Shawshank Redemption
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I decided to write about “The Shawshank Redemption.” The movie came out in 1994. From time to time I will see reruns being played on television, and I have seen this movie two times. This movie is of those movies that really grabs your attention. This movie takes place in 1947 and goes forward to the early 1960s. The main character is named Andy. Andy is played by actor Tim Robbins. He comes from a small town and was a banker, by profession. He has been sent to prison for murder. He is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is serving a double life sentence. He is innocent and has been wrongly convicted. I know that a lot of people that are in prison claim that they are innocent, but I just really got a sense that he did not belong there. Unfortunately, not long after arriving in the prison, he encountered “the sisters,” which is a group of prisoners who tried to rape him.
Shortly after Andys arrival, he meets Red. Red is the character played by Morgan Freeman. Red was known for being able to get different types of things for people. Andy asked Red for a rock hammer, his hobby used to be rock carving, and he wants to start doing rock carving while in prison to help pass his time, that is how their friendship begins. Andy uses the rock carving hammer to carve rocks that he finds while in the yard. Andy also had gotten a poster of Rita Hayworth. It was a big poster that he hung on his cell wall.
One day, while Red and Andy were tarring a roof, Andy overheard a guard talking about having to pay a big tax on an inheritance he was receiving. Andy told the guard that there is a way that he could get out of paying this tax. Andy offers to help the guard with the paperwork. In return, Andy wanted some beer for himself and the guys that were doing the roof work. After
this, Andy begins helping some of the other guards with paperwork and the like. In return he is able to have his own cell, and also he gets protection from “the sisters.” Andy also starts helping the warden. The warden calls Andy to do his books, and make the warden money. While Andy is doing this he created a person. This person Andy creates has a birth certificate, a social security number and a drivers license.
Another Character in this movie is Brookes. He served fifty years at Shawshank. He was the librarian. He has been the librarian for thirty eight years. Brooks has a hard time adjusting to life outside the prison walls. After fifty years so much has changed. He is an old man now, and is not able to live on the outside. He ends up taking his own life.
Throughout the film, Red acts as the narrator. We can hear a voice over of his thoughts. I really liked this and I think it added something to the movie.