Symbolic Interactionism In The Shawshank Redemption

Lastly I will discuss the elements of Symbolic Interaction. This theory was brought to sociology by Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), William I. Thomas (1863-1947) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931). They believed that symbols, things with meaning and face to face interactions are how society views the world and communicate with each other , without symbols our social life would have no meaning. Symbolic interactionists analyzed how our social life depends on the way we define ourselves and others, for example with out symbols we would have no mom, dad, teachers, brothers and sisters. We would not know who we should respect and whom we are obligated too.

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King is both a wonderful film and a brilliantly written short story. There are many themes represented in each form of The Shawshank Redemption. The one major theme that interests me in both the film and the story is freedom. Freedom serves a large purpose for both the story's writer and the filmmaker. Both use similar examples to signify freedom, not only in the jail, but also in a larger context about life. There are many events and examples in both the film and the short story that signifies the theme of freedom. The one main difference is when the film uses the director’s technique to portray a feel of freedom for the inmates. The overall three issues used in this essay are all linked to the

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.

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.

Symbolic interactionism perspective is a theory that is used to study social life. To do this, this theory relies on studying and observing the interactions among people and how they form meanings to things from those interactions. Although, there is much more to this theory than that. Blumer, the man who invented the term symbolic interactionism, presented three premises which help to understand this theory. The first one is, people act a certain way towards things depending on their meaning for that thing. The second premise is that we get meanings from social interaction, so we are taught meanings or we witness them from others. Lastly, the third premise is that meanings are able to change because people have the mental capacity to

Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions (Conley). A Symbolic Interactionist would view abortion on a case by case basis. Depending on the situation, they may support abortion or they may be anti-abortion. For instance, a symbolic interactionist may consider abortion acceptable and view it has the moral thing to do if woman becomes pregnant as of the result of being raped, but they may view abortion as unacceptable and wrong, in the case of a women being drunk and having a one night stand that ends with her becoming pregnant because lack of contraception.

A man by the name of Andy Dufresne was convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in Shawshank prison. He was an obvious black sheep among the prisoners, but as time went on he grew relationships with the crooks and realized the injustice in the justice system. In the creation of friendship between Red and Andy, hope was spread throughout the prison. While many themes are present in the film The Shawshank Redemption, hope, friendship, and injustice are also relevant in the world today.

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.

Symbolic interactionism focuses on the language and symbols that help us give meaning to the experiences in life. It also studies how people discuss the meaning of social life during interactions

The Symbolic Interaction theory refers to ways in which a family or society attaches meaning to verbal communication, non-verbal communication, people, and objects. We are taught from a young age communication using verbal language and accepted ways to express our needs. The theory represents perception of objects or actions (Macionis, 2007, p.17).

Symbolic Interactionism Theory “sees interactions and meanings as central to society, and assumes that meanings are not inherent, but are created through interactions” (Chp. 1 Theory). An example of Symbolic Interactionism Theory is smoking (informal). Smoking is harmful to your health. A person may associate a meaning for smoking. They might use smoking for means as a way to meet a new friend. When two smokers meet, and one offers the other a cigarette, that is a way to become acquainted with someone. The gesture here is the offer of a cigarette from one person to another. This gesture is positively sanctioned because the person makes a new friend. The negative sanction is the harmful effects that a cigarette has on a person’s

Symbolic interactionism helps explain both of our individual personalities and the ways the human society is linked together (p.27). It also helps us differentiate social order and change through a process. The teachings of symbolic interactionism comes mostly from George Herbert Mead But,George was not the only one that influenced the thoughts and ideas of symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interaction is theoretical perspective so it is still changing and evolving. It also has four kinds of understandings in the population and environment. One of the understandings is that symbolic interactionism is to understand why people engage or do not engage in social growth of the population . Symbolic Interactionism assumes that people from different social backgrounds, and different cultures may see different social issues within their social community. George Mead,Charles Cooley and Herbert Blumer shaped symbolic interactionism on the predictions of yourself causing you to behave a certain way so it becomes true.

The film directed by Frank Darabont comprises of a storyline where the main character in the film Andy Dufresne, a prominent educated banker, was unfairly accused of murdering his wife with her lover, and was put into the Shawshank Prison with 2 life sentences ahead of him. The film explores the inner journey that the protagonist, Andy, was unwillingly placed to take in order to lead the hellish life in Shawshank prison. The inner journey is explored through various techniques in the film throughout different ways. Shawshank prison itself is a symbol of adversities and hardships that one encounters regularly. These include the struggle we face in our daily lives, the injustices we receive and the losses that we suffer are all demonstrated in the film in different scenes.

Symbolic interactionist is a micro level of social analysis, it is concerned with individual experiences and the wider society. As well as not focusing on the core structures or support the general theory of society like the functionalist does.

Shawshank Redemption; a movie comprised of many concepts from our current correctional system. The main character, Andy Dufresne was sentenced to prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. He was to serve a consecutive sentence of two life terms. Dufresne is an educated man and was employed as a banker. His fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd Redding, nicknamed as Red, was serving three life sentences for murder. The ole wise man helped Dufresne endure his days behind bars and a friendship developed. Red was known as the go to man for items within the prison. Andy fascinated by rocks asked Red for a rock hammer. Later to find out, Andy had used the very same hammer to dig a hole in the wall and escape. Andy Dufresne was forced to be at Shawshank State Penitentiary for 19 years as an innocent man. Dufresne endured assault, harassment and blackmail in the period of his stay. The advantages to his stay were the friendships he built and helping fellow inmates get their General Equivalency Diploma (GED). Red was finally paroled after serving 40 years of his sentence. Red had a hard time adapting to society after being institutionalized, as he called it, for such a long time. In the end, both Dufresne and Red were reunited in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Shawshank Redemption explored many areas of the correctional system such as, punishment, prison rape, corruption, institutionalization, rehabilitation, reintegration and parole.