Environment In The Shawshank Redemption

Many factors affect who a person becomes. Primarily, it is the environment in which we live and grow up in that shapes an individual. The people we surround ourselves with are vital in ensuring that the environment remains a positive place in which we can grow. A negative environment can be detrimental to one’s personality and mental state. As seen in the Shawshank Redemption, Andy and Red go through many important changes because of the prison environment and the people within. Pressure from their superiors and the social environment within and outside the prison are crucial influences for the two protagonists in the film. In my life, similar components and pressures have shaped me to be who I am today. My friends, coaches, and surroundings …show more content…
When we are surrounded by hostile, competitive, or unfriendly people, it creates an environment that can be detrimental to one’s goals and character. As my skating club grew and became more well-known in the province, people began to be less friendly, and more competitive. When I was younger, everyone wanted the best for themselves and for their friends. It was still competitive, but never in an unfriendly way, it was also an encouraging environment. In recent year however, competition between friends has turned into sometimes aggressive rivalries and the once supporting environment has become judgemental. At the begin, these negative attributes only applied to a few people, but others quickly began to catch on. Many were affected on influenced by this unfriendly environment and it has led quite a few people to quit skating. There has been no open hostility, but saying derogatory things about others behind their back is quite common. Though some still wish the best for everyone, it is hard to do your best when you know that a person you are friendly with would love to see you fail. I have tried to avoid this environment and avoid becoming a part of it, and I hope that I have succeeded, but I know that others have become very different people because of it. Amongst other things, this is one of the reasons that I chose not to pursue completive singles and pairs skating, I hope to seek a better, more supportive environment elsewhere in the skating world where I can be happy on the ice again. Though far more extreme, Brooks and Red both felt a similar way upon returning to society after their time in Shawshank prison. Their environment had changed and society was not welcoming to them. They both struggled to adapt and soon decided that it wasn’t the right place for them to be. Both if these characters dealt with he fact that they were out of touch and uncomfortable living outside prison walls in