Shawshank Redemption= masterpiece

By far the best story ever read for class. Honestly i would complain virtually never. Anyway back to analysis time.

Characterization:

One of my biggest fears is of going to prison. I highly doubt i will ever commit a crime, but that's mainly due to my fear of jail. unlike the narrator, I feel that Andy Dufresne is what most would call a legend. Granted maybe not all of his exploits were real and factual, but the actions that we know to be true, such as his bout with Hadley are legendary. That act of facing down armed guards who are getting ready to chuck you over the side of a building is phenomenal. the characterization of Andy by Red is one of rumors and of eye witness accounts on Red's part. "Most of what i tell you is hearsay... repeated four or five times."(39). We do not directly hear about Andy from his actions, because this entire story is a recollection of Red's months after Andy is already gone.

Red's character is not in any way conveyed thorough the story except for a few minor details. His role as 'a guy that can get you stuff' is relayed to us on page 1, and his lack of hope is slowly revealed throughout the story, and only really addressed in the last few pages when he discusses hope.

Point of View:

This story is mainly recollections of Red's a few months after Andy escapes, and a little extra story at the end of Red when he is on his parole. The entire story is from Red's thoughts. But he was there. He was closest to Andy. If not for Red, this story would not exist. "It's all about me. Ady is a part of me." (100). The interesting thing is that because red is a part of the story and telling the story, the point of view shifts. The point of view is at times first person when Red is reminiscent, and when he is story telling it is third person as he is then a part of the story, but not directly discussing himself. this shift in point of view would be for some storied confusing, like the bible, but because of the speed at which time travels in this story, the shift happens with such grace the reader feels like they are Red, watching, hearing, and remembering the whole story. The point of view makes this crazy, unbelievable story of escape, mistaken identity, and brains beating bronze actually seem realistic. Not just realistic, but actually it makes this masterpiece appear to be happening before one's eyes.

Setting:

The setting, up until the end is Shawshank prison. the time is between the 1920's and 1970's. but to be perfectly blunt, the setting in this story matters just as much as the types of rocks Andy used to carve. Now think about that for a second before you get all upset. the rocks were quartz, which are common but still a type of gem. The time of the setting and the prison itself are just rocks, yes, but the fact that most people are in a prison i their own life is the part of the gem, not the rock. At the end Red is describing how Andy is a part of him. "he is the part of me they could never lock up, the part of me the will rejoice when i step through those gates."(100). Everybody has an Andy in them. Everyone is at some point locked in a prison where the only light is the searchlights out side the barred windows. The setting of this story is people, their inner thoughts and minds. The story may in fact be about a prison, but it i actually a symbol for us.

Theme:

ahhh i love when i story just flat out tells you the theme. the last few lines are the theme, or one of. "I hope." (107). Hope!!!! the meaning of life, of one of its many aspects, is the sensation of hope, and that which we hope for coming to fruition! To hope is to love one or something, and to make it more a part of who we are. Red hopes to find Andy and live the life he has spent in prison. Shawshank is a symbol for childhood, where we are all sheltered and cared for with no worries besides maybe a bully or two. and when we are let out.... we are scared and trying to cling to whatever we can. Some succeed and some do not. Those that do succeed are those that have something to live for. they have something to hope for.

Plot:

For some reason this is the hardest one to analyze. I mean yeah its the story, big whoop. we already know the plot is what you are thinking right? Well yes that plot is told to you. The pace is weird. Because for the most part it goes at a slow nostalgic pace, but even when it goes slow it skips months and years at a time.

There are many profound moments in this story, and many odd foreshadowings. odd because although Red makes them clear to the reader, the reader is to enthralled to catch them. "nice guy. But such a big draft." (55). if you are like me and say the family guy parody of this story, you knew what was going to happen the whole time, but even i had to reread this a page later because i missed it at first. King has an unnatural way of causing this of the reader. he drags them in and then leaves them to wander through the story for a while.

Too good of an actress?

Some people simply can not accept reality. Some can not move on. and some are just so good at what they do that they apply it to their regular life, and they let the truth slip between their fingers. Miss Brill is one of those people. "It was like a play. It was exactly like a play." (Mansfield). We really do not know what part she plays. At first the reader believes that she is a young girl, probably early 20's, but as the story progresses, the reader gets a sense that she is late 50's. We as the reader aren't supposed to know. Another wonderful story where the author leaves it up to the reader. Great. My opinion is that she is late thirties, but that is just me.

Once upon a… WAIT WHAT??!!

Wow... was not expecting that to happen. I thought it was weird how as soon as the boy was dead, the narrator stopped addressing him as a human, but that is not my point of this blog. My point is that this us exactly what millions of parents do every single day. Welcome to reality parents, you are looking in a mirror. All the grotesque, crazy shows that are out there today, along with video games and internet content, are causing more and more of this to happen. Parents i warn you right now. Stop sheltering your kids with barb wire, or do not complain when you kill them when they try to experiment. In Europe the drinking and drug using age is very low, and their problems such as domestic abuse and juvenile delinquents are so much lower than America's that it is not even funny. Parents if you are going to have a child in this world, allow them to be their own people, make their own mistakes, otherwise you are killing them.

Phoenix

Well, someone has to ask the question. Is the boy dead or not? There are no textual references to say one way or the other, and personally I hate stories like that. Give me an ending, please do not leave it up to me. But one thing the story does reveal is that she makes this trip quite often, if not every two to three days. I got a sense of this when the nurse says “’charity’… making a check mark in a book.” (Welry). The nurse has obviously done this multiple times before, and for some reason is keeping track for the doctor. Is it even medicine she gives Phoenix? Who knows.

Eveline

A real down to earth story, this doesn't seem to be unrealistic in anyway. A girl who has lost her mother, who is swept off her feet by a man with a tanned face, whisking her off her feet to some far off paradise. But to me she learns the lesson many girls are not so lucky to learn. This girl, Eve for short, is not stupid. personally, i feel that she stayed for three reasons. One being she fells she could still take care of her family, fulfilling her promise to her mom; "to keep the home together as long as she could" (Joyce). The second reason is I feel that she realized she was not in love with him ,but in love with the idea of loving him. Also, i feel that she is just to terrified. We all get to the point in life when we must move on from our families and our small life, and she just can not do it.

Hollywood?

The story How i met my husband would make a fairly good movie, if they added a few details here and there. Kind of a random thought, but it is true. Because it is a romantic story, and it has the young girl bad boy drama, but it also has the aspect of realism. Of course it wouldn't work out with the pilot. But the mailan? Rrealistically yes that could work. and in a similar way no doubt. The problem right now is there are so many movie, novels, and illusions in the world about love that the newest generation can not sepereate real from never going to happen. This story would be such a great movie because it would point the generation in the righ tdirection, while keeping there caffinated attention.

A Rose for Emily

This story was actually enjoyable in my opinion. At first the ending did not make any sence, but today in class my intrigue was caught and i reread the ending twice. What i found is that each of the sections progressivly makes Emily's life worse. The last line, and last image we get of Emily, a once great powerful woman, is a thin, silvery hair. She didn't pay taxes, and was married, and had a fairly nice house. She i reduced to nothing more than a thin hair. The fact that she was sleeping with a man rthat has not been seen in 40 years is an incredible twist. Personally it i one of the beter endings to a story that i have heard.

Nice monkeys

Weird. Honestly that is all i can say for this story. Weird. And not the good kind. This story is about a huge miunderstanding, and even thoguh it was in the same language. But what is odd about the atory is about how even though the story is set around the early 20th century, the parents are not treating their children like children, but more like sibilings. around this time most parents had control, but the children in this story have about as much of the power as the parents. We see this not only n this story, but also more often in today's world as well. Many teens are gaining their independence and growing up earlier and earlier.

Do not assume, because it makes...

This story has a very nice twisting ending that helps make its theme a little more understandable. Just like life, no one can predict what will happen next, and if a person assumes one thing, they will more than likely lose sight of what is important. If Edie had waited everyday by the mailbox, she would have ended up like Alice. holding onto the past and assuming someone was telling the truth, and assuming the best in people they are seduced by. Just like the reader assumes that the pilot will become her husband. The reader that assumed that was wrong in the end. And honestly her life is better because she dropped her assumptions. People need to drop their assumptions to have a better life.