Themes of Hope and Redemption in Shawshank Redemption

This essay discusses the themes of hope and redemption in the movie Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont. It analyzes how the director has used effective methods to display the signs of hope in adverse situations. The major themes discussed in the film are redemption, existence of hope and desire of freedom. The film depicts the struggle of Andy, a man wrongly accused, tried and convicted in jail, to obtain freedom. The essay also discusses the subtle themes used in the movie, such as hope, redemption, and appreciating freedom.

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Introduction
The film, “Shawshank redemption”, was directed by Frank Darabont and the fundamental
themes used in the film were hope and redemption. It is an inspiring story about Andy Dufreine
and his capability to maintain hope in adverse situations. The director has used several effective
methods to display the signs of hope in adverse situations. It is stated that Andy used to maintain
the hope in difficult situations by diverting his attention to fruitful works. Andy used to help
people, which assisted him is remaining hopeful in his life (Grady, & Magistrale, 2016). There
are several subtle themes used in the movie, such as hope, redemption, and appreciating freedom.
Along with it, the director has also used several other approaches such as music and visual
display to support these themes. In this essence, the present essay will discuss different themes
used in the film to give the final message.
Major Themes Embedded in the Movie
The first theme used in the film is that of redemption or the possibility of freedom in extremely
adverse situations. It states that there is always possibility of redemption irrespective of the
person or the sin. This sentiment towards redemption indicates that it is always necessary to have
hope in all the situations. The film further elaborates that there are always chances of
redemption, however, it may be overlooked or not completely appreciated. Throughout the
movie, several probabilities were shown to move out of jail, which were later rejected. However,
Andy does not lose hope and makes endeavors to get released from the jail. The final release of
Andy was unexpected; however, shows his immense belief in himself, his willpower and God.
Spirituality is also a strong theme of the movie (King, 2017). According to the theme of the film,
Andy does not achieve redemption as his crime is not equitable for the sin that he has committed.

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Therefore, Andy is not satisfied with the judicial redemption and seeks more freedom. The film
emphasizes the spiritual nature of the central character, Andy. The film further elaborates that
Andy is spiritual in nature. This theme is included in the film, as the film cannot show penance
for expiation as it would have been highly dramatic and unfair for the criminal action (Barber,
2015). However, Andy goes through a tough time to achieve salvation.
Another theme used in the film is to keep the hope alive. The central character of the film never
leaves hope to attain freedom. He has high hopes to achieve freedom lest the judicial system fails
him. In the film, the system fails him; however, he does not lose hope and endeavors for his
individual redemption. The film also states that keeping the individual hope alive does not mean
to sit back or have a laid back attitude; however, it means that the participants work to achieve
their goals. Further, the film states that in order to keep hope alive, one must become an active
agent. Throughout the film, the power of hope in the life is demonstrated. There are subtle signs
which shows that hope rather than anything else drives the inmates at Shawshank and provide
them the willpower to live their life in a happy manner (Myers, 2016). The inmates at the prison
were able to live properly without any frustration and anger of the confinement with the help of
hope only. It can be critiqued that hope is an abstract emotion, which is passive and imbibed in
the inert lives of the prisoners. Andy uses this hope to dig a tunnel inside the land and makes an
agonizing progress in several years. He was a rational man with a well-tempered disposition. He
does not succumb to the prison’s life and remains motivated to find freedom. Red, a prison
inmate notices that Tommy William’s revelation that he can prove the innocence of Andy gives
birth to a ray of hope in the mind of Andy and other prison inmates. The emphasis on the hope is
also shown through a letter, in which Andy writes that Hope is a good thing. At the end, hope is
the only thing left for Andy (Kermode, 2003). He reinvigorates the hope and spread it among

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other inmates in the prison. The decision of Red to go to Mexico shows that Red has finally
achieved redemption. It is not because of his life as a criminal, but because of the compromised
state in which the made several good deeds and never gave up on hope. However, the film also
emphasizes that hope is a difficult concept and it is challenging to sustain hope both inside and
outside the jail.
The film also emphasizes on appreciating freedom. In the final scene of the movie, Andy finally
gets the freedom, which he has desired for long. In the final scene, he has made his way through
the tunnel, which he has created for several years. The scene depicts, that the individual is sliding
through the drain pipe into a stream, running away from the prison inspectors and finally
standing with arms outstretched looking towards the sky. He tilts back his head as the freedom
fall upon him. The freedom and the open air are shown through the medium of falling rain,
which led to ultimate redemption (Fossard & Riber, 2005). It led to the formation of the most
iconic scene of the film, in which the central character rips off his shirt and stand in the heavy
rain. Although the threat of capture and the re-imprisonment is still high, but he is very happy as
he attained the results of his hard work. In the final scene, there must be a million things running
through his mind, he takes time to run off from all of these things and enjoy the freedom that he
has craved for so many years. The scene depicts that the freedom is a precious gift; and how it
can be taken without any justifiable cause (Sharma, 2015). The film is based on the premise of
finding freedom or redemption. However, several times, it is difficult to find this freedom;
therefore, it must be completely appreciated.
In the secondary themes, the film also depicts the burden of isolation and imprisonment among
the prisoners. Each of the prisoners in the wall is locked up, having some psychological
challenges to face the outside world. Isolation is one of the worst psychological feelings, which

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can lead to ultimate depression and loss of hope. They are made prisoner metaphorically, as they
are not able to function in the unregulated world outside the prison walls. The prison of the film
has several level isolation, which includes the enclosed recreation yards to the smaller work crew
form the cellblock, and solitary confinement (Ebert, 1994). The prison is a multilayered world
which comprises of several people, who have been forcibly removed from the outside world.
There are various elements such as the bars, schedules, and the sadistic inspectors, which create
entrapment and suffocation for the employees. The prisoners also have isolated themselves from
each other and the outside world which enhances gave them a feeling of the community.
Although these criminals seem hardened and cynical criminals from outside, they have their own
insecurities. There major insecurity is that they were maladjusted outcasts, who were not able to
function outside the normal prison system (Shmoop, 2018). One of the major characters, Elwood
Blatch was one such individual. He was a bragger and egocentric, who used to tell stories of his
extraordinary crimes. Most of the criminals understand that his stories are just imagination and
he is not the master criminal that he makes himself. Red is another criminal, who is also desirous
of freedom and constantly thinks about it. However, it is shown that Red is afraid of freedom. He
is afraid of being paroled and gives a negative impression to the judging jury (Gotham Writers
Workshop, 2008). However, at the end of the film, he gives proper answers and is eventually
released from the jail. The most significant challenge for Red is to find a place in the society
after forty years. However, at the end, Andy recounts his escape, which allows him to face fears
and search for the psychological freedom and solace.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the content analysis can be used for analyzing qualitative data or visual
content. In the present discussion paper, the content analysis of “Shawshank Redemption”,

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directed by Frank Darabont has been undertaken. The fundamental themes discussed in the film
are redemption, existence of hope and desire of freedom. In the narrative of the film, Andy, a
man wrongly accused, tried and convicted in jail, try to obtain freedom. The film depicts his
struggle and the constant hope, which gives him power to endure the prison torture.

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References
Barber, S. (2015). Using film as a source. Oxford University Press.
Ebert, R. (1994). The Shawshank Redemption. Reviews. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-shawshank-redemption-1994 [Accessed on: 23
February 2018].
Fossard, E., & Riber, J. (2005). Writing and Producing for Television and Film. SAGE
Publications.
Gotham Writers Workshop. (2008). Writing Movies: The Practical Guide to Creating Stellar
Screenplays. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Grady, M., & Magistrale, T. (2016). The Shawshank Experience: Tracking the History of the
World’s Favorite Movie. Springer.
Kermode, M. (2003). The Shawshank redemption. British Film Institute.
King, S. (2017). Different Seasons: Four Novellas. Simon and Schuster.
Myers, S. (2016). Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption” — Themes. Medium. [Online].
Available at: https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/movie-analysis-the-shawshank-redemption-
themes-b4cbeb169322 [Accessed on: 23 February 2018].
Sharma, R. (2015). Ready Reference Treatise: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Lulu
Press, Inc.

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Shmoop. (2018). THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION THEMES. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.shmoop.com/shawshank-redemption/themes.html [Accessed on: 23 February 2018].