The Shawshank Redemption: A Reflection Essay

The world isn’t as “just” as it seems, the systems we have in-place are but mere so-called
substantial ways of justifying what cruel acts man can do to society and how politics and
government have deemed appropriate for these criminals to seek redemption and make up for the
wrongdoings they have inflicted upon the society and others. Personally, I felt that the film, The
Shawshank Redemption, had more to narrate than just the political inconsistencies and the
lacking of what government administrations are supposed to be doing– I found that the film
highlights the way we treat others, their outlooks on life, what kind of reasonings man can have,
and how their actions affect what they choose to pursue next regardless if others may find it
ethical or not. The film is set in Maine, USA at Shawshank State Penitentiary, imprisoning those
mostly who committed acts of murder such as Andy Dufresne, Red, and Brooks, and acts of theft
such as Tommy Williams. When we think about crime, society has evolved to not only see and
tackle the act of such crime as it is by itself, but we also choose to consider what drove such an
act to occur and why it happened in the first place. However, I felt as though given the time in
which the film was set in, those values were yet to be fully taken into account and the justice
system remained flawed toward proper measures to investigate, which is why it is regarded that
the imprisonment of innocent individuals still prevail even today. This, regardless of whether or
not a man is truly innocent of the crime he was convicted, veers them away from living the lives
they originally intended to take. Who would have expected such an outcome of life, anyway? To
be held as a prisoner and to be locked away sentenced to life is something that no man could ever
wish for, and yet it still happens to some. I believe that this is what ultimately veers a person
from taking the path they were originally intended to take; having to experience something that
they abhor or would physically and mentally limit them from freely continuing on with their life,
and instead having to adjust to the circumstances that they have put themselves into. It is when a
man loses his moral agency that they are further driven away from the plans they initially have,
given that they are subjected to conform to an entirely different set of rules.

Man is morally complex, just as they are difficult to predictably understand. The film
represents this well, especially given the different situations that each character faces– allowing
the audience to be given the opportunity to deeply reflect and ponder on the different ethical and
philosophical perspectives that make us think on the reasoning behind the crimes, and the
thoughts that these prisoners have now that they are living in a new environment that limits their
capabilities to act freely. One of the biggest portions of the movie’s plot was Andy’s relationship
with the warden and other officials who are initially written off as corrupt officers in the
administration. When we look at the situation from a moral and ethical perspective, knowing and
seeing the corruption and other treacherous immoral acts taking place would drive one to do
something about it in order to stop it, if man was a rational and ethical being. However, in
Andy’s circumstance, the call to activate his instincts to survive in the prison made him quiet so
that he could protect himself, which gave him the luxury of not having to live such a rough life
or that so he would get to live a longer life. Further building on this, the prison officers were
depicted as authoritative, violent, and merciless unless given benefit. While normal standards of
being moral would not trigger such behaviors, especially in a prison where the officers “uphold”
the same values as we see in the Bible, it is the abuse of power that clouds their ethical judgment.
Another situation present in the movie was the life of Brooks, a prisoner who spent most of his
life in prison, to which he kills himself upon being set free. This sparked a thought within me
that makes me ponder on what man defines as “living a free life” versus living a life that we find
comfort in. Could it be that Brooks had already embraced his life in prison that he had already
felt free, which is why in the outside world, he would feel strangled by all the new things that led
him to taking his own life. This shows us the philosophical context on the drive a man can have
in terms of persevering and adapting to life regardless of the circumstances or adversities. The
“will” in which they are willing to use to make things work, or the lack of the “will” to do so
which leads them to suffer and struggle with their way of utilizing freedom as it is given. Lastly,
I wanted to talk about Tommy Williams’ short-lived yet meaningful character in the film’s plot.
Tommy’s death was to cover-up the fact that he is a key witness to setting Andy free, and it
sparks how the warden wants to keep Andy behind bars for the sake of his own benefit, which
ultimately is regarded as completely unethical on the warden's part. However, I realized how it
was impossible for Tommy not to know the possible consequences he could receive, yet he took
that risk if it meant that he could do a good thing. This is a concept built on hope and man’s path
to righteousness, given that while Tommy had the alternative to keep the information that he
knew to himself, he chose to do right by Andy and give out that information despite the
possibility of endangering his own life in the process.
 The title, “Shawshank Redemption”, is meant to strike others in the sense that the prison
itself was a place of suffering and despair, yet the journey towards “redemption” was to forge
bonds that helped specific characters, Andy and Red, to lead them in the face of adversity. From
how I understood the movie, Red’s parole board asked Red if his time in prison allowed him to
rehabilitate. I thought that in the harsh government system in Shawshank, to redeem is to
“rehabilitate”, yet the fruit of Red’s served time allowed him to grow into a man that is different
to what he was before– a young, stupid boy who made a criminal mistake. The title also tends to
Andy’s journey in Shawshank, which is also what I found the most meaningful in the entire plot.
His dedication to find a way to be free, and the means he had whilst in Shawshank that he used
to keep himself occupied and significant to not only himself, but to his fellow inmates. Man
faces different struggles when experiencing conflict, but I believe that while the sheer physical
will it took Andy to escape prison, there was also a moral and mental battle within himself to
leave all his friends behind and to face the possibility of living in hiding or loneliness as he got
out. There are honestly so many things that we can take from seeing Andy’s journey, how he
deceived Red to get him things that merely seemed to be for “hobbies” only for those objects to
be a part of his escape plan. As previously mentioned, we also see the ethically challenging
decisions he made that while he was unethical, he was able to continue to survive and pursue the
plan he “intended” to take while being in prison. Lastly, Andy exudes a tremendous amount of
hope, a trait that his good friend, Red, deemed dangerous at one point in the movie. I find this
meaningful because I believe that a man can only have so much hope until there is none left. Red
says, “every man has his breaking point”, which is true. However, it is through Andy that we see
through and through the process and results of his actions to achieve the life he wants to live– to
live a life out of Shawshank, ultimately because he knows that he doesn’t deserve to be there.
Every person is accountable for their actions, and it is based on what we know and what we
believe in that influences the actions we take and the decisions we make. Thus, I believe that
Andy’s journey in Shawshank showed me how man truly fends for himself, and it is through
unwavering hope and integrity that we achieve the things we want despite how many obstacles
we face or how bad things are to the point where man might usually falter. Overall, the film was
not only a film that talked about the harsh realities of life, especially those living life in prison,
but it is essential to see the ethicalities and challenges on how man takes action to gain control of
their own life, regardless of what questionable decisions they have to make to get there.