Darabont's Use Of Symbolism In The Shawshank Redemption
“Discuss Darabont’s use of symbolism in the film The Shawshank Redemption. Explain some of the significant symbols in the film and what they are used to convey.”
Frank Darabont’s film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a prison drama that tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover, however; only Andy knows he did not commit the crimes. He spends twenty years in Shawshank Prison, during this time he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, and finds himself experiencing brutality of prison life, while still maintaining hope that he will get out of Shawshank Prison.
Hope is something found rarely in prison films, and Darabont uses many symbols to convey hope and other messages in this film. Religion, hope and freedom are the most important symbols that appear throughout the film.
There are many religious symbols in The Shawshank Redemption; a recurring object in the film is a Bible that Andy owns during his time in Shawshank Prison. The warden tells …show more content…
Andy’s hope and determination keeps him from anger and insanity from being in solitary confinement and going through the horrific incidents throughout his time at Shawshank. The pinup posters of Rita Hayworth and other women represent the outside world and hope; it gives the inmate’s freedom to indulge in their fantasies, both sexual and about having freedom and hope. Rita Hayworth is the poster that conceals the hole in the concrete that Andy created with his rock hammer. She gives a sense of hope that keeps Andy alive and sane, it makes him different from the other inmates, including Red, who does not seem to believe that hope exists in a prison like Shawshank. It takes Andy twenty years to hammer through the wall, but it is something for him to work on and keeps him busy, he always needed a project that gave him something to look forward
Frank Darabont’s film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a prison drama that tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover, however; only Andy knows he did not commit the crimes. He spends twenty years in Shawshank Prison, during this time he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, and finds himself experiencing brutality of prison life, while still maintaining hope that he will get out of Shawshank Prison.
Hope is something found rarely in prison films, and Darabont uses many symbols to convey hope and other messages in this film. Religion, hope and freedom are the most important symbols that appear throughout the film.
There are many religious symbols in The Shawshank Redemption; a recurring object in the film is a Bible that Andy owns during his time in Shawshank Prison. The warden tells …show more content…
Andy’s hope and determination keeps him from anger and insanity from being in solitary confinement and going through the horrific incidents throughout his time at Shawshank. The pinup posters of Rita Hayworth and other women represent the outside world and hope; it gives the inmate’s freedom to indulge in their fantasies, both sexual and about having freedom and hope. Rita Hayworth is the poster that conceals the hole in the concrete that Andy created with his rock hammer. She gives a sense of hope that keeps Andy alive and sane, it makes him different from the other inmates, including Red, who does not seem to believe that hope exists in a prison like Shawshank. It takes Andy twenty years to hammer through the wall, but it is something for him to work on and keeps him busy, he always needed a project that gave him something to look forward