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Shawshank Redemption Essay

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The Shawshank Redemption was based on a short story written by Stephen King. It is about Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a banker who is condemned to Shawshank prison after being falsely being convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He later finds friendship and hope with prisoner Ellis Boyed ‘Red' Redding (Morgan Freeman). It was directed by Frank Darabont who used a number of filming techniques such as symbolism, narrative and lighting to present the themes of the plot that include losing and gaining hope and Institutionalisation. To begin with, the theme of hope is heavily played throughout the film as it can be an inspiration to ‘get busy living'. For Andy it becomes his key to surviving. However, it can be dangerous as stated by Red …show more content…

It would appear reasonable to conclude that the director's main point was to show that the theme of hope is a good thing even when things are that there worse which allows the audience to relate to the characters, therefore relating more to the film by using these …show more content…

At one point in the film Red explains to Andy how he believes that he is institutionalised, "These walls are funny. First, you hate them, then you get used to them until it gets to you depend on them." In The Shawshank Redemption Red is introduced as the man who can get ‘stuff’ for the prisoners, it's his very existence for most of his life, if that was taken away from him he would no longer be the man who can get ‘stuff’, his life would end up with no meaning which is why he believes he is institutionalised. This idea about institutionalisation is confirmed by the character Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore) Darabont used the parallel technique (when two or more things are compared) in the film to show the experiences of Brooks and Red when they leave prison on parole which follows the same pattern. However, lighting and framing was used to show the differences between how they react/feel, for example, when Brookes is realised the audience sees him cast in the shadow of a barred doorway, the lighting and framing was used to show that what was supposed to be a shot at freedom for Brooks was actually just a shift from one prison to

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Secondly hope is used mainly to keep spirits high, whether being excited for the prospect of a better future or someone in the group making a speech/joke that fills everyone with hope, hope is a powerful idea that keeps morale high. The hope for a better tomorrow, sometimes confused with the sunk cost fallacy when someone doesn't want to give up on their plan/strategy even though giving up might have more positive outcomes, a hope for a better tomorrow is trying to leave a bad setting/place for a better one with more opportunities/ more positive attributes. A hope for a better tomorrow lets characters keep what little patience they have left and persist in their goals to leave. A hope for a better tomorrow is a common theme throughout all three of the main characters’ perspectives, leaving a bad place to seek refuge in a more stable environment, but is best shown in Isabel's “Fight against the impossible” and Mahmoud's family holding on to their hopes and dreams in Izmir.

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However, both the films have their own views and paths on how they portray and send the themes to the audience. Both Shawshank Redemption and Cool Hand Luke focus on the themes of hope and determination; however, the way each film handles these messages is different and have their own individual messages to portray to the audience. Summary Shawshank Redemption, follows Andy Dufresne, a seemingly innocent former banker

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Hope can consist of staying positive even through the most calamitous of times, remembering some of your precious memories, and even waiting patiently for good outcomes. Having hope can help you overcome obstacles that you may have thought were unfeasible to surpass. There may be times where hope seems out of your grasps. Yo may even start feeling like there is no point in having hope, but a positive attitude can help a tremendous amount when handling conflict. Having something taken from your grasps makes you want to fight for it, but waiting patiently and having hope can also get the lost item back.

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These sisters beat up the ones only that fought back and Andy always fought back because he felt that not resisting is a much worse. Also, he figured that they will stop at some point. Andy gains protection from the sisters because he helped the guards and the warden with their finance papers. This quote has a deep meaning and it is the major lesson of the novella. Andy says to Red, "Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

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