Shawshank

Plot

By having Red narrate the entire story and build up the story, the climax of Andy's escape had that much more meaning. The first sixty pages informed the audience of life inside the prison, which allowed the reader to relate to the prisoners on a whole new level. Before I read this novel, I had a preconceived notion that all criminals were guilty and that life inside the walls of a prison was terrible. However, Red's vivid description of every happening inside the walls (e.g. Andy's role in the library, his asking Red for the rock hammer and posters) allowed the reader to put the pieces of the puzzle together when Andy finally made his escape. The plot structure and climactic scene of Andy's escape forced the reader to cheer Andy on and smile at the fact that he finally escaped his own destiny. Without the vivid descriptions, the readers would have had the same feeling toward Andy as they do most other prisoners.

Point of View

King could not have picked a better P.O.V to portray this story from. Red did a phenominal job of setting the scene of the story. On page 33, his vivid description of Andy being raped by the sisters allows the sotry to become personal to the reader. We hear about the stories where a prisoner bent over to grab the soap bar and is raped. However, Red's description makes it real to the reader. King could very easily have told the story from Andy's perspective; however, the story would have lost the point of view of an outsider looking in. The element of shock would not have been there at the end when Andy is missing at role call. Instead, Red, along with the readers make the connections of every little detail that occured in the prison up until that point to the escape.

Characterization

King also does a phenominal job of developing the characters throughout the story. If Red would not have foccused on how Andy meant everything to the guards and the wardens because of his experience with taxes and legal documents, the reader would not have viewed him as anything different than a convict. However, because this side of Andy is revealed by Red, the audience looks at Andy as more of a civilian than a prisoner. Red develops his own character himself. He reveals small parts about himself throughout the entirety of the novel. The reader then regards him as an old sole who is content living in prison and is not going to upset the status quo. However, just like the revelation of Andy's break into the real world, Red's parole leaves the reader just as excited.

Setting

The obvious setting of the prison reveals a lot about the story as a whole. While most people look at a prison as a place where no one could ever picture themself, a rather hell hole that can't be overcomed, the reader realizes that the prison becomes more of a comfort zone that is a way of life. Red speaks of how prison really isn't that bad, you learn to only have to go to the bathroom every 25 minutes past the hour. Red also speaks of how prison is not that bad unless you find yourself in solitary. However, once Red is out on parole, he does not know what to do with himself while working at the grocery store. By having all the freedom, he reverts to his old ways of structure and does not know how to overcome the fear he has. This surprises the reader because one would think that a prisoner would rejoice when they got out, instead the sometimes are bewildered and do not know which direction to choose.

Theme

The overall theme of the story is not revealed until the end of the work. Some men like Red are content with Prison and accept the fact that is their destiny, and never try to bawk the system and stick to the status quo. Then there are men like Andy who seem content to be in prison from the outside, but deep down in are eager to get out and will do anything to make sure it happens. Red speaks of how rarely does anyone successfully escape from the prison. Andy is one of them. In life, it is the same way. Some people are content with the status quo, with their job, with their position on the basketball team, or with their financial status. However, their are the Andy's of the world who have a burning desire within them to take that risk. These people know there is a substantial risk involved with the decisions they are going to make. People don't make an excess of money by playing it safe with hopes of eventually getting a raise (or parole), they invest money and take the risk of failure. They own business knowing their is a risk of failure that could impact the intirety of their life. However, if done right, these actions can prove to be lucrative, and in Andy's case life ending. (death of his old identity)

I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was

I find this story interesting. Throughout the entirety of the story, I was under the impression that the woman was an older lady who liked to sit back and just watch other people. But, then she started referring to older people in a manner that implied she was younger than them. This caught me off guard. So, like always I started reading between the lines and realized that perhaps the woman is in fact old on the outside, but still young at heart. I was under the impression that this woman's career relied on her face and outer appearance. As soon as that was compromised by old age, she lost her job. However, this woman still has yet to cope with this fact. Throughout the entire story, she is trying to figure out who she is deep down in.

Dead or alive?

Many people wonder if Phonex's grandson is really alive, or if she is just trying to cope with his death. In regards to the story as a whole, this detail is not relevant. The author purposefully made this detail ambiguous to the reader because she knew that it had no impact of the overall story as a whole. With the theme being unconditional love, whether or not the grandmother was doing this deed for her grandson that is dead or alive really does not matter. All that matters is that she would "go to the end of the earth" for this person. A lot can be taken from this story. Granny is a stock character for the parents in this world who love their children unconditionally and would do anything for their betterment. Some people would simply let a loved one suffer from swallowing lye, but this granny went on a trek to seek medicine that would help.

Once upon a time....

The definition of a frame story has stuck with me since I was a freshman in Mrs. Miles' class. As soon as the writer in the story started telling the "children's" story, I immediately knew that the short story would be a story within a story. In the beginning, the murder of the woman in broad day light foreshadows the death of the boy later on in the other story. The purpose of the story before the child's one is to give the reader an idea as to what is going to happen. The frame story structure strengthen's the overall message by the story because it is stated twice. Once by the writer, and once in the child's story. Without this structure, the reader would not know why the story is being told to begin with. The author of both stories is kind of saying "here's a child's story for you".

The unsympathetic

In regards to whether or not Eveline is a sympathetic character, I think she is unsympathetic. She had the option to get out of the house many different times. Even though her mother asked her to stay and watch over her father and siblings, I am sure her mother would not have wanted her to suffer. Eveline needs to put things into perspective and think about what is important in her life. It would be better if she could help her siblings get out of the abusive situation and help them get to a better life as well. At no point should someone have to live in an abusive situation. And, I know for a fact that a mother would not want their daughter or other children to be abused. It is very sad that the late mother would have an abusive husband that is abusing their children.

I'd prefer not to.....

So if I were to ever tell my mother that I'd prefer not do do something when she asked, I can not even imagine the consequences. I give the lawyer an immense amount of credit in this circumstance. I think too often in our society we jump to our reactions and do not take the time to really understand people the way we need to. Too often in this world, bosses just look at their employees as things and not human beings with backgrounds and histories. This story indicates how important it is to really know those around you. By not simply going off on Bartelby, the Lawyer shows patience and understanding with him. I think he knew what events had happened in his past that would allow him to act in such a manner. By knowing this about him, Bartleby does fine for a little while, but then is lead to an inevitable demise. Everyone can take a lesson of patience from this story and truly having a grip on those around us.

Oh mama...

At the end of the story when Tub and Frank are enjoying their pancakes when Kenny is dying in the back of the truck, Tub picks up each plate laden with syrup and licks it up. When I read this sentence, I immediately thought about my own mother. Before my mom and I discovered we had insulin problems and excess amounts of carbs and sugar put us into a "diabetic coma", "pancake sunday's" were a weekly happening at the Richardson house hold. My mom would always make French toast to please her own taste buds. Upon finishing her breakfast, she would always stand up and lick every inch of her plate to get all the syrup off. Yes, this sounds like something a sloppy hog would do, but my mom would only do this given the sunday circumstance. This was so habitual for her that one Sunday when my sister had friends over, she went into the pantry to lick it in private so the friend would not see. Now, she would probably not be so thrilled that I was posting this anecdote on here for the whole world to see, but I doubt she will look, so shhhhhh!

Tubby Tub Tub

Of all the characters in the story, Kenny goes through the most dramatic change. At the beginning, he is talking to Frank about how fat Tub is and how he looks like a "beach ball with a hat on". Later on in the story, he is making fun of Frank because he knows the secret about the babysitter and then will not let Tub in on the secret. Up until the climax of the story Kenny is putting all of the other characters down the whole time in order to make himself feel superior. After Kenny goes on his shooting rampage and Tub shoots him back, Kenny immediately switches roles and becomes the one being put down. After that point, he is completely reliable on the other characters in order to survive. Tub and Frank take advantage of this opportunity by being careless enough to forget the directions on how to get to the hospital, and making several un-needed stops along the way. This gives Tub the chance to give Kenny back what he deserves. This is a true example of "don't bite the mouth that feeds you."

Lives before the story

The mother, Dee, and Maggie all had apparently different lives before the story started. The mother, obviously was the working hand around the home and the one who made the family go 'round. She was the glue that kept them all together and tried to do the best she could giving the circumstances that she was solely responsible for the girls. Maggie was the young sister who just stays back and takes every detail of her surroundings in. Unlike Dee, she was content to just look around and watch other people's behaviors and then later analyze them. Lastly, Dee was the sister who was always high maintenance and anxious to get away from the family farm. She was eager to get out in the world and experience it on her own and not be tied to her background on the farm. She was the typical college girl who goes out in the world and finds herself.

Flashbacks

In the interpreter of Maladies, Mr. Kapasis's experience with his son dying forced him to realize what his true passion was. He and his wife's son died of a disease at a very young age. The reader knows this through the author's use of a flashback within the text. This shows importance becasue if his son would not have died, then he would not have had the passion to be the intrepreter at the doctor's office that he is. Before he was an interpreter, he was an english teacher that aspired to be an ambassador for a foreign nation. But after the experience with his son, he realized that he must stand up for those who did not have a voice. He realized he would have to be the voice for those who did not have one. In other words he would interpret the words of the patients to the doctor.

EDIE

Edie is a very sypathetic character in the story. She is taken advantage of in the story because of her innoncence. When she and Chris got "intimate" in the tent, she didn't even know what that meant. Alice looks down upon Edie and thinks she is just a little girl who is not worldly. Since Edie is only the help around the house, she never really gets out and is able to experience life the way most other girls her age do. When Chris left, she was innocent enough to believe that he was going to write her and eventually come back to marry her. Any other person reading the story would know that that was not going to happen. All of these things contribute to the persona of her character.