Hope in the Shawshank Redemption

Based on the novel “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank” by Stephen King; Shawshank Redemption is about two prison inmates that form a friendship and their experience in the prison for 19 years. There was a heartwarming scene where Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding finally made it out of parole and is finally viewing life as a second chance of hope, with the help of his partner Andy Dufresne. In the speech, Red finally got out of jail and took a bus to Texas to cross over the border to Mexico. There are ethos, pathos and logos towards Red’s new view in hope and reconnects to what Andy has told him, “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying.”

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.

The Shawshank Redemption is about Andy Dufresne, A banker from Maine who is sentenced to two life terms in a harsh prison, Shawshank Prison. Andy claims he's innocent, but many doubt him. During the first night, Red an inmate that was in for murder,and his friends bet on which new inmate would break down first and he bets on Andy. Red lost the Bet, and loses two cigarettes. Andy approaches Red, who smuggles contraband into the prison and asks him for a rock hammer. Andy claims it's for his hobby of rock collecting, but Red suspects he would use it to escape. Red quickly loses interest, when he sees how small the tool really is. Red and Andy, get jobs detailing roofs on the prisons buildings. Andy overhears Chief Guard Hardley, complaining about paying taxes for the money he is about

The movie, Shawshank Redemption, is about a story of two men, Andy Dufrane and Red Abbott, who spent most of their lives in a prison together going through the ups and downs of prison life. Andy, who was once a vice-president at a bank, was in prison for murdering his wife and her lover, when he caught them in bed together; he was giving life in prison. Whereas Red, also a convicted murderer, got life but with a chance of parole. The two grew close to each other because they were both very educated men and had the same interests. After five years of doing the laundry, the warden thought it would in the prisons best interest to use such an educated man as Andy in the library. So they transferred Andy from the laundry to

The theme of hope is both displayed in the book and film when Red talks about Andy’s demeanor while in prison. Red states how prison has not changed Andy and how he wears his freedom “like an invisible coat”......“He never developed the walk that men get when their day is over and they are going back to their cells for another endless night,” (King 72). This “invisible coat” is hope. It has helped Andy live on as a free man in his spirit. During his time spent at Shawshank, Andy voluntarily completed many tasks. He took over

Red is very reluctant to accept hope, even stating in the film ‘Hope is a dangerous thing; hope can drive a man insane’ and this is expressed through shadows cast on him whilst Andy is shown in the light. This idea of hopelessness exaggerates the redemption of hope expressed later on in the film, an example of this is right at the very start of the film when the man is beaten so badly by the prison guards that he dies, Andy’s asks a key question that nobody can answer; ‘What was his name?’. This hopelessness is then contrasted when the friendships are formed later on in the film, when everybody becomes close, which is confirmed when Andy bargains with the guards and consequently wins three bottles of beer for each of his work mates. Andy’s friends and he are regularly shown laughing together or helping one another to cope, Darabont successfully reflects hope into the eyes of the viewer through these friendships. Gestures such as the harmonica illuminate this point when Red begins to create music.

An important theme in Frank Darabont’s film The Shawshank Redemption is hope. The film demonstrates that hope is a good thing and shows the consequences in having and lacking hope. It is important that Darabont’s film showed the theme of hope as it us also important in our lives today because having or lacking in hope affects people personally, nationally and worldwide. In our everyday lives we are presented with cases of people having hope through our own or someone we knows personal experiences and on the news. In most cases, hope is portrayed in a positive light as it helps people get through tough situations. The film makes its viewers think about how having or lacking hope can effect out lives in reality and makes them conclude

“The Shawshank redemption” is a film in which Andy Dufresne is wrongfully given two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover and is sent to the Shawshank prison where Andy is subjected to a variety of different beatings by the guards and other inmates, even being raped by other inmates. After getting involved with doing the guards taxes the crooked warden forces him to hide his many untaxed revenues. After Andy escapes he leaves the jail in scandal by giving evidence to the press surrounding the warden’s dodgy dealings. This paper will be analysing how the director, Frank Darabont uses stylistic features to present the idea of hope in the film. The primary features used in this film was symbolism but there is the use of lighting

Shawshank Redemption is the story of a friendship unfolding over thirty years. It is the story of the value and potential of a person, and how anyone can find the courage to keep fighting during hard times. One of the main characters, Andy Dufresne faces insurmountable odds, while still holding onto hope. Red is the narrator of the story and Andy’s closest friend. By following their stories, we can examine their lives inside the criminal justice system. To see how society and its elite players treat the people labeled as criminals, and how those elite men become criminals themselves.

You can be imprisoned physically, but mentally you’re free. Andy was in prison and his freedom was taken away from him, but he didn’t let that imprison his mind and thoughts. It’s like when Andy was walking in the yard as if he was walking in a party, as Norton told him. Andy was always “wearing” his freedom. He never built up a jail mindset and his eyes never got that dull look in them. A symbol is something which has a meaning beyond itself. In The Shawshank Redemption, Stephen King brought up freedom in several different ways. Freedom is symbolized in the book pin-ups, rock sculptures, and Jake.

Shawshank Redemption is directed by Frank Darabot, published in 1995 Australia. The film focusses on the theme of forgiveness and escape. It follows an unusual friendship between Andy and Red set in a 1930’s American prison. The main focal scenes explored include: Brooks suicide and Tommy’s death. The film is to be narrated by Morgen Freeman (Red), it shows the 20 year period of Andy’s imprisonment. As a part of the analysis emphases on the scenes as it introduces the audience to the Shawshank prison and Andy’s first moments when attends to the prison to the very moment when he escapes to Mexico.

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.

It shows us how it can bring light to the darkest of times, or without hope, it can tear down someone to their lowest point. Hope is a beautiful performance in the struggle between life and death, shown in Brooke’s struggle to find a meaning in life, outside of the prison. Shawshank was a sanctuary for many of the prisoners there, it provided a home for those who didn’t fit into the society, tearing away the human nature of an individual. Similarly to leaving a dog in a kennel its whole life, the dog will choose to stay in the kennel, rather than leaving, when given the choice to leave. Unlike Brookes, Andy had more time in the outside world; like the music, Andy held onto that while he was inside Shawshank, as it was his hope, and key to escaping the

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.

In the film, “The Shawshank Redemption” directed by Frank Darabont, symbolism was used to highlight the main idea of holding onto hope. Darabont has effectively used different symbols throughout the film to convey the themes of hope and freedom in Shawshank. “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” This quote said by Andy Dufresne in a letter to Red shows that Shawshank was portrayed as a place of hopelessness at the start. But it was through the use of these symbols, music, the library, and the birds, that made the viewer truly understand how “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”