Shawshank Redemption Paragraph

Hope is a Dangerous Thing By Mr. Gibson (“Horses of the Night,” “Shawshank Redemption” and “The Half- Husky”)

The three stories I want to compare are “Horses of the Night,” “Shawshank Redemption” and “The Half-Husky”. When I analyzed the characters, symbols and themes I found the stories strangely similar. “Horses of the Night” is about Vanessa’s cousin Chris. Chris comes to stay with Grandfather Connor for three years while he is in high school. Vanessa and Chris grow very close (too close?) and Chris talks fondly about two horses is family owns. Their names are Duchess and Firefly, “I raised them, and you should see them. Really sleek, know what I mean? I bet I could make racers out of them.” (“Horses of the Night”, 125) Chris seems very proud of the horses but later on, the audience discovers that the horses are not real. The audience is left to ponder the question- why did Chris make up the horses for Vanessa?

The rock hammer that Andy buys from Red is the most powerful symbol in “Shawshank Redemption”. Not only does the rock hammer allow Andy to meet Red, it represents how Andy spends his time in his cell making chess pieces and such. He explains to Red how much he loves chess, “Chess. Now there’s a game of king’s. Civilized. Strategic.” (Video, “Shawshank Redemption” 1994) The rock hammer represents how Andy spends his time in his cell. At first he only makes chess pieces to pass the time. Then other projects like the letter writing campaign help him deal with prison. The game of chess could also be a symbol for the story. The relationships between the prisoners and the guards can best be described as a chess match. Andy is right in the middle of the conflict between the Warden and the prisoners. Andy describes his experience in the prison to Red by saying, “The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” (video, “Shawshank Redemption” 1994) As we find out in the video, while the Warden and the guards are playing checkers- Andy is playing chess.

Making Connections- Symbols in SSR and HOTN

I would compare the Rock hammer in “Shawshank Redemption” to Duchess and Firefly in Horses in the Night. The rock hammer is used to help Andy pass the time. It takes him almost 20 years to complete his chess set. Other projects that keep him motivated are building the library and helping Tommy. When Tommy is murdered, Andy decides that he needs to make something positive happen, “get busy living or get busy dying.” (“Shawshank redemption Video”, 1994) When Red first saw the rock hammer he said it would take Andy 600 years to tunnel out of the prison. Turns out Andy was able to do it in less than 20. For Chris from “Horses of the Night”, he bragged about his horses Duchess and Firefly. I wonder if he made up the lie about the horses to keep himself motivated like Andy. Chris always seemed so hopeful and when he was sent to war, the dream of having horses like Duchess and Firefly was just not enough anymore. The idea of killing others without any hope caused him to lose all of his sanity. Hope is another important idea in both “Shawshank Redemption” and “Horses in the Night”. I think Chris made up the horses because he hoped that one day they would be real. Andy is always philosophizing about hope. After defying the Warden and playing classical music for the whole prison, Andy says that, “there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours. Hope.” (Shawshank Redemption”, 1994) Andy is trying to explain to his friends that hope is something that can’t be taken away by walls or restrictions. Red gets very angry and just before he leaves he explains that hope is a dangerous thing and that it can drive a man insane. When I think about the horses that Chris made-up, I have to think that he made them up to help himself. It may have been to impress Vanessa but I think he was trying to impress himself like Andy did with the music.

A final connection would be comparing the prison in “Shawshank Redemption” to Harvey being bullied in “The Half Husky”. Nanuk was a sweet and innocent puppy when Vanessa first acquired him. He changed very quickly after being bullied by Harvey. Harvey tortured the animal and changed him forever. Nanuk became aggressive and growled at anyone who came by the Connor’s gate. The prison that Andy goes to also changes people. Andy jokes to Red, “The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.” (“Shawshank Redemption”, 1994) Andy was innocent and did not commit ANY crimes until he was already inside the prison. Brooks is also an example of how the prison broke him like the bullying broke Nanuk. Sadly, Brooks committed suicide a short time after he was released from the prison. Red theorizes that he was institutionalized and could not survive without the rules and routines of the prison, “These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.” (“Shawshank Redemption”, 1994)

Conclusion Stories have a funny way of being similar. Most people would look at “Shawshank Redemption” and say it’s a prison movie. I would look at it and say it’s about hope. The story of Nanuk is not about a dog, it’s about the terrible consequences of bullying. When I compare the main characters in each story, I would argue that Chris is the most tragic. His family was so poor and he was so desperate that he actually looked forward to joining the army. That might not seem worse than Andy who was innocent but Andy made a terrible decision to put himself around the crime scene with a gun. Chris didn’t really choose to join the army, he was forced into it. And his words might be the saddest of all, “they could force his body to march and kill, but they didn’t know he’d fooled them. He didn’t live inside it anymore.” (“Horses of the Night”, 142)