QingruXiong

The movie Shawshank Redemption tells the story of 1940s American society， to be specific， a prison life story. The protagonist Andy， a previous banker， was mistakenly charged crime and spent 27 years in the prison until he broke out through a sub-tunnel he had dug. During that 27 years， everything he had suffered in the prison made him a stronger and smarter man. He learned to endure， think calmly and respond according to different occasions. Meanwhile， he also helped to build a better prison， give hope to other prisoners and got a valueless friendship. Instead of waiting for death in the prison， he never stopped thinking and working on escaping from the prison. His strong faith and support from friends made him succeed. This is a movie about human mature， institutionalization and hope.

In the Shawshank Prison， there is no freedom， not even to mention basic human dignity. The characteristics of prisoners and prison guards are in stark contrast. The prisoners redemption subtly reflects the corrupted hearts of the prison guards who originally should represent justice. Prison guards never treated them as human being. Part of their enjoyment of work was to torture the prisoners both physically and mentally， like slaves. Shawshank Redemption tells the story of self-redemption of prisoners themselves. There is one scene in the movie. A prisoner was beaten to death by a prison guard. The next day when they were talking about the poor guy， Andy asked for his name. Other prisoners were quite shocked for no one cared about the name. Long time in prison and horrible suffering there made them think they were less important， which was very pathetic. On the other side of the prison is the warden and prison guards， who are bureaucratic. The warden is a selfish cold-blood man. He used the prisoners to work for him as his slaves. When there was one chance that could prove Andys innocence， he stopped it by killing another innocent man only because he wanted Andy to stay in prison and help his tax evasion and corruption.

Human mature sometimes is complicated. When the man who should present justice and kindness， turns out to be an ugly mind， the society would not make any progress. In the prison the elder man Brooklyn had taken care of a wounded raven for a long while until he flew away again. On the other hand， in the prison， the warden could kill any prisoner without taking any responsibility. How ironic it is.

Brooklyn spent almost most of his lifetime in the prison where there had become his whole world. When he was set free and sent back to the new real world， he just couldnt involve in it. The huge mansions， the busy traffic， all these were different from his childhood memories where he had seen only one car， and never a tall architecture. When he was out there in the real world again， there was neither family nor friends waiting for him. Instead， in Shawshank， the prison， there had his friends， familiar bed， and even his raven. He had been institutionalized. He chose to commit suicide because he was both too old to adapt to the new world and to break the law， which could send himself back to prison. Paradise may be his best place to have a rest for there is no discrimination， no oppression， or no devastation.endprint

From the movie， we learn about the 1940s American society， about human nature and institutionalization. Andy suffered from the worst environment and finally survived. He read a lot， which enriches his soul， and insisted in his belief. He learned geographic knowledge that helped him to dig the road to rebirth. He wrote regularly to councilor suggesting more budget for a prison library；after six years he got the approval. Books brought him hope， and he delivered hope to his fellow prisoners through books and knowledge. Reid said， “this place would have got the best of him”， but it didnt. Robinson in the book Robinson Crusoe spent 28 years on an isolated island， the Bible accompanied him for 28 years. This is the power of belief. Andy also， because of belief and hope， got freedom after 27 years.

Shawshank Redemption is definitely a classic film in the 20th century. It profoundly reveals the ugly， dirty 1940s American society；it thoroughly depicts authentic human nature；it tells the power of hope and belief， which could make impossible possible. Andy says in the film， “busy living or busy dying.” When you are in the world without soul， whats the meaning of life？endprint