re-adjust to different things around you. You are forced to fight day in and day out for your life with other inmates that may intimidate you. If you fight and prove to them you are tough enough, you will earn their respect, but if you do not fight back, then they will just continue messing with you and may even end up killing you.

Holding onto one’s humanity is a skill that takes constant practice and the conscious decision to do so. The protagonist of the film, Andy, is very different from the rest on his inmates at Shawshank in that he manages to hold onto his humanity throughout his time in prison despite many trying situations. This trait is first expressed when Andy asks if anyone knows the name of man who was beaten to death by the guards on his first night in prison. By simply having some human emotion Andy has proven that he is not willing to let prison change who he is as a human being. Again, Andy leaps out of his comfort zone during his confrontation with the guard on the roof. Perched on the edge of the roof, Andy spreads his wings and risks the fall in order to grant his inmates a taste of the outside world through the simple luxury of a few beers for his friends to enjoy. The great beauty of a man who not only has the courage to hold onto his own humanity but also has the boldness to help others do the same is what makes Andy such a captivating protagonist. His courage and determination are the only thing keeping him human and moreso, keeping him sane.

The film from Frontline, follows the lives of six men recently released from prison and shines a light on the hardships of life after prison without the guidance of the criminal justice system. Interestingly the men that the film focused on each displayed a desire to reform during interviews that were held while the men were on medication. Commonly, each of the interviewees has a history of not taking medications on their own, along with returning to jail during these periods. Once support in the way of probation or parole is no longer a part of the men's lives, the hardships return along with a new charge and more time behind bars. The system currently in place, incarceration with short probation or parole time following prison does not effectively

Survival is the key struggle in The Shawshank Redemption. This film takes place in the corrupt Shawshank State Penitentiary where mental and physical abuses inflicted upon prisoners are the hard realities of the system. For the prisoners of Shawshank, life is often bleak and violent. However, the will to survive is what keeps the characters motivated to retain their humanity and challenge the institutionalization of Shawshank. In particular, the film’s main protagonists, Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding, exemplify the struggle for survival in the face of a corrupt, frightening, and oppressive prison system. In order to survive the harsh realities of the world, people adapt with personal traits like courage and resourcefulness in addition to forming community with other people.