Incarceration In The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption, an American drama, directed and written in 1994 by Frank Darabont is a classic even famous today. The film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who spent nineteen years of his life in the Shawshank state prison for the murder of his wife and her lover. The film, clearly exemplifies the hardships of the incarcerated inmates through characterisation in the form of Brooks Hatlan and Andy. This further creates institutionalisation as a means to redemption of one’s soul. Through the use of cinematography, imagery and shadowing, the director has been able to create the idea that incarceration acts as a catalyst to being instutionalised. Through settings and characterization the key ideas that have been explored are

It is noticeable through the characters actions how Shawshank has affected them as after spending time in Shawshank your personality completely changes from when you were out civilisation. One of the most important characters in the film is Andy Dufresne who is played by Tim Robbins. After being sent to Shawshank and given two life terms in prison. His Inventive self-allowed him to receive protection from the prison guards due to his smart financial advice. His advanced knowledge on finance led to him being able to start a money laundering operation for the prison warden. When Dufresne escaped the prison he took the evidence with him and managed to withdraw all of the money he had been banking for the warden. He then left for Mexico and waited for his friend Red whom he met in prison when he had received parole. In addition, another key character in The Shawshank Redemption is Ellis Boyd “Red”, played by Morgan Freeman. In the film, Red is the narrator and he was convicted of murder twenty years prior to the start of the film. Throughout the film, Red is considered to be the prison smuggler and he was the person who helped Andy acquire a hammer which was then later revealed to be the tool used for Andy’s escape. Furthermore, when Andy arrives at the prison he slowly develops a friendship with Red and by the end of the film they become best