Shawshank the Movie

PLOT

In regards to plot, the movie and the book were almost exactly paralleled. Most of the time when novels are made into movies, the film makers are forced to cut out key elements to the novel. Because Shawshank was just a novella, the film makers were able to keep all information from the novella when making the film. However, there were a few subtle differences between the film and the novella. For example, the head screw in the book did not get arrested once Andy escaped. Another difference was that Worden Norton did not kill himself when the guards were trying break into his office. In the novella, he simply resigned from his position and went on about his life. My mom's favorite part, when Andy turns on the music for the entire campus to hear, was not included in the novella.

POINT OF VIEW

When talking about point of view, the two were not all that different. In the novella, Red did most of the talking and told the stories from his point of view. He often interjected into the stories that some of his stories were just hearsay, but he did get them from reliable sources. While the movie was handled the same way, Red did not interject his opinion into each matter. It was more dialogue between he and Andy than him narrating, although there was quite a bit of both. Andy never really talked in the novella, but he did talk sometimes in the film version. I personally liked how Red did gave his opinion to most of the subjects, for it gave a personal touch to the story line.

CHARACTERIZATION

The first thing I noticed when watching the film version last night with by bestie Keaton McCoy was how violent the guards were when interacting with the prisoners. It caught me by surprise actually. In the text version, the "screws" kept them in line but never really physically abused him. This was the complete opposite in the film. Matter of fact, it made my heart hurt when I watched how they treated them. In addition, Red made the "screws" in the novella out like they were the scums who were dirty and didn't really care about life. The way in which the "screws" dressed made them portrayed as more sophisticated.

SETTING

When I pictured the prison Red portrayed in the novella, I pictured somewhat of a rundown shack that they lived in. I never imagined the castle-like prison that was used in the movie. I felt the prison used in the movie lacked the "hard" look that the one in the book had. However, once Andy escaped from his cell, the images of him escaping were exactly what I expected. The human waste exploding from the pipes and Andy climbing through them was almost more than I could handle. Once Andy has completely escaped from the jail, the image of him tearing off his clothes, was amazing and made me cry. The vivid images of the movie brought the entire morale of the story home to me.

THEME

When talking about theme, the novella and the movie were very similar. Everyone knew that Andy did not belong in prison. Even when he was there, he acted as if he wasn't even incarcerated at Shawshank. Everyone held Andy to a higher regard than the other prisoners, even the screws did. The warden made it his prerogative to make certain Andy didn't get the best of him. However, the warden let him do just that. Some people just don't belong behind bars, and the same is true with life. Some people are meant to be free spirits and just can't be held captive. This was Andy, he took his time in Shawshank to formulate his plan, and in a sense make his life better because of it.