The Shawshank Redemption (aka one of the best movies of all time)

Plot

Although the movie The Shawshank Redemption loyally follows Stephen King's short story, there are a few differences. First, and in my opinion, most importantly, the Indian Normaden, who shares a cell with Andy in the book is never mentioned in the movie. I think Normaden is probably one of the most important pieces to the puzzle because he basically tells readers what Andy is doing. He says "It had a terrible draft, that cell" which is explained by the hole Andy makes in the wall. Another important aspect is that in both the movie and short story, Norton embezzled thousands of dollars. In the short story, Norton resigns after Andy escapes, but commits suicide instead of being arrested after the escape and after Andy makes Norton's crimes known. In the short story, Andy's assets are sold while he is still on trial. With a friend, he sets up a fake identity and transfers all assets there. In the film, Andy sets up the fake identity by himself so he can create accounts to sneak money from the warden then empties the accounts after he escapes.

Other events that happened:

• In the book, there are posters of Kinda Ronstadt, Jayne Mansfield, and Hazel Court in his cell at all times.. In the movie, he only has posters of Rita Hayworth, Marylin Monroe, and Raquel Welch
• The incident of Brooks threatening Heyworth, another prisoner, to avoid parole only appears in the film
• In the novel, Tommy gets transferred to a different prison instead of being murdered in exchange for not talking.
• Story- Andy uses two rock hammers; Movie- only uses one
• Although really funny, the record playing incident never happened in the story
• Story- ends with Red on his way to Mexico to find Andy, not sure that he will, and ends with "I hope." Movie- Red finds Andy in Mexico

Point of View

Throughout the whole short story, there is a common narrator: Red. Like stated in my blog about the story, Red is just the narrator who relates Andy's story and his revenge to Shawshank. The same applies to the movie, except for one part: Brook's parole. All of the events are expressed through Red's thoughts and feelings, but since he was still in prison while Brooks was living on the outside, Brooks was the one to tell his own story. He gave an insight of how some men who become so "institutionalized" can't or don't know how to live in the real world. They become so used to living in prison with rules, schedules, and everything about prison life that some will do petty crimes, like stealing, just to break parole and get send back to the only life they really know. Brooks portrayed his feelings about parole in a letter he sent Andy explaining his life outside the Shawshank walls. In the end, he couldn't handle his new life and eventually hanged himself.

Although sad, I thought that part of the movie was really insightful by getting another character's point of view. It's really fitting that Brooks would be the narrator of that part. He represents those on the "outside" since he was the only character introduced who got paroled. Red, on the other hand, is the spokesman for those on the "inside." He gives us what life is like inside Shawshank while Brooks reintroduces to the readers about life outside the walls.

Characterization

Once again, the makers of the film followed very closely to the original version of the short story. Since Red is the narrator, he is the one who portrays the characters through direct and indirect characterization. For example, his thoughts tell viewers of his reactions and feelings about the Sisters, and about Andy in general. Red's thoughts play a major role in the characterization of the movie. But being a movie, characterization is not only just told, its also shown. It is shown by the action of the characters: what they say, what they do, how they react to certain situations. Take "Fat Ass," a character in the movie (not in the story) who is a new inmate with Andy. From the moment he stepped off the bus, his actions- scared face, shaking body, worried look, crying for his mommy- characterized him. He eventually dies on his first night from injuries given to him by Hadley. That scene not only characterizes Fat Ass, but also adds to the character of Hadley. Since film and written work are very different, there were different ways to characterize the figures in the story.

Setting

I feel like I am repeating myself by saying that the movie was very similar to the book, except in one regard. The setting of the book was mostly in Shawshank except for Red's parole at the end. In the film, these settings are the same minus the setting of Brooks' parole. This setting is the only addition that the film included.

Since the settings are almost identical, I thought it was really cool to have a visual of the place the prisoners called home. While reading this story, I had a mental image throughout the whole thing. Some images I though of were different from what was present in the movie, but that is inevitable. Others, however, were exactly how I pictured them. Instead of just having a mental image, I was able to see a real scene that I could relate to. It was really interesting to see the images that I had drawn in my head on a screen.

Theme

There was absolutely no difference between the theme of the short story and the theme of the film. They both shared a common theme of hope. Throughout the book, Andy keeps the hope alive that he will one day be free of that retched place. This hope is also kept alive throughout the movie as well. Andy's face shines with the determination of digging his hole (although the audience doesn't know he is digging it). The audience just thinks that he has and inner light (which he does), a sort of nonchalantness about him that no one can shake. Some of the inmates think that Andy thinks he is better than everyone else because he "strolls" around the yard and doesn't walk. He strolls.

The book ends with "I hope Andy was down there. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope" (pg 107). These words are repeated at the end of the movie. The film ends with a scene of Andy and Red on a beach somewhere in Mexico, which means his hope helped to lead him to a place that was just a dream. His hope stayed alive.

Just a thought...

Reading this story, I could not help but think of a movie I have seen called "The Count of Monte Cristo." After doing some research, I have recently discovered that the movie was made from an original novel. In this movie, and I would assume in the book as well, there is a man, Edmond Dontess, who is falsely committed of a crime and is sent to the Chateau D'if, a French Prison where he is to live for the rest of his days. After a few years in the prison, a man breaks through his floor. This man, Preacher, had been digging a tunnel for many years thinking he was going under the wall but really ended up in Edmond's cell. Long story short, Edmond agrees to dig the tunnel with Preacher only if he will teach him to read (and learns other academics as well). Preacher dies in a cave in and Edmond escapes by posing as Preacher who was covered and wrapped to be taken out of the prison. Edmond comes across good fortune, becomes the Count of Monte Cristo, and gets revenge on the people who wronged him.