White 2 Hope Stephen King published his novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption in 1982. In 1994 this novella was turned into a movie called The Shawshank Redemption. Frank Darabont wrote the screenplay. A good adaptation will capture the same overall essence of the written book or novella. Darabont did a wonderful job of adapting this novella into a movie. He captured the overall essence in a way that makes a heart rejoice in happiness and relief.
The adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption is very well done. One of the major motifs of the story is “get busy living, or get busy dying.” This phrase sticks out the most in the movie. In the novella it is said once by Red just before he leaves to go to McNary, Texas, where Andy Dufresne crossed the border into Mexico after he escaped. Red was contemplating not going. He figured that so much of his life was already gone and wondered if it was even worth the trouble. But he told himself, “get busy living, or get busy dying” (King 105).
In the movie this phrase is first said by Andy in the prison yard just before he escaped. At this point in the movie Andy seems to be completely depressed. Throughout the movie, Andy always seemed to have a little smile on his face, but at this point it seemed as all hope was gone from him. He was talking to Red about Zihautanejo, Mexico. This is the place Andy wanted to go to after he got out of Shawshank. He talked about how beautiful it was and how he wanted to go down there and start a hotel White 3 on the ocean.
The Essay on Onel Kurtz One Movie Novella
The Novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is about an Ivory agent, Marlow, who is also the narrator of his journey up the Congo River into the heart of Africa. Marlow witnesses many new things during his journey to find Mr. Kurtz. In Apocalypse Now, the narrator is Captain Willard, who is also on a journey to find Kurtz. The Kurtz in the movie however is an American colonel who broke away ...
Red told him to stop dreaming those “shitty pipe dreams.” This is when Andy said, “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” After that Andy tells Red about a place in Buxton where under a rock there will be something that he wants Red to have. Andy made Red promise him that he would go there if he ever got out. At this point in the movie it seems as if though Andy was about to kill himself, so it seemed as is he was going to get busy dying instead of getting busy living (Shawshank).
The last time the phrase was said was when Red finally got paroled out of Shawshank. This time the movie follows the book in that Red was trying to decide whether or not to go to Mexico.
Red was feeling depressed at this time. He figured that his life was over. He had been institutionalized. He didn’t know how to operate outside the walls of Shawshank. But he told himself that quote and decided to head down to Mexico to meet Andy at his hotel. Both times in the story the character decided to get busy living instead of dying (Shawshank).
Another wonderful motif of the story is hope. Throughout all of the things that happened to Andy at Shawshank, good and bad, he never loses hope. That is what gets him by more than anything does. Red always told him that hope won’t get him anywhere, but it kept him from becoming institutionalized.
“It is hope that allows the self-proclaimed innocent man to survive what may or may not be an unjust imprisonment.” Says Rita Kempley. This motif was held by the movie very well, if not better. Hope is a gift given to Red by Andy. In the novella, before Andy escapes, he fills Red with hope of a new day when he will be free. Red almost resents this more than he White 4 wants to accept it.
He thought it would just bring him more heartache to hope for another, happier day. But still the whole night of Andy’s escape Red’s mind was filled with pictures of a sandy beach, a blue sky, and the wonderfully blue and enormous Pacific Ocean (Kempley).
In the movie, Red’s hope starts only after he decides to go to Andy in Mexico. At this point Red had gone to the hayfield in Buxton and found the letter and the money that Andy had left for him.
The Essay on Review Of The Movie, "Shawshank Redemption"
The movie “Shawshank Redemption”, written and directed by Frank Darabont is about Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who in 1947 is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover. However, only Andy knows that he didn’t commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy, a banker in the outside world has to learn to get by in ...
Red finally made up his mind to go to Andy. The movie ends with Red saying, “I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.” Then for the final scene you see Red walking up to Andy who is working on his boat on his beach in Zihautanejo. The novella ends with just Red saying “I hope.” The book actually makes the reader hope more at the end by leaving it open and not saying for sure that Red made it to Zihautanejo.
The reader “hopes” that Red did in fact make it (Darabont).
The overall essence of the story is actually captured better by the movie. The ending turn of events is more heart wrenching in the movie than in the novella. In the movie the feeling that Andy is going to kill himself the night of his escape is presented.
In the morning the guards find that he had escaped and it almost feels like a huge weight is being lifted away. The novella does not hint to the suicidal impression of Andy. In fact, the day before he escapes, he is smiling about the thought of Zihautanejo with Red. White 5 The Shawshank Redemption was not a huge hit at the box office.
Some critics say that it was due to its name, granted Shawshank is not an easy word to remember. One of the critics said that the weaknesses of the movie are: the prisoners are not nasty and brutish enough, the guards are overly stereotyped, and there are a lot of loose ends (Cannon).
But in order to catch the overall essence of the story, you have to emphasize, or under-emphasize the parts and subject matter that could taint the overall emotion of the movie. The prisoners couldn’t be more brutish without disgusting the viewer. And the guards had to be over-stereotyped to show why it was so that Andy got all of the special treatment. Plus since you couldn’t show the prisoners being more brute, the guards had to show that this place wasn’t a vacation area.
Also the loose ends are just minor details and do not ruin the story by being left out. The Shawshank Redemption was beautifully adapted from the novella into the film. It captured every bit of essence that the story contained and more. It is a spirited movie about hope that will capture any person’s heart.
The Essay on Shawshank Redemption Andy Prison Red
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION There is nothing more pathetic than a man without hope. In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy is a man that is imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. He sentenced to life in prison and with this verdict he is raped of all hope for a normal life. Once a successful investment banker, Andy uses the skills he learned on the outside, to make life more bearable on the inside. ...
Frank Darabont did a wonderful job on this. Even Stephen King himself was completely impressed. He stated, “It was great-too great, I thought, to be produced by any company in California” (King).
White 6 Works Cited Cannon, Damian. “The Shawshank Redemption.” Movie Reviews UK 1998.
6 pars. 23 Apr. 2000 < web Frank, and Stephen King. The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script. New York: New Market Press, 1996. Washington Post.
“The Shawshank Redemption.” Washington Post. 23 Sep. 1994. 23 Apr.
2000 < web Stephen. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." Different Seasons. Penguin Group, NY: Signet 1983. 15-106. The Shawshank Redemption. Niki Marvin, exec.
prod. Frank Darabont, dir. Videocassette. Castle Rock Entertainment. Warner Home Video, CA: 1997.
