“The Meaning of Life”
Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont
The meaning of life can have different meanings, depending on who is trying to find life’s meaning; life is principally about living, not just surviving. The Shawshank Redemption is about pain, suffering, and oppression, and yet, as the movie continues; it becomes apparent that it is also about relationships, perseverance, and hope.
Andy Dufresne, is a character who is sentenced for life in prison, for a crime he did not commit, he is filled with hope and the need to survive. Throughout the movie, we watch Andy suffer, and almost lose hope, and yet he clings to survival. He lives each day without the worries of yesterday, and keeps moving forward even when it seems impossible …show more content…
When Brooks was released he didn’t know how to live outside the walls. He was sentenced for life and that exactly what the prison took from him, and when he was released, he couldn’t find his place in the world outside the walls. It was a completely different world for Brooks. Brooks lived in fear; it is ironic how, in the place where fear clings to the walls and the guards instill fear in the prisoners, Brooks found safety, and yet, where no fear should exist, Brooks was plagued with the continuing fear of life and tomorrow. We watch him suffer in a place where he should not. Life is not something that can be defined by a word; it is more than just having a beating heart, or just about surviving, it about being in a place without fear; it is about being happy; it is about being loved. The meaning of life has a different meaning depending on the lens that the person is using to see life through. The Shawshank Redemption is an example of how the meaning of life differs for each person, as it differed for Red, Andy, and Brooks. Andy Dufresne is a character that somehow never gave up. He kept his head up and never let life pull him down, even when it seemed that the universe was out to …show more content…
He is the librarian of the prison and he is a caring and nurturing soul as we watch him raise Jake—his crow—from a chick to a full-grown crow. Brooks is a man who viewed the prison as a home and a place of safety. When Brooks is released from the prison and put on parole, we watch him release Jake and tell the bird that he is free, and yet when Brooks is released he doesn’t see himself as being set free. He lives in fear in the outside world, in a place he doesn’t recognize. Brooks ends up not being able to adjust to the life outside the walls and often considers breaking his parole to get sent back home, but he doesn’t instead he chooses the ultimate way of being set free, he kills himself, and in death he finds his freedom. Brooks found his meaning of life to be the prison, he found his life inside those walls and that was his home. For Brooks life wasn’t worth living if he couldn’t be with his family and friends and couldn’t be at home. Maybe in a different life Brooks would have found a different meaning of life, and maybe if Brooks was younger he could have found a new meaning of life outside the walls, but as it was, Brooks was an old man, too old to readjust to the world beyond those walls and too tired, and maybe even too scared to find a new meaning in life. So he did what he thought would set him free, and in a way he did finally
Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont
The meaning of life can have different meanings, depending on who is trying to find life’s meaning; life is principally about living, not just surviving. The Shawshank Redemption is about pain, suffering, and oppression, and yet, as the movie continues; it becomes apparent that it is also about relationships, perseverance, and hope.
Andy Dufresne, is a character who is sentenced for life in prison, for a crime he did not commit, he is filled with hope and the need to survive. Throughout the movie, we watch Andy suffer, and almost lose hope, and yet he clings to survival. He lives each day without the worries of yesterday, and keeps moving forward even when it seems impossible …show more content…
When Brooks was released he didn’t know how to live outside the walls. He was sentenced for life and that exactly what the prison took from him, and when he was released, he couldn’t find his place in the world outside the walls. It was a completely different world for Brooks. Brooks lived in fear; it is ironic how, in the place where fear clings to the walls and the guards instill fear in the prisoners, Brooks found safety, and yet, where no fear should exist, Brooks was plagued with the continuing fear of life and tomorrow. We watch him suffer in a place where he should not. Life is not something that can be defined by a word; it is more than just having a beating heart, or just about surviving, it about being in a place without fear; it is about being happy; it is about being loved. The meaning of life has a different meaning depending on the lens that the person is using to see life through. The Shawshank Redemption is an example of how the meaning of life differs for each person, as it differed for Red, Andy, and Brooks. Andy Dufresne is a character that somehow never gave up. He kept his head up and never let life pull him down, even when it seemed that the universe was out to …show more content…
He is the librarian of the prison and he is a caring and nurturing soul as we watch him raise Jake—his crow—from a chick to a full-grown crow. Brooks is a man who viewed the prison as a home and a place of safety. When Brooks is released from the prison and put on parole, we watch him release Jake and tell the bird that he is free, and yet when Brooks is released he doesn’t see himself as being set free. He lives in fear in the outside world, in a place he doesn’t recognize. Brooks ends up not being able to adjust to the life outside the walls and often considers breaking his parole to get sent back home, but he doesn’t instead he chooses the ultimate way of being set free, he kills himself, and in death he finds his freedom. Brooks found his meaning of life to be the prison, he found his life inside those walls and that was his home. For Brooks life wasn’t worth living if he couldn’t be with his family and friends and couldn’t be at home. Maybe in a different life Brooks would have found a different meaning of life, and maybe if Brooks was younger he could have found a new meaning of life outside the walls, but as it was, Brooks was an old man, too old to readjust to the world beyond those walls and too tired, and maybe even too scared to find a new meaning in life. So he did what he thought would set him free, and in a way he did finally