An analysis on the themes of “The Shawshank Redemption”

摘 ?要：“The Shawshank Redemption” is a famous short story written by Stephen King who skillfully puts the battle between institutionalization， anti-institutionalization into practice， and gives a dramatic depict on the prison life. This essay is an analysis on its themes above.

關鍵詞：The Shawshank Redemption; institutionalization; anti-institutionalization

中圖分類號：H319 ? ? ? ? 文獻標識碼：A ? ? ? ? ? ?文章編號：1672-1578（2019）11-0002-01

1 ?Introduction

“The Shawshank Redemption” was written by Steven King，its a story of prison-breaking. The protagonist Andy， a young banker， who was accused of killing his wife and her lover， served twenty years jail time in Shawshank prison where he suffered constant bulling and abuses from the jailers and fellow prisoners， finally got a chance to break it and lived a free life ever since. The story is characterized by its depict on the institutionalization in prison and everlasting fight embodied by the protagonist Andy. As Frank King said， who directed a film based on the story， it seems to lend courage to those who need it， so it has been positioned by many as the greatest and most enduring inspirational classic.

2 ?Institutionalization -- a natural barrier to

freedom

Where there is oppression， there will be

resistance， which is obviously not an outcome the jailers want. Due to the long captivity and severe oppression， prisoners in Shawshank， like Brooke， were thoroughly institutionalized， giving up their pursuit of freedom.

Brooke， a well-educated college graduate， after years in a place like Shawshank prison， was considered a respectable old gentleman. Readers could even picture the struggles Brooke had undergone – a well-educated man was deprived of freedom， oppressed by the jailers and living with those scoundrels days and nights. Yet， strict rules， oppression， and time erased everything - pride， self-respect， and even the hope of living as a freeman. He found it was getting enjoyable within walls and fences since then， with a little attention from fellow prisoners and some cleaning job he could do. Institutionalization was so deeply imprinted on his soul that he plucked his feathers and took the cage his home. However， “home” was not everlasting， authorities wouldnt bear the burden of a dying elder， after serving a jail time of almost his whole life， he became old enough to be believed that he wouldnt commit any crimes any more， Brook got released finally. In the film version of Shawshank Redemption， on the bus leaving prison， Brooke impressed the audience with his confused and helpless eyes. Then the ending would be quite imaginable， unable to adapt to his life outside the walls， Brook， a lonely desperate man， took his own life.

As a powerful tool adored by authorities， institutionalization -- a natural barrier to freedom， is vividly embodied by Steven King with the story of Brook.

3 ?Anti-institutionalization --an unflinching fight

As the hero in Shawshank prison， Andy obviously didnt look like one at first glance. In comparison to the tough guys in Shawshank prison， Andy didnt appear as a fighter， but there was something special about him. After years in prison， Andy still kept to himself but had never pretended to be tough or cried pathetically like a coward at night.

Beneath the quietness， Andy was soon aware of his useless appealing for innocence， authorities wouldnt listen， what the jailers wanted was compliance. Besides， those seemly tough and roaring guys in prison actually suffered the same fate as his， institutionalization was a curse to them all， they were not to be listened but to be tamed.

From then on， Andy was still the quiet man， only his plan on was the way. To enjoy a moment of freedom in prison， Andy， the banker， helped one of the jailers to avoid inheritance tax simply in exchange for some beer for fellow prisoners on a hot summer day; To help them be better educated， Andy， the prisoner librarian， started a library in prison and got funds to enrich the collections from state government， who were tired of receiving Andys applicant letters years later; To get the trust of the corrupt warden， Andy did money-laundry for him， and tax-avoidance business continued. With all the trust of jailers and respect from prisoners， Andy were supposed to have made peace with his life in prison. However， Andys plan went far more than that. At a stormy night， crawling through a hole he had been secretly digging for twenty years， Andy broke the Shawshank prison. Andy left， a freeman， with the wardens money， and exposed all the corruption within the prison.

This was a good lesson for Andy and for us readers as well. Andy， the weak， became the fighter. We， the readers， get to know what really matters when confronted with a life shattering change like this is simply an unflinching soul， which we all have regardless of wealth and identity.

References：

[1] Hands， E.The Metamorphosis of Stephen King，1999.

[2] Stephen，King.Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemp-

tion，1982.

作者簡介：張榮，女，漢族，陜西西安人，延安大學西安創新學院外語系，講師，從事教學法，英美文化等問題研究。