Social Support In Stephen King's Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption

Social support is defined as “a process through which help is provided to or exchanged with others in an attempt to facilitate one or more goals” (Dobler 1). In one’s life it is apparent that the amount of support received has a significant impact on the way an individual makes decisions. Therefore saying social support provides a source of inspiration for people.

In Stephen King’s Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, social support helps develop trust and feeling or normality a prisoner by the name of Andy Dufrense has developed with the warden of Shawshank and the other inmates, along with his craving of freedom due to his wrongful incarceration. Andy’s first ally is Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, Red was the first person Andy talked to

since his imprisonment in Shawshank. The relationship between Andy and Red first develops with a favor Andy asks Red, which Red promptly replies, “Well, if it was a toothbrush I wouldn’t ask questions, I’d just quote a price, but then a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn’t it?” (King 28).

Thus beginning the friendship of these two inmates. Once a bond between Andy and Red was established, Red ‘pulled some strings’ getting Andy, himself and the rest of his allies a bit of outside work re-tarring the roof of the license plate factory. Andy uses his higher education to help Captain Hadley financially, getting Andy a favor. Which he used to get the group of guys beers; even though Andy Dufresne didn’t accept a beer he took the experience as an opportunity to feel normal and get commodity from the outside world. Andy becomes a valuable financial resource to those who run the prison. Andy did the guards taxes “he became a valuable commodity, a murderer who did taxes better than H & R Block” (King 96). Warden Norton gets word of Andy’s financial intelligence, therefore Andy gained immunity. When Andy got raped and abused by the prison gang ‘The Sisters’, the guards and the warden protect Andy, and Red got him a poster of Rita Hayworth “So he came to me and asked if I could get him a Rita Hayworth poster. Not a little one but a big one.” Once Red found out that Andy was attacked, it was given to Andy free of charge, for being Red’s friend. For all of the work the guards and the warden made Andy do he was rewarded with becoming the prison librarian, he

wasn’t assigned any other inmates to his cell, and gave him the opportunity to upgrade the library. Andy’s creation of the library is what he uses as social and intellectual gathering place within the prison walls, Andy effectively recreates a piece of his own higher-level society, where the convicts can learn trade skills, listen to music, and get high school diplomas. In some small way, Andy raises the social level of the prisoners to his own by introducing them to "civilized" knowledge, culture, while getting the perception of social usefulness once again. Andy Dufresne may not have had a large quantity of social support but the quality of social support Andy Dufresne received while in Shawshank prison gave him the feeling of being just another human, rather than an animal caged. Andy is compared to a bird who "is not meant to be caged" because "his feathers are too bright" and his "song too sweet and wild" (King 100).
Social support can be shown in more ways than just having allies, it can be expressed through donations to the less fortunate, from family, and through lyrics.

Metal vocalist Mitch Lucker had always been involved in music and loved the thought of helping people and having the support from everyone surrounding him. (Memorial Show). Mitch was always writing music, whether it was to just express how he felt at the given time or because he knew a fan out there somewhere would benefit from the song. A song Mitch wrote called “Slaves to Substance” has direct lines pointing out that having no social support and falling onto a path of a depressant will lead you numb where Mitch himself fell, he was an alcoholic (Candlelight Vigil), “It’s your dependence robbing innocence, is this really who you wanted to be?” (AZlyrics). While other lines in the song point out that an the individual needs social support because they’ve reached a point of no return, “You see you’ve hit rock bottom, you see everything is wrong.”, “You see that you’ve hit rock bottom, right now your mind is gone” (AZlyrics). Before Mitch’s passing he auctioned his shirt off from his music video, “You Only Live Once” and it sold for eight hundred dollars he proceeded to buy toys and supplies the children of The Variety Boys and Girls Club and Pueblo del sol may need (Speaking on Charity). There was another charity event that was organized, Suicide Silence was going to hold a show close to Christmas and with a worthy toy

an individual could be admitted to a ‘free’ show. Mitch Lucker used the support he received from his fans to keep his band alive, stated in an interview Mitch kept every gift given to him by a fan along with meeting every fan that was in line or taking a picture or signing something for a fan that he saw on the street (Memorial Show). Mitch always had family of some sort at his shows, whether it was his uncle or his wife and daughter the support from his family was infinite. His uncle once said, “He looked over and saw me and for a split second he would become Mitchell that little boy” (Franko and Absury 2). Mitch used the support of his fans and family too simultaneously support them through the lyrics of the band.
In Stephen King’s Delores Claiborne, King creates a woman who is abused but independent. Delores is a married woman and mother of one daughter. She is abused by her husband who will find something wrong with everything she does along with make fun of her appearance, cooking, cleaning ability, anything to try to hurt her feelings. The only relationship Delores has was with her boss, Vera Donovan. Vera was a mean woman who was widowed from her husband. She hired maid Dolores Claiborne and often added to the stress of Dolores' troubled home life. One day, Dolores broke down crying and in front of Vera. Vera asked what was wrong and Dolores confided in her how her husband, Joe St. George, was beating her and molesting her daughter. Vera then implied she had killed her husband, who was cheating on her, by saying that "husbands have accidents" and accidents are sometimes a blessing. On the day of a solar eclipse, before Dolores murders Joe, she calls Dolores by her maiden name implying she knew Dolores would kill him that day. As time passes, Dolores and Vera become lifelong friends with a love-hate relationship. At the end of her lifetime, the senile and aging Vera runs down the staircase in an attempt to escape from the delusions that had been haunting her for years. Vera is badly injured and tells Dolores, which had so far been trying to save her, that she wishes to die. Vera calls out to Dolores, asking her to kill her so she won't suffer. As Dolores goes to get a rolling pin to oblige, Vera dies. Vera left Delores her house and her money, showing the true friendship that they shared. Towards the end of the film Selena St. George, Delores’ daughter finally begins to understand why her mother killed her father and slowly begins to forgive Delores. The social support in this movie is shown particularly between Vera and Delores. The way that they take care of each other even after how much they have fought shows the exchange of support both women have demonstrated.
A person who has a well-established social life is more likely to have a stronger immune system along with a higher self-confidence (Dill 61). Getting positive social support will lead to positive choices made in one’s life. Andy freed himself, Mitch helped people in need and Delores repaired her relationship with her daughter along with bettering her life. Whether its quality support or quantity support, if the inspiration one has for the choices an individual makes, it will better one’s life.