After reading the novella and watching the movie, I have felt that hope is one of the most important theme discussed in both of them. Several symbols by Stephen King showed how hope was very important in the story.
Brooks and the library
Andy's library is one of those symbols which suggests hope. Unlike other prisoners who were living passive lives, Andy keeps his hope by several attempts, such as tunneling his way through his concrete wall. One of those is the library which is one of Andy's ambitious plans. Andy tried to change Shawshank into a better place but it seems as if he was becoming institutionalized just like Brooks. However, everything changed when Tommy Williams tried to prove Andy's innocence and gets killed while doing so. This act revived the hope inside Andy and prompted his escape.
Rita Hayworth, along with other women, is the symbol of hope for the prisoners in Shawshank and even more for Andy because he was making a tunnel behind the posters. Rita Hayworth and the tunnel were the reasons for him not getting hopeless as others. The fact that he had a way out of the prison made his prison-life more tolerable.
When I first read the story I did not think much about the rocks that Andy was sculpting. However, apart from the fact that he was able to build a tunnel with the rock hammer, he felt normal because he was pursuing a normal hobby which was not what other prisoners did and thus lacked the hope that Andy had. The rocks were something which connected him with the society and helped him maintain his calm.
Many symbolism in the story have helped the author's message, but I thought that these three have expressed hope particularly well in the novella.
Good observations. It makes me wonder what I, myself, would do in Andy's situation. How would I stay sane and maintain hope? I think writing would be my outlet, and for Red it seems it was as well. Other great men such as Mandela and Gandhi wrote their greatest work while wrongly imprisoned. The fact that Red's manuscript was mostly written in prison (and smuggled out in a rather "uncomfortable fashion") attests to his hope.
답글삭제The library scenes definitely add some humanity to the environment. The prison didn't look anything like a prison when we see Andy wearing glasses and a sweater.
Good to see some writing finally. Don't stop.