Shawshank Redemption Sociological Analysis

Tasha Otterson
Kirsten Lindbloom
Sociology 101
25 April 2012
Shawshank Redemption

When Mr. Andy Defresne, a successful banker, found out his wife was having an affair with a pro golfer at the country club he refused to give his wife a divorce. As he began drinking and feeling confused, he loaded his gun and had every intention to kill his wife but had second thoughts and decided not to commit the crime. The next day, the bodies of his wife and the golf pro were found. The police also found evidence of footprints, tire tracks, bullets and fingerprints were found on the alcohol bottle Andy had in his possession that night.
The main social issue in this movie is justice. Andy was convicted and sentenced to serve two life sentences
Brooks also knew it was a terrible thing to live in fear. All Brooks and Red wanted were to be back where things made sense to them, a place where they wouldn’t have to be afraid all the time. The only thing that kept Red from ending his life was the promise he made to Andy once he got out. That was to go to Buxton, where Andy asked his wife to marry him, to obtain what Andy had left there for him. Red ends up making it to Buxton and finds a letter from Andy. Andy would like for Red to travel a little further so they could be reunited once again. Red finally joins Andy on the beach in Mexico. This is where they enjoy their newfound freedom together in utopia. Language is critical in creating social life because without it there would be such lack of communication we wouldn’t be where we are today if we didn’t have it. Language allows us to communicate how we are feeling at that very moment, what our thoughts are, what we like/dislike, it describes people, it categorizes places and things and most importantly it gives us a sense of reality and it makes us who we are
Andy works in the prison laundry room and is assaulted by Bogs and two other men in the stockroom. They beat him and he is repeatedly victimized but at times he was able to fight them off. This was a routine for Andy and the horrific abuse continued for the first couple years of Andy’s sentence. He again is cornered and threatened with a steel spike by Bogs and his friends. Andy refuses the advances of Bogs and is beaten severely. When the captain catches wind of the incident, he protects his legal advisor, Andy, and beats Bogs so bad he is transferred to a prison hospital. Bogs was never able to walk again. He ended up a vegetable and had to be fed out of a feeding tube. Andy was never victimized by them again. Rapists most definitely go against our accepted mores and are sanctioned by being sent to prison. Some rapists are even murdered while serving their prison