Survival Is The Key Struggle - 1295 Words

Survival is the key struggle in The Shawshank Redemption. This film takes place in the corrupt Shawshank State Penitentiary where mental and physical abuses inflicted upon prisoners are the hard realities of the system. For the prisoners of Shawshank, life is often bleak and violent. However, the will to survive is what keeps the characters motivated to retain their humanity and challenge the institutionalization of Shawshank. In particular, the film’s main protagonists, Andy Dufresne and Ellis â€Å"Red† Redding, exemplify the struggle for survival in the face of a corrupt, frightening, and oppressive prison system. In order to survive the harsh realities of the world, people adapt with personal traits like courage and resourcefulness in addition to forming community with other people. Without a doubt, courage is a crucial element for survival in The Shawshank Redemption because courage is the trait that the prisoners develop in order to overcome their fears in the prison setting. Of course, fear is the natural instinct people have when they enter the unknown. In any frightening situation, individuals, like Andy and his fellow new inmates when they first arrive at Shawshank, must succumb to fear or find the courage to persevere. At first, it might be difficult for people to find courage in frightening times, but many individuals still manage to find courage from sources like religious faith and hope. For example, religious faith is important for courage because faith can makeShow MoreRelatedThe Pianist Essay1130 Words   |  5 PagesPianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed th rough Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hopeRead MoreThe Open Boat By Stephen Crane1076 Words   |  5 Pagesand philosophy to achieve a balance of literature professionalism. The text is a masterpiece reality expressed through the creation of characters representatives of society and day to day living. Symbolic use of characters and human titles plays a key role in delivering the message of the author. Stephen Crane, the author exploits the power of harmony to establish a relationship where every individual is a unit within a literally functional setting. The author speaks about significant issues in society;Read MoreThe Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London Essay825 Words   |  4 Pagesenvironment through the practice of sci entific principles. The author centralizes his themes around this literary technique. Jack London’s naturalistic portrayal of his characters explores the brutal truth of humans versus animals and the struggle for survival. Jack London’s use of an animal’s perspective allows the readers to fully understand how the harsh landscapes of the Klondike influenced the individual; this strategy exemplifies the naturalism evident among many of his works. For exampleRead MoreSurvival in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and The Metamorphosis by Kafka1245 Words   |  5 PagesSurvival in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and The Metamorphosis by Kafka In both One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, written by Solzhenitsyn, and The Metamorphosis, written by Kafka, there were struggles for survival in face of oppression. Both of the protagonists Read MoreRikki-Tikki-Tavi vs Three Skeleton Key Essay634 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi† by Rudyard Kipling and â€Å"Three Skeleton Key† by George Toudouze, are suspense stories that have many similarities but also some differences. One important similarity between these two stories has to do with the characters. In both fantasies, the antagonists (or villains) are animals. Nag and Nagaina were snakes in â€Å"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi† that tried to kill Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and take over the garden. In â€Å"Three Skeleton Key†, fierce, vengeful rats that came ashore, attacking theRead MoreThe Fittest : A New Era Of Observation And Evolutionary Thinking1621 Words   |  7 Pagesdefined this idea based off of his scientific observations of animals within the wild. The idea of â€Å"the survival of the fittest† stems from natural selection. As globalization continues to spread, humans are also introduced into an environment in which only the best suited thrive in. Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard and Caillebotte’s painting Paris Street, Rainy Day are both works in which the survival of the fittest affects the humans depicted. Therefore, the following essay explores direct examplesR ead MoreRelation Between the Structure of Power and Poverty Essay1214 Words   |  5 PagesThrough several texts to include Bell Hooks’ articles Narratives of Struggle and Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor, Natasha Tretheway’s memoir High Rollers, and the film Trouble the Water directed by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal illustrate how the poor are often dehumanized by a higher dominating structure of power that belittles the poor because of preconceived notions from several forms of media and experiences. Many of the underclass were overlooked for service and stability becauseRead MoreFrustration and Aggression: Strive for Satisfaction Essay1237 Words   |  5 PagesHumans are born striving to catch a breath, eat some food, quench their thirst, feel affection, be able to fend for their mind and body; take care of one’s self. There is a term often referred to by Hobbes as survival machines (Pinker 2011). We are each a survival machine, created with th e instinct to supply ourselves with our needs in the most efficient and safest way possible for us individually, and only to put one’s self at risk when the benefits outweigh the gains. Humans are born with the capacityRead More The Open Boat: Cranes View of Naturalism Essay1072 Words   |  5 Pagesmay all be irrelevant in the grand scheme of life or to the universe is not a popular position. In his short story The Open Boat Stephen Crane shows a universe that is unconcerned with the struggles of four men within a small boat lost at sea. Through the characters experiences Crane shows the human struggle to survive as viewed in a naturalistic perspective as opposed to other prevalent 19th Century concepts. There are four men stranded on a boat who are introduced in the beginning of theRead MoreRole Of Robert Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath 1286 Words   |  6 PagesRobby LaRoy APLang 2 º Ms. Lehman 9/13/14 The Role of Unity in Survival During the great depression in the plains of Oklahoma, workers were forced out of their homes as their crops withered away to nothing and dust took over. The general feeling of these migrant workers during the late 20’s and early 30’s can be summarized by the struggle for survival showcased in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In the novel, a family called the Joads makes their way westward in hopes of a better life for