The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption is a very unique movie which involves many different personalities and underlying themes. The personalities of the inmates are very interesting and when they are combined they create a very fascinating plot which looks at prison life in a interesting and different perspective than one normally thinks. The main characters are Andy Dufrense (Tim Robbins) and

Eliss "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). These characters are well complimented by the wise and simple old man, Brooks (James Whitmore), and the evil warden. The personalities of the Shawshank prison combined to form a sort of community. One never really thinks of a prison as such, but it seems to hold true. This movie showed a prison not only as a place where murderers and thieves live, but as a community of people who have had problems and may or may not be rehabilitating.

It seems that some prisoners go in and accept what they have done and try to make something of an already disastrous life while others give up and really don't care if they commit other crimes (inside and outside of the prison). But in all reality, the prison was home for the inmates and they made it into what it was. The demeanor of the characters creates a very unique atmosphere.

The story revolves around Andy who is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover in 1946 and is sentenced to life in prison. He is sent to the

Shawshank prison, the state prison in Maine which is known for its harshness.

At the beginning of the movie, one does not know if Andy committed the horrible crime of murder. But what is known is that he is not ready for prison and honestly doesn't seem like a man who would survive. His thinking going in is just to survive and blend in. He knows that sticking out would not be good for him. Throughout the movie, Andy undergoes several changes in his personality.

But overall, he seems like a wise man who will deal with what the justice system has served him. He is normal on the outside but seems full of emotion. His emotional side is best put by the 4/14/95 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle which reads, "…Dufrense, a soft-spoken banker with emotions bubbling under the surface." Andy is a very complex character but one can see that he holds his feelings inside of him and tries not to let...

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4/14/95 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle it reads, "As preposterous as it is appealing, ‘The Shawshank Redemption' takes a straightforward, soul stirring novel by Stephen King and turns it into a somber, bloated prison drama designed to pump you with inspiration." This inspiration is created by the actions and words of various characters. It is actually an inspiration to the viewer to always have hope and pursue your goals. Red said, "Hope is dangerous on the inside." He was saying that having hope could drive a man crazy but in all reality he had hope in himself. This was untrue because Brooks' death signified a lack of hope. He really had no one and the inmates were his family. Leaving the prison was devastating and he just thought nothing of life. Red was contradi ctory to his own words because he ended up surviving and succeeding all because of the hope that he had.

The personalities of the characters create an almost unreal setting where you see things you may not expect to see. A community of people is what the movie is about. A community which goes through good times and bad ones. But the characters are what makes this film so unique and so great.