Symbolism In The Shawshank Redemption

In the novella, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”, the reader follows the life of Andy Dufresne, who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife for sleeping with a golf pro. Author Stephen King describes Andy’s experiences, and his attempt to escape from Shawshank Prison. Red, Andy’s most valuable friend while in prison, is also in prison for killing his wife, but in contrast to Andy, he actually did it. Andy is consistently denied freedom through parole or when evidence arises proving his innocence, because of his role running the illegal money laundering scheme for Warden Norton. Throughout the novella, both characters display moments of similar, but also at times vastly different, levels of hope. King uses characters with various amounts of hope to prove that it is important to maintain hope through difficult situations in order to improve one's life, and that without hope one won’t progress in life.

In Frank Darabont’s film Shawshank Redemption, the themes of isolation and hope are used to underscore the effects of imprisonment. However, the main characters Andy and Red perceive prison life and freedom very differently. First off, one of the key reasons Andy survived in prison is due to the hope he held. On the other hand, Red lost all hope of getting out of prison. Furthermore, life for both characters became quite different once they are released from prison.

Hope in The Shawshank Redemption helps to keep Andy alive and allows Andy to anticipate the next sunrise with happiness rather than sorrow. Hope is created by Andy and his knowledge of his awful situation. Hope allows Andy to think of a time where everything will be better, even if it seems that Andy is stuck in a never-ending hell. The opening of The Shawshank Redemption introduces the audience to the main character, Andy Dufresne. He has just been accused and convicted of the death of his ex-wife, and her lover. This opening seeks to arouse curiosity by bringing the audience into a series of actions that have already started thus creating slight confusion for the audience (Bordwell and Thompson 85).

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.

However, the Shawshank Redemption is no jail-brake film, to me it is rather more a parable of the side effects when imprisoning a human being until institutionalized and unable to function when outside the “protection” of the prison walls. As Red quoted; “These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time

1. A degradation ceremony is a ceremony in which people are stripped of their personal identities and thrown into a brand new situation; something that they have not experienced before. An example of this from the movie was when the men first arrived at Shawshank Prison at the beginning of the movie. As they were walking in, they were surrounded by the “experienced” convicts and teased. They were then stripped naked, covered in powder to make sure they did not have lice, and then forced to walk throughout the prison with everyone staring at them. No one should have to go through this, the act was humiliating enough. This degradation ceremony was like a welcoming to the new convicted felons, and

In the novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, the reader follows the life of Andy Dufresne, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and a golf pro. Author Stephen King, who is known for his simpler, conversation esque writing, describes Andy’s experiences and attempt to escape from Shawshank Prison where he is being held. Red, Andy’s most valuable friend while in prison, is also in prison for killing his wife, but in contrast to Andy, he actually did it. Andy is constantly denied his freedom for parole or when evidence arises proving his innocence because of his role running the illegal money laundering scheme for Warden Norton. Throughout the novella, both characters display moments of similar, but also at times vastly different, levels of hope. King uses the way characters, such as Red and Andy, view hope as either a means of escape or simply futile in the novella to show how the circumstances surrounding a tragedy or difficult situation change a character’s mindset on hope and in turn dictates the actions they use to cope.

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.

At the beginning of the Shawshank Redemption, Andy gets framed for the murder of his cheating wife. Which makes his life take a darker turn with him going to Shawshank prison. Shawshank prison is one of the worst prisons ever, the prison guards abuse the prisoners, and the warden orders them to do so and will do anything for money. The prison uses fear as a way to keep the prisoners in line. When you first show up to Shawshank they take you in, strip you down, and spray you with water. After that, they throw this powder on you then give you your clothes and walk you to your cell naked. The prisoners have a game to see who breaks down first, so they yell at the new prisoners until one breaks. Their goal is to break the person they bet on this shows fear because when a new prisoners break they cry and become very scared and the one who broke in the film was murdered by a guard.

Andy Dufresne maintains his sense of freedom throughout the story. He does this by never giving up his hope, and he has a relatively positive attitude unlike the other prison inmates. This demonstrates the theme of redemption because he buys his own freedom by behaving in a way that has people believe that he is innocent. In the novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, the theme of redemption is shown in the character of Andy Dufresne. “ In all my years at Shawshank, there have been less than ten men whom I believed when they told me they were innocent. Andy Dufresne was one of them, although I only became convinced of his innocence over a period of years. “ ( King. 4. ) In the beginning, Red is describing Andy’s arrival, and how he was different from the other

In Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King and its movie adaptation , The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne and Red face many challenges within themselves. These two men have been incarcerated for almost half of their lives. They’ve become so adjusted to prison life that they question whether or not they would know how to survive without. Andy’s escape showed readers and watchers that his crave and hope for freedom is much stronger than Red’s. There are many similarities as well as differences between the book and film. Both the book and film are based upon hope and freedom.

In The Shawshank Redemption Andy is convicted of a murder he never did. Having to spend two life sentences in prison, he had a new request for life. What remained with Andy from his old life was his intellect; other than that, he had to start his life over. The latter half of the film revealed the deep thoughts Andy had holds for almost the entire time he has been in there. He knows that he was an innocent man, yet he holds his tongue because he knew the warden would do nothing to assist him. He instead opted to adjust himself to routine and use his knowledge to at least improve the living conditions of his friends and fellow members of Shawshank. Andy never stopped hoping and believing in freedom which caused the positive changes in the prison. As Red mentioned, Andy is the type of man who cannot be restricted from being free. He slowly works towards his dreams and goals by taking small steps at a time. The greatest example of this belief in play is the hole Andy made from his cell to the outside which took 19 years of patience. He achieves what he deems most important; he escapes from prison and lives a simple and relaxing existence. He follows his word on living in a secluded place and restoring a boat. None of this would be possible if it were not for his hope that freedom will come being his central need from life. In Thagard’s Why Life is Worth Living, Andy applies the five guidelines

The area of the criminal justice system that is showcased in the Shawshank Redemption is the prison system. By following the story of the main character Andy, both the problems and realities of the system are highlighted. Throughout the film, the characters are portrayed in many ways. The most alarming ways that the prisoners in the film is as lower class citizens. By making this point, the writers are eluding to the fact that the system is corrupt because of the subculture that exist within it.

The Power of Hope in The Movie “The Shawshank Redemption” The Shawshank Redemption (1994) is based on Stephen King short story "Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption". The movie narrates the life of a prisoner, Andy, who has to face and manage all various circumstances and adversities that he encountered through his life in the jail. The movie has successfully conveyed the intended message to the viewer on how brutal and harsh a prisoner's life can be, shown by the behavior of the guards carrying and treating on the detainees, as well as how it delineates the way the prisoners associate with each other. The poster of Rita Hayworth has made him having the desire to return to a normal life after 25 years living as a detainee.

In Shawshank Redemption, a lot is revealed about the characters quickly. Through Red’s narration names, occupations and personal details are revealed. In the novel the road it’s completely different they try not to reveal anything to keep it mysterious by only using a brief description of the setting. So through the dialogue, Daramont is able to describe the characters well and as it is a film, the visual element is there to further create imagery. In The road, McCarthy would have to depend purely upon words to get the intended visualisation but due to the lack of description, the visualisation is very broad and can be different for different people .